This month I am reading the book of Psalms and Job. I read the Psalms every month for encouragement and then pick another book to study. This month it's the book of Job. It has been really hard for me to read this book because when I look at how Job never curses God or turns his heart away from Him (even through all the hardships he goes through) it makes me realize how many times in my daily life I feel mad at God over mere trifles. It is daunting for me to think that God tests me...how do I respond? Do I bless God through hard times? or do I curse Him? It's so hard to praise God when you feel like everything is falling down around you. My goal for this month is for me to realize that God is always there and He puts troubles in my life for a reason and I need to praise Him through EVERYTHING! The good and the bad. Just like Jared told me awhile ago "If God brings you to it, He'll bring you through it"... it's so true!
Job 5:8-27 is one of my favorite verses. It is so encouraging!
8 "But if it were I, I would appeal to God;
I would lay my cause before him.
9 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.
10 He bestows rain on the earth;
he sends water upon the countryside.
11 The lowly he sets on high,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
12 He thwarts the plans of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.
13 He catches the wise in their craftiness,
and the schemes of the wily are swept away.
14 Darkness comes upon them in the daytime;
at noon they grope as in the night.
15 He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth;
he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.
16 So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.
17 "Blessed is the man whom God corrects;
so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
18 For he wounds, but he also binds up;
he injures, but his hands also heal.
19 From six calamities he will rescue you;
in seven no harm will befall you.
20 In famine he will ransom you from death,
and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,
and need not fear when destruction comes.
22 You will laugh at destruction and famine,
and need not fear the beasts of the earth.
23 For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
24 You will know that your tent is secure;
you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.
25 You will know that your children will be many,
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
26 You will come to the grave in full vigor,
like sheaves gathered in season.
27 "We have examined this, and it is true.
So hear it and apply it to yourself."
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