Thursday Devotional - All-Knowing God and Job’s Vindication (10/3/24)

God’s visit was surely life-altering for Job and his friends! God’s response was purposeful, even though it didn’t answer all of Job’s questions. God did not explain why Job experienced one tragedy after another. However, God did vindicate Job before his condemning friends.

Job 42:7-9 After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. ⁸ So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” ⁹ So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

Where are you and I wanting to see vindication (whether for ourselves or for others)? Let’s trust God’s timing, without running ahead and taking things into our own hands.

Thursday Devotional - Faithful God versus Unrepentant Solomon 10/13/22

Joe and I have prayerfully addressed some repetitive disobedience by some of our kids. The consequences get steeper subsequent times. Why? So they are motivated to stop and take time to think about the seriousness of their choices.

God’s consequences aren’t for merely punishing the sin, but are intended to draw the unrepentant to repentance.

With unrepentant Solomon, God gave him several warnings and then raised up one enemy after another to disrupt the nation’s peace, including his very own high standing official, Jeroboam!

The Lord to Jeroboam:

I Kings 11:34-36, 39          ³⁴ “‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees. ³⁵ I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes. ³⁶ I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name…  ³⁹ I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.’”

I think if Solomon had truly repented he would have been spared some of the subsequent consequences.

Where might you and I be experiencing consequences for unrepentant sin? Maybe God has allowed a lack of peace in our own lives and relationships to draw us back to Him!

God is faithful to His promises even while purposefully administering consequences.

Thursday Devotional - Purposeful Power

Speaking of power, we lost power and internet for over 30 hours last Wednesday evening and all day Thursday, so sorry I couldn’t access or post this devotional!

We often have lots of questions why God allows certain things to happen. He is so powerful and could prevent and stop so many things, but He often doesn’t. We don’t see the big picture.

In Paul’s case, God continued to let him remain in prison unjustly. Yet, it was part of God’s purposes to have Paul preach the gospel to high officials in Caesarea and eventually in Rome (Acts 23:11 the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”)

By the time we get to Acts 26, Paul had already spoken to the Jewish crowd, the Jewish leaders, High Priests, Govenor Felix, Govenor Festus and all the people around them. Now, Paul gets the opportunity to speak to King Agrippa, his wife and high-ranking officers.

Acts 26:1-8    Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.”

So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense: 2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.

4 “The Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. 5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect of our religion, living as a Pharisee. 6 And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today. 7 This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me. 8 Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?

If God is powerful enough to raise Jesus from the dead, then He is powerful enough to do anything. He is watching over us. He will powerfully accomplish His purposes in our lives. It may not go as we planned, but as He planned! Like Paul, you and I can trust His purposeful power. How will you and I do that this week?

  

Alice