Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY TUESDAY!

God is so good, and I’m finally getting to a point in my faith walk, where I’m learning to completely listen to Him. The thing that I was missing was to see Him in everything. Nothing is by chance, and there are plenty of times where we say, “Oh, it’s a coincidence that I was just thinking about this, and here it is”, some people call that Déjà vu, which is French for already seen. However, I know its God, because He speaks to us in so many different ways. We must slow down and intently listen for His voice, and watch for signs and visions.
Today, a friend and I were discussing Job chapter 7, and I wrote a rather large e-mail about how I interpreted Jobs frustration, and how it was necessary for him to go to God and voice his aggravation. After I’d proof read the e-mail, I thought, this looks like a sermon, or could be today’s devotional, but I sent it, and thought nothing more of it. Then, after I was done with my work, I attempted to access bible.com to get the scriptures for today, and the website was down. As well as, two other friends contacted me, and in both conversations we ended up discussing great loss, and how much it affects and weighs us down, and it brought me right back to my earlier discussion about Job 7. Do you think all of this is coincidence or Déjà vu? Well I doubt it very seriously, so I’m going to share my discussion with you, in an unfamiliar format, but hopefully it helps answer some questions you may have.

Read Job 7
I often feel like Job felt in this chapter of scripture; he was truly fed up! From the way I read it, Job got to a "wait a minute!" point in his life. I'm sure He was thinking, "I've done nothing but try my best to do right, so why am I being punished like this?"... I think we all have or will get to points like these in our Faith walk. God allows us to be tested and tried for some of the same reasons He tested Job, and just like Job, it's okay to question Him. It's okay to ask God, "What's going on?" because that's a sign of our love for Him. We should always come to Him seeking wisdom, and wanting to learn life's lessons.
I was touched most by verses 17-19: "What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention, that you examine him every morning and test him every moment? Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant?" I can remember times when I felt exactly like this, but we need God's attention, because even His affliction is meant to work together for our good. So we should be grateful that he examines us every morning, and test us every moment, but it's the times where it feels like He isn't there that we should worry. It's all refinement, and allows us to build up our trust in Him, helps us rely on Him to sustain us, and show us a new way to righteousness. Remember, we just learned yesterday, that Jesus said we should take up our cross “daily”, and follow Him.
I found a few of my answer in the following chapters: “Behold, this is the joy of His way, And out of the earth others will grow. Behold, God will not cast away the blameless, Nor will He uphold the evildoers. He will yet fill your mouth with laughing, and your lips with rejoicing. Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the dwelling place of the wicked will come to nothing.” (Job 8:19-22) Trouble don't last always, and when you feel like you're down and can't get back up, know that God can and will use your situation to help others grow. Rejoice through your sorrow, because eventually He'll fill your mouth with laughing. Eventually you'll see the light, but as always, when going through trials you never foresee the end, until God gives reveals the small light at the end of the tunnel.
In my opinion, Job couldn't hold it anymore, and he couldn't take the pain, nor rejoice in it any longer. He needed answers, so instead of him turning his back on God, and surrendering to the enemy's attacks, he confronted God about it. I admire him for that, and ultimately learned that when I'm stressed out, instead of doing evil or succumbing to evil, it's best to just make my supplications known to God. He'd rather us do that, than the alternative. The answers aren’t found in drugs, alcohol, sex, empty relationships, food, violence, or any of the like.
If you don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior, that’s the only place to start. See, unlike Job, we have the saving grace of Jesus Christ to see us through. With Jesus comes God’s Holy Spirit, so we can stay connected with Him at all times. I urge you to start building a bond with God through Christ, and allow Him to fill you with so much joy, that when you are being tested you’ll have the strength to get you through, still praising God! Pray and ask Jesus to be Lord of your life today!

ENJOY! http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=job%207-10&version=NKJV
http://www.intouch.org/site/pp.aspx?c=cnKBIPNuEoG&b=4943197
http://www.intouch.org/site/apps/nl/newsletter.asp?c=cnKBIPNuEoG&b=4943547

I love you!