The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
Job 18-21
Act 2: God’s Covenant People
Scene 1: The People: God calls a covenant people
Background Information: Job 18-21
It is important to note that none of the characters in this book are Israelites. They represent the best theological thinking among humans of the time, but they were incorrect. Job gives us human wisdom unguided by divine revelation. God will reveal himself to Job, but his “answers” will prove to be surprising. As you read you will be looking for who is “right” in their arguments. However, they all say some things that are true and many things that are not. Getting to a simple answer is not the point because there is no simple answer to human suffering. In Bildad’s second speech he continues to wax eloquent about a simplistic universe where Job’s suffering can be explained by Job’s sin. People suffer because people sin, end of story. Job continues to struggle with what he believes to be true and with his own experience. He cannot seem to connect those two things. Beware of simplistic ideas about how the world works. We are blessed to have the full revelation of the Bible, but even still, it does not answer every question we might have. It does answer all the questions we need to have answers to.
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
River small group leaders are meeting for training and encouragement tonight. Pray that God would use that time to strengthen our group leaders as they seek to faithfully lead our small groups.
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call someone now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.