DAY 22 Read Job 22 through 27.
Today's reading probes still deeper into the problem of human suffering. How will the true child of God relate to trials and difficulties?
Memory gem: "He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10).
Thought for today:
One purpose for trouble coming to a Christian is to draw him nearer to God. It was not until Job had lost everything he had and was worn out with sickness and trouble that he wanted to know God better. It was when he was afflicted with boils that he cried out, "Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!....But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:3-10).
Trouble can make us depend upon God and not man. Trouble makes us trust. It was when the Flood came that Noah went into the ark. David said that when he walked in the valley of the shadow, he knew God was with him (see Psalm 23:4). And it is written of our Saviour that He learned obedience through the things that He suffered (see Hebrews 5:8).
When you hear a man pray, you can usually tell whether he has ever had any trouble. His prayer is not just a form of beautiful words--he is earnest. By faith he takes hold of the mighty arm of God. He is humble, for he knows his weaknesses. He trusts God as he never could have trusted Him before he knew what trouble was. One great preacher has said that the reason why women so often pray better than men is that they have had more trouble.
Many of the psalms of David are prayers. They are among the mightiest prayers ever offered in this world. And why do they still have such power? Why do they so often express our own heart longings in better words than we can manage? Well, for one thing, they are the prayers of a man who was acquainted with trouble. He learned how to trust God in trouble, how to depend upon God. And in Psalm 37:40 David says, "He shall...save them, because they trust in him."
Today's reading probes still deeper into the problem of human suffering. How will the true child of God relate to trials and difficulties?
Memory gem: "He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10).
Thought for today:
One purpose for trouble coming to a Christian is to draw him nearer to God. It was not until Job had lost everything he had and was worn out with sickness and trouble that he wanted to know God better. It was when he was afflicted with boils that he cried out, "Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!....But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:3-10).
Trouble can make us depend upon God and not man. Trouble makes us trust. It was when the Flood came that Noah went into the ark. David said that when he walked in the valley of the shadow, he knew God was with him (see Psalm 23:4). And it is written of our Saviour that He learned obedience through the things that He suffered (see Hebrews 5:8).
When you hear a man pray, you can usually tell whether he has ever had any trouble. His prayer is not just a form of beautiful words--he is earnest. By faith he takes hold of the mighty arm of God. He is humble, for he knows his weaknesses. He trusts God as he never could have trusted Him before he knew what trouble was. One great preacher has said that the reason why women so often pray better than men is that they have had more trouble.
Many of the psalms of David are prayers. They are among the mightiest prayers ever offered in this world. And why do they still have such power? Why do they so often express our own heart longings in better words than we can manage? Well, for one thing, they are the prayers of a man who was acquainted with trouble. He learned how to trust God in trouble, how to depend upon God. And in Psalm 37:40 David says, "He shall...save them, because they trust in him."
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