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Posts Tagged ‘misconceptions about God’

Misfortune in Others

Posted in Bible Study, God, job, Trials, tagged , , , on January 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Job 10-13, Misfortune in Others. Jobs friend Zophar comes down pretty hard on Job in today’s reading. We know from the first chapter that God considered Job righteous and blameless, so we know Zophar’s characterization of Job’s suffering as punishment for his hidden sin is wrong. We’ll see this theme amped up as we continue to read. But this made me consider my response to people who experience misfortune. How much grace do I extend to those in dire circumstances? In many cases there is a direct correlation between a person’s bad choices and the negative results, but in many others there is not. In looking at Job in the past, I’ve almost always considered how I could handle the situation better if I where in Job’s shoes. Today, I’m prompted to look at Zophar and see how I can be more merciful and gracious in dealing with misfortune in others.

LORD, you are both merciful and gracious. I struggle with finding the perfect balance that you always achieve. Help me to recognize and acknowledge the sin while maintaining mercy and grace. Lord, give me your perspective, the viewpoint of perfect love and righteousness to lead my response to others who are suffering. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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God in a Box

Posted in Bible Study, God, Trials, tagged , , , on January 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Job 6-9, God in a Box. Both Job and Bildad state some things about God today that reflect a limited understanding of who God is. Job says that the pain inflicted upon Him is from God and is unjustified. We’ll see Job return to this theme as he continues to defend himself through the repeated accusations of his friends. The second repeated theme is in Bildad’s discourse as he accuses Job of some sin that he is being punished for. Both men say some things about God that are correct, but they make assumptions from their limited perspective that are not correct. The simplify Job’s situation as a black and white scenario when in fact there is lots of grey in the world… grey that can only be made sense of by trusting God’s got something He can bring out of the current “bad” to be some type of “good”.

Father, forgive me for the times I put you in a box, when I rely on my limited understanding to be the entire picture. Expand my faith to trust you even in the dark and even in the grey. You are faithful and true. I put all my hope in you. In Jesus’ Name.

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Dark, But Not Abandoned

Posted in Trials, worldview, tagged , , , , , on January 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Job 1-5, Dark But Not Abandoned. Before I read the Bible through, Job was by far my least favorite book. In fact, it wasn’t until the third time reading the Bible through that I finally began to grasp how valuable the lessons from Job were and how good God was to give us this dark and painful story. Redemption comes, but not after many chapters and repeated conversations between Job, his friends, and finally God.

These first five chapters are dark and painful. There is an important takeaway that should be of some comfort. Satan, the Accuser, is limited in his malevolent power. We may wonder why God gives him permission to afflict Job but the fact that God has veto power gives us a picture of God’s sovereignty. There is nothing that comes upon us that has not been allowed by God. We know from the rest of scripture that God is good, loving, kind, and just, but all this is on a grand scale that our single point-in-time perspective might not be able to understand. God sees the entire picture. I don’t. My response is to trust His heart even in the midst of my hurt.

Father, in my finite awareness, help me to trust in your infinite goodness. You have blessed us with Jesus to die in our place, the Holy Spirit to guide us into truth, and opportunities galore to spread the good news of you in the world. When difficulties come, when darkness presses in, help us to lean into you even more. May the way we live and love and trust you be a beacon of light to others that the world may know that you reign above it all. In Jesus’ Name we pray.

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