Date: Tuesday,
June 02, 2015
Chapters: Job
24-26
Message Title: Wisdom To Handle Affliction

Hello
My Friend,

Knowledge is power and God trusts only His
people with His power, as long as we fear Him we receive that power
and the ability to overcome every situation we are faced with. Pure
wisdom teaches us that if we know God He will shine through us by the
good works we do as we fear Him. “We then, as
workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the
grace of God in vain. But in all things approving ourselves as the
ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities,
in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours,
in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by
longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, By
the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of
righteousness on the right hand and on the left,” - 2
Corinthians 6:1,4-7.

Job has proved by examples that the
righteous are often oppressed; that the wicked often triumph over the
just, that the impious are always wretched even in the midst of their
greatest prosperity; and he defies his friends to show one flaw in
his argument, or an error in his illustration of it; and that
existing facts are farther proofs of what he has advanced. “Why,
seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty, do they that know him
not see his days? Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away
flocks, and feed thereof. They drive away the ass of the fatherless,
they take the widow's ox for a pledge. They turn the needy out of the
way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together. Behold, as wild
asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for
a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children.
They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low;
they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops
of the ears of corn. And if it be not so now, who will make me a
liar, and make my speech nothing worth?” - Job
24:1-5,24,25.

Though the wicked seem to be under special
protection, even dying without disgrace, God keeps an account of all
their wickedness and will some day make it appear that their most
secret sins, which they thought no eye could see, were under His eye
the whole time. “For it is written, As I
live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue
shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of
himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but
judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to
fall in his brother's way.” - Romans 14:11-13.

I
do not know how long Job's friends sat with him, but I imagine it
seemed like a lifetime to Job as Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad constantly criticized every word he spoke to defend
himself. Bildad continues, questioning Job when he said that he would
be justified before God. “Dominion and fear
are with him, he maketh peace in his high places. Is there any number
of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise? How then can
man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a
woman? Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars
are not pure in his sight. How much less man, that is a worm? and the
son of man, which is a worm?” - Job 25:2-6.

Pure
wisdom will teach a person that because of the sin nature we are born
with no one can be justified by God, no matter how good we try to be
we can never measure up to the goodness of God. One little sin means
we would have to start all over again in hopes that we could earn our
way to heaven before it is too late. That is why God had a plan to
make people right with Him before it was too late, not by any good
that we do, but by one good man, that man is Jesus Christ. Those that
were around before Jesus came to earth looked to Him as their Saviour
as well as those who look to Him now as their Saviour. “As
it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none
that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are
all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there
is none that doeth good, no, not one. For all have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Therefore we conclude
that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”
- Romans 3:10-12,23,24,28.

Although Job felt like God had
taken away his understanding of what was going on and that his soul
was being tormented he knew that the Spirit of God was in him. Job
was not about to let any of these men cause him to lose his
integrity. “How hast thou helped him that is
without power? how savest thou the arm that hath no strength? How
hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou
plentifully declared the thing as it is? To whom hast thou uttered
words? and whose spirit came from thee? The pillars of heaven tremble
and are astonished at his reproof. He divideth the sea with his
power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud. By his
spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the
crooked serpent. Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a
portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can
understand?” - Job 26:2-4,11-14.

Job was never as
concerned about knowing the answer to why he was struggling as he was
about knowing that God was in His life. The word wise means having
the power of discerning and judging correctly. The word wisdom means
the right use of that knowledge. You do not have to be a scholar to
know that some people do not need to know certain things because if
they did they would abuse it in the worst way. This kind of wisdom is
evil and does not come from God, pure wisdom is worth more than gold,
it is of God and everyone prospers from it. “Who
is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out
of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye
have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not
against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is
earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is
confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is
first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of
mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”
- James 3:13-17.

Nothing lasts forever except eternal
life, but as the saying goes, “When one door closes another opens.”
We will not face affliction forever, it does not last, that is unless
we want it to last. Only we have the power to let our affliction
control us or to take control of our affliction. Remember, God cannot
help us unless we are willing to help ourselves. “Behold,
I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open
the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with
me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his
throne.” - Revelation 3:20,21.

Today's
Prayer: God, When I am facing affliction it feels like I
am all alone and everyone is on my case about something. It's a big
challenge to find You in the midst of all this, but I know You are
there and that Your hand never leaves me. Lord, give me Your power to
endure my affliction, give me the wisdom to know how to handle the
situations that pop up, and fill me Your mercy and grace so that I
never lose hope of an end to all this, with Your glory shining
through. I ask these things in Jesus' name, Amen.

God
Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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