Day 11

Texts:

• Job 13-14—(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job%2013-14&version=31)
• Matthew 8:18-34—(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%208:18-34;&version=31;)
• Daily in Your Presence, Jan. 25 “Potter” by Rebecca Barlow Jordan—(http://bible.christianity.com/devotionals/dailypresence/1465423/)

Summary of Job 13-14—Job continues on, first, pretty much just telling his friends to shut up because they aren’t doing him any good and cannot speak for God. “If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom”(5). Then he says that he wants to speak and defend himself before God…and that he will continue to hope in Him. But, he makes two demands of God: [1] that God withdraw His hand and stop frightening Job with His terrors, and [2] then summon Job “and I will answer, or let me speak, and You reply”(22). Job then begins again to lament for his lost relationship with his God, asking why God considers him an enemy and why He’s hiding His face. In several different ways Job describes the shortness of the life of man, and the seeming hopelessness of the situation. “as water wears away stones and torrents wash away the soil, so you destroy man’s hope”(14:19). Job wants only to be pure before God, and to have their relationship restored…he wants to discuss it with God himself, to understand and to know…and to have it settled once and for all.

Summary of Matthew 8:18-34—In the first section, Jesus explains the cost of following Him. It includes giving up comforts, like a home, and things that matter a lot to us, like family. Following God takes priority over everything and everyone else. In the next two sections, Jesus shows that He has the power and authority to take care of His disciples (and us), by calming the storm and casting out demons. He has authority over the physical and the spiritual. Though we must be willing to give up everything, God not only has the power, but also the authority to take care of us…and He will…just trust.

Summary of “Potter”— Isaiah 64:8 “Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Rebecca reminds us that even when we are broken, God’s light can still shine through (when we are weak, God is strong…). No matter what, God will continue to mold and shape us, and work with us. But, in order to be all that He wants us to be we need to be content with who He wants us to be

Okay, for Job, the testing he was going through was like the firing process for working with pottery, but in the end, when he came out okay, he was stronger, firmer, and more beautiful in God’s eyes than ever. But right now, he was really suffering. Part of his choosing to follow Christ included suffering, included losing his family, home, possessions, and even—for a time—not knowing what on earth was going on with his relationship with God. Hope and trust are key here… Job’s hope was fading fast, but, he still trusted that God knew what He was doing, and he still was willing to cling on to what little was left and not turn away from following God, and in the end, he was blessed, and was closer to God for it.

Challenge: Let God continue to mold and shape you, and even when you are broken or when the molding and shaping hurts, remember that God is in control of everything…and trust…cling…and continue to hope.