Daily Devotional from Job 18--

Verses 1-4
“Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: ‘How long will you hunt for words? Consider, and then we will speak. Why are we counted as cattle? Why are we stupid in your sight? You who tear yourself in your anger, shall the earth be forsaken for you, or the rock be removed out of its place?’”

Job is a broken and burdened man. Bildad is trying to convince Job that he has an unclean heart and that he is living in sin. In other words, he is saying to Job, when will you stop talking and start listening to us? When are you going to stop trying to justify yourself and start believing that you are a man filled with sin? He charges Job that his real problem is that Job has refused to recognize what his real problem is.

But what if Bildad is wrong? What if he has misjudged or misunderstood Job’s real situation? That can so easily happen when we rely on our own opinion or don’t ask God first about how we can encourage or help a friend in need.

Bildad teaches us to understand how important it is to encourage and strengthen each other. He reminds us how much we need to build each other up in the Lord. Can we take a moment in time to encourage someone and build them up in the Lord, or perhaps extend an unexpected kindness to someone? It’s a good practice to develop.

Marci Ellis

Daily Devotional from Job 17--

Job is in despair, hopes dashed, finding no comfort from his friends, longing for death and the grave. Our need for God is made obvious by trials and troubles. We can “take fresh courage to persevere from the example of suffering Job. The image is from a warrior acquiring new courage in action” (Charles Spurgeon).

In Isaiah 40:29-32, we see that the Lord gives power to the faint and strength to those who have none. The apostle Paul says in Philippians 1:14 that the brothers became confident in the Lord by his imprisonment and spoke boldly, without fear.

When you are in difficulty with no answers as to why or what to do, place your trust and hope in God, who sees your plight and brings relief and resolution in his time. He will cause your situations to work for good (Romans 8:28). Wait upon him.

Carol Wong

Daily Devotional from Job 16--


Verse 4
“I also could speak as you do, if you were in my place;
I could join words together against you and shake my head at you.”


It’s easy for any of us to judge someone who is going through a hard time. It’s easy to try to problem-solve and think we know why those hardships are happening. Sometimes we need to turn off our problem-solving and just lend an ear. Job’s friends assume that because all these things are happening to him, he must be sinning. I’ve had this kind of thought before, and it’s dead wrong.


God knows what’s really happening; let's just be good at comforting people and loving them. Sure, there’s a time to speak and a time to give advice and a time to rebuke, but let’s be extra careful not to make giving advice and rebuking people a habit without knowing the details. Jesus was gentle and understanding with us, and we should be the same way to others.


Brendan League

Daily Devotional from Job 14--


Verse 1
“Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble.”

In response to his friend’s accusations, Job enlightens them to the reality that life is short–and it’s not easy. In fact, Jesus promised us we would face trouble. In John 16:33 (NIV), it says, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Life will not be easy. Job could definitely attest to that. But we know that Jesus promises to be present with us–even in the harsh realities of life. In the toughest of times, even when it feels like God is not there, we know this truth–He is present. No matter what we feel or think, it does not change this reality.

Today, if you’re facing a difficulty in life, remember that Jesus is with you. And if you’re struggling to know that truth, cry out to Him. He can handle our difficult emotions. Job definitely did not keep them stuffed inside. As we spend the coming weeks in Job, perhaps the Lord is inviting you to greater emotional intimacy with Him. Let’s be honest with God about our pain, grief, anger, and frustrations.

Annika Sullenger

Daily Devotional from Job 13--


Verse 24 (CSB)
Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy?
 
Have you ever walked through a considerable difficulty and felt that God was far away? Maybe you feel as if God has turned his back on you? That maybe he considers you as his enemy instead of loving you like he’s supposed to?
 
It is difficult in the moment to see beyond our suffering. In this passage, Job knew that he didn’t deserve what was happening to him and went back and forth between knowing God is good and wondering why God considered him an enemy. Isn’t that just the most human thing to do?
 
God isn’t intimidated or frustrated by our pain or questioning. Tell God how you’re feeling-- even if you believe it’s not how you think you should. God knows how you’re feeling anyway and he still sent Jesus for you.


Robin Miller

Daily Devotional from Job 12--

Verse 13
“With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding.”

In his conversations with his “unhelpful” friends, Job wasn’t defiant; he was confident in his belief and his limited knowledge of God. He trusted God beyond his circumstances. When my problems want to overwhelm me, I look at Job. He just kept believing and trusting in the God he knew, and that gives me hope. When I keep God as my focus and remember all wisdom and power belong to Him, my problem shrinks in comparison to His greatness.

If you are like me and feel like you are in an impossible situation, look up, and like Job, declare the greatness of God who cares and understands.

Marci Ellis

Daily Devotional from Job 11--

Verse 6b
“Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.”

Zophar did not beat around the bush. Eliphaz and Bildad (the first two friends) passively implied that Job had done something to deserve the suffering he was going through. Zophar, on the other hand, said in effect, “God is being merciful to you! You deserve so much worse, you wicked man!” We could maybe see this kind of rebuke as appropriate, or even loving, if Job had indeed sinned. The thing is, he didn’t. We know from the beginning of the book that Satan saw his faithfulness to God and said, “Let me at him!” I can’t imagine being Job and being on the receiving end of this kind of rebuke, especially knowing in my heart that I did nothing wrong.

I am stirred by this passage to ensure that I am Spirit-led in my conversations. Only God knows the heart of man, so he can lead me (and you!) to the right words, the right tone, and the right encouragements.

Zoe Deming

Daily Devotional from Job 10--


Verse 2
“I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; let me know why you contend against me.’”


Job wants to know why bad things are happening to him, in spite of his lifestyle of righteousness. And he wants it to stop. His friends believe he must have sinned but has forgotten. Thus, this judgment has come upon him, and he deserves it.


We know that in life, bad things happen to “good” people, and good things happen to “bad” people. This doesn’t seem right to us. David complained about this very thing (Psalm 73).


But we also know from Scripture that God loves us. He is all-knowing, and we are not. This seeming injustice is temporary; God will make it right in the end. We need to trust Him. He has a good plan. And if He allows hardship, He has a good reason - even though He may not tell us what it is.


Rick Bolesta

Daily Devotional from Job 9--
 
Verses 20 & 33
“Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me; though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse…There is no arbiter between us, that might lay his hand upon us both.”

If, like Job, we regard ourselves as sinless and try to claim it before God, this only shows our self-righteousness. We would be sinning in saying so. Job cries out for an arbiter (daysman, advocate, mediator) between God and man. “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).

The Lord Jesus Christ is our mediator! He bought our righteousness with his blood. We are no longer condemned by our sin, but by faith in Jesus! We are blameless, not by what we have done, but by what He did on the cross. Hallelujah!

See 1 Corinthians 15:56-57, Romans 8:1.
 
Carol Wong

Daily Devotional from Job 8--

Verse 1-2
“Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: ‘How long will you say these things, and the words of your mouth be a great wind?’”

Bildad to the rescue! At least, that’s what he thought as he spoke to Job. However, his words fall short of comfort; instead, they imply that Job was not as faithful to the Lord as everyone assumed. Bildad understood suffering to be a punishment from God, so in his mind, Job’s situation meant he must have strayed away from God.

We can throw figurative rocks at Bildad for his unhelpful response, but I think we tend to respond the same way. See, Bildad was leaning on his own understanding to explain a situation that would otherwise be mystifying. How often do we come up against these situations, where instead of trusting the Lord with all our hearts, we try to figure things out with our own understanding first?

The Word of God provides ultimate guidance. I am challenged today to follow God’s wisdom in Proverbs 3:5-6 when I find myself (or someone else) in a situation I don’t understand!

Zoe Deming

Daily Devotional from Job 7--


Verse 1
“Has not man a hard service on earth, and are not his days like the days of a hired hand?” – Job


Sometimes, this is how life feels. Like we’re just running in a hamster wheel, working so hard but not getting anywhere. We feel worn down, run over, washed up. We start to think, “What’s the point?” “Why is it so hard?”


Well friend, many have gone before and felt the same. That’s what Job was feeling! But there is One who has faced every difficulty we face, so that He could relate with us and whisper to our hearts in those depths “You. Can. Do. It.” and “I. Got. You.” What is the point? What is our purpose? I love how the Westminster Catechism answers this question: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
 
No matter how hard it is, keep lifting your eyes to the heavens, where your help comes from. Keep raising your hands in worship and surrender to Him. Keep basking in His love. It never ends.


Audrey Rogers

Daily Devotional from Job 6--


Verse 25 (NKJV)
“How forceful are right words! But what does your arguing prove?”


Do you know it’s possible to be in the right and dead wrong at the same time? You can use all the right words and still be off the mark. Here, Job acknowledges that what his friends are saying sounds good until you ask, ‘what’s the point?’ I think they had probably lost track.


Sometimes we get caught up in dispensing great truths that are just misapplied. We may be shooting beautiful arrows but hitting the wrong targets. So, the next time you get the chance to speak into a situation, just remember that the right words don’t necessarily guarantee accurate results.


Demetrius Rogers

Daily Devotional from Job 5--


Verse 8
“However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and would present my case to him.”
Job was suffering through an incredible amount of grief, and this was a piece of advice given to him by his friend Eliphaz. On the surface, it sounds good and wise, because we SHOULD appeal to God. HOWEVER, we no longer need to present our case to him because Jesus is advocating on our behalf.
Take a moment and read Romans 8:34, Hebrews 9:24, and 1 John 2:1-2.
Are you in a season of suffering? You have an advocate interceding on your behalf right now. He’s pleading your case, not using your own good deeds or righteousness, but he is covering you with his.
Robin Miller

Daily Devotional from Job 4--


Verses 3-5
“Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened the weak hands. Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees. But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed.”

From his strength, Job has ministered to many, encouraging and helping the weak get stronger. Now that he is suffering, his friends assume he has sinned against God. This suffering is his penalty, and they wonder why he can’t see it. After all, you reap what you sow. If Job is reaping suffering, then he must have sown sin.

Not all suffering is due to personal sin. But there are consequences for sin, and sometimes we must pay.  Thank God that He is merciful, and He doesn’t always extend to us the penalty we deserve.

Rick Bolesta

Daily Devotional from Job 3--


Verse 1
“After this, Job began to speak and cursed the day he was born…”


Job 3 is a chapter full of sadness and sorrow. Job is expressing his emotions after he was hit with trauma after trauma. When we are walking through difficult situations, and our emotions are strong, it is okay to just sit in them. It’s okay to sit in the sorrow and name it and express it.


Grief is real, and it is necessary.


If we are not honest about our emotions, they come out one way or another, and at that point, you may have less control over them.


Find a healthy way to deal with difficult emotions. Let yourself feel them. Give them to the Lord. He is EL Roi, the God who sees you.


Robin Miller

Daily Devotional from Job 2--

Verse 13
“And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.”

Sometimes, when a loved one is hurting, this is all they need. They don’t need opinions, advice, rebuke, an assessment of the situation, or sayings that seem right but come across as trite in the moment. There are times when they might need advice or coaching, but I think if Job’s friends had stopped right here, sat with him in silence and grief for seven days, then hugged him and went home, everyone might have been better off.

If God brings you along someone’s side when they are suffering, be sure to lean on the Holy Spirit for how best to help. Sometimes it’s just sitting and crying or praying with them.

Audrey Rogers

Daily Devotional from Job 1--


Verse 20
“Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshipped.”


What is your response when hardship comes your way?


Job could have reacted in a ton of different ways, but he chose to humble himself and worship God, blessing His name. This doesn’t mean Job didn’t mourn; in fact, tearing his clothes and shaving his head would have been a culturally significant way for him to humble himself and show he was deeply lamenting what had happened.


Worship helps us when we are facing difficult situations. By deciding to remind ourselves of the truths of God’s character through the reading of the Word, prayer, and song, we reframe the way we approach our situation. We find peace, hope, and strength from the Holy Spirit to help us face the difficult things we are going through.


Today, if you’re facing something challenging, find some time to worship God through your situation by blessing His name, lamenting (being honest with God about how you feel), and worshipping in song!


Annika Sullenger

Daily Devotional from Esther 10--


Verse 2
“and all the acts of his power and might, and the full account of the high honor of Mordecai, to which the King advanced him, are they not written…”


Mordecai had shown his integrity in warning the king of a plot to kill him. Thus, the king advanced him to high honor.  He acted in all the ways he knew to come to the aid of his people. He led them in fasting and prayer. He spoke to Esther persuasively, which moved her to act bravely and selflessly. Because of his leadership, Esther and all the Jews trusted in the Lord.


After the threat of annihilation of the Jews, the Lord instead saved them, prospered them, and filled them with joy and gladness. This is such a graphic example of doom and despair turned into salvation and relief. The Lord is always at work on our behalf. He shows it here in dramatic ways, and we can expect no less of him today. Our Lord, Jesus Christ…” is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Hallelujah!


 Carol Wong

Daily Devotional from Esther 9--


Verse 22
“…as the days on which the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month that had been turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, days for sending gifts of food to one another and gifts to the poor.”


Here, Haman was trying to kill all of the Israelites! But God turned their mourning and sorrow into a holiday. He can turn your hardships into joy, too. One day, all of our sorrows and hurts will be turned into an endless holiday with God. Even while we are on earth, God has given us a deposit of heaven: the Holy Spirit of God.


“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee” (2 Corinthians 5:1-5).


Be encouraged today, there is a joyous future with God!


Brendan League

Daily Devotional from Esther 8--


Verse 2-3
“And the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews.”


Haman, according to some scholars, was a descendant of the Amalekites. Amalek was the grandson of Esau. The Amalekites had an intense hatred for the Israelites and had tried to destroy them. Haman continued the destruction.
But Esther found a way to save her people. First, she fasted and prayed, asking God for guidance. Second, she took action and went to see the King, knowing that there was danger in her actions. Third, she invited the King and Haman to a, not once, but twice. Finally, after Haman and his motives were exposed, she went to the King and pleaded for the lives of her people. The King responded, and the lives of the Jews were again spared.


If we were as persistent and as dedicated as Esther was about saving her people, would we see the lost in our communities come to Jesus and be spared from a lost eternity? Let's make an effort today to lift our lost families, neighbors, and communities to Jesus.


Marci Ellis

Daily Devotional from Esther 7--

“Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request.”

Queen Esther faced a terrible challenge, and she put her life on the line to face it. At the risk of her own life, Esther exposed Haman’s plot to annihilate the Jews. Here we see God‘s providential hand using Esther’s courage to save the Jews — to keep His promise that the Messiah would one day come from the line of David. God will stop at nothing to see His promised kingdom come, His will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.

And today, He still uses His people to accomplish His work.
Will you accept the challenge?

Rick Bolesta

Daily Devotional from Esther 6--


Verse 1
“On that night the king could not sleep.”

This is where the story gets good.

The king is wide awake, while Mordecai is fast asleep.

And Mordecai has no idea that men are plotting his execution… no idea that his name is being tossed around… no idea that his life is about to change.

But while he sleeps, God is at work.

That’s what I love about God – He knows how to manage what concerns us, and doesn’t even need our help to do it. He probably even prefers that we get out of the way.

So, go ahead and get your 8 hours of sleep. God goes to work on your behalf, and you don’t even need to be aware of it.

Demetrius Rogers

Daily Devotional from Esther 5--

Verse 11a
“And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches.”

Haman had a serious case of the high and mighties. After seeing that Mordecai wouldn’t bow down to him, he brought his friends and wife together to bask in his own glory, maybe for an ego boost. But even that wasn’t enough! He was thirsty for revenge!

It’s not often that I meet someone who is as blatantly self-absorbed as Haman, but I see little glimpses of self-centeredness everywhere–even in myself. It’s easier than we think to let our focus land on ourselves. The natural human instinct is to watch out for and protect oneself. But Jesus doesn’t do things the natural human way. He offers us eternal life and an eternal perspective of love and selflessness. I am challenged by Haman’s attitude to check my own. Is my attention on myself or on Jesus? When I walk into a room, am I thinking more about myself or the people around me?

Take some time today to ask God to realign your heart; to purge your mind of selfishness, and instead put your focus on Jesus and the life you live as a result of him.

Zoe Deming

Daily Devotional from Esther 4--


Verse 14 and 16b
“‘For if you keep silent at this time, …you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?’...‘Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.’”

Esther was in a position to act for the Jews. Though unlawful to enter his courts, Esther heeded Mordecai’s warning, called the Jews to a fast, and went to the king. She valiantly put her life on the line for her people, trusting the Lord.

We have been put where we are by the Lord. Let us look at ourselves. Where and with whom does the Lord want us to lay down our lives? Let’s ask the Lord to show us what to do and when to do it. Let’s be bold,  knowing the result is in the Lord's hands. May we listen to the Lord’s promptings and move in the Holy Spirit. We can expect miraculous things from our great and mighty God!

Carol Wong