- Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...
Happy day to you! It’s a hot one! Grab your coffee, hot or iced, and let’s get back on this joy track, aka, a theological game of hopscotch!
We left off in the Book of Esther where we discovered that no matter how big the mountain looks, or how complex the circumstance appears, there is joy in the making! The more I walk with God, the easier it is to confirm these Biblical truths and the more I see them come true in my own life.
Now let’s hop on over to the Book of Job – I hear what you’re saying! “How can there be joy in the life of Job?” Something tells me this is going to not only reiterate the truth we learned about Joy from the life of Esther, but it’s going to go beyond! There are four different contexts in the Book of Job for the word joy!
For my Coffee Hour friends who are not so familiar with the Bible and/or the Book of Job, let me give you a summation about this guy: He was a man of faith, pure faith! He was/is known for his suffering which produced patience which produced endurance! In other words, for all he endured, he did not come out empty-handed, especially spiritually, though many focus on the monetary value that was added for his perseverance, I picture this guy to have such strong spiritual muscles that he would beat any body-builder out in any kind of contest!
Job was also a generous and caring person, two rare characteristics for a man of such wealth, but he understood the principle spoken of in Luke 12:48b: “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.”
We could get way off the joy track here and go off on at least seven different tracks of principle, but I’ll keep us on the joy track. I’ve not “studied” the Book of Job, but I have read it years ago, before my shovel/digging days. I have, however, done some in-depth studies on a few of the verses within the life and lessons of Job, so I am able to empathize with Job in this particular area: He wanted to understand why the things that were being done to him were being done! He sought to understand while in the fire, especially considering the truth of not being burned or consumed! See, pain, whether it is emotional, physical or spiritual, is not always a form of punishment!
I’ll leave us there for now, but take some time to ponder how you’ve responded to a painful situation. Did you find joy waiting for you afterwards, or were you bitter?
In His transforming joy,
- Stir up that joy!
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