Verse 6-7: I am just like you before God; I too have been taken from clay. No fear of me should alarm you, nor should my hand be heavy upon you.
Reflection: This was just a reminder to me that we can’t judge other people. We are the same as the murderer and atheist because we all need Jesus.
Prayer: I pray for patience and strength so that I will examine myself before others and not judge them.
Verses 7-8: I thought, ‘Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom. But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.
Reflection: Instantly this brought to mind this time that I was at a Christian festival thingy, I don’t really know what you would call it. Anyway, there was singing and dancing and a bunch of messages from different speakers. Well, this little boy about 10 or 11 years old got up on the stage and began to preach. It was truly amazing. He was speaking like an adult but he barely came up to my chin. This just shows me that Jesus can appear in any way, size, shape, and form. From dreams to small boys, God continues to amaze me.
Although, I must agree with these verses, it is also true that wisdom does come with aga more often than not. I know that I have a hard time understanding that because adults have gone lived longer than me and experienced more, they are wiser. For some reason this idea brought a certain memory to mind I was sitting in church during worship and was looking around. Everyone had their hands raised, reaching out to God. I just remember feeling out of place and shy. I wanted to reach out, but felt that if i did, people would silently ridicule me because I was too young and unwise to want to touch God. I know now that it was silly to feel that way because God welcomes everyone into his heart. And if my heart was ready to accept him, he would enter into it. No matter what age I was.
Prayer: Lord, so much has been going on in my life right now. I know that in the past, I have doubted that my faith was real because of my age. I ask that you continue to strengthen my faith and help me understand that just because I am not an adult, I still can’t have an amazing relationship with you. Thank you lord for all that you give me. I pray someday that I can have the wisdom and solid faith of the adults around me.
Reflection: I really don’t have a lot to say on this chapter. I feel so sorry for Job. He has been obedient to God and had served him well, and God still lets horrible things happen to him. It is so hard for me to understand how such a loving and caring God could out us through so much pain. I understand the concept that it is to test our faith and belief in him, but I’ve always wondered if there might be a different way of soing that. It is a difficult question that nobody really knows the answer to. Except God anyway. I guess I’ll just have to ask him.
Prayer: Lord I ask for understanding and patience.
Verses 9-11:And now their sons mock me in song; I have become a byword among them.They detest me and keep their distance; they do not hesitate to spit in my face. Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they throw off restraint in my presence.
Reflection: All I could think about when I read these verse was how some people will turn their backs on you when you say you believe in God, but then have something horrible happen to you. It raises so many questions for me. Right now as I write this my family is downstairs watching an episode of Planet Earth. I am completely in awe of God, but I often question how he can put the people he loves through so much pain. It certainly doesn’t help our case when trying to evangelize. I am just imagining that I am a person who doesn’t believe in God and have just heard this speech about how much God loves me. I look at the person telling me this and consider their situation. In this situation, my evangelizer is in the middle of a broken family and has suffered a lot. OK, I say to myself, sure God loves me. But if he loves me so much then why does he make me go through so much.
I can remember a time a few years ago, I think I was 8 years old. I was seriously questioning if God was real. My parents had just gone through a divorce and my Father was remarrying. It was a really difficult time for me and I remember praying to God and asking him why he did this to me. I was a confused 8 year old who didn’t know why her parents couldn’t get along. I still wonder why god makes us suffer. I can understand that he does it to test us, but I often wonder if there is an easier and more enjoyable way that we can show our faith in God.
My thoughts are a little jumbled on this one and I need to pray about it
Prayer: Lord, I know you love me, but how can you put us through so much pain?
Reflection: I am not going to pick a specific verse for this chapter because the entire thing spoke to me. I think this is what will happen to any person if he or she is a true follower of christ. People will listen to your every word and respect you. You will be blessed by God and by the people around you. Job is the perfect example of what it is to be a real christian. I remember my first attendance to LP; it was during the “it” series. I think that Job is a great example of being “it”.
Prayer: Lord, help me to be like Job. I want to be a true christian and follower of you.
