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365 Devotionals: Times of Restoration

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. James 1:22 AMP

The Seeds of Promise Devotional Series

As Pure Gold

“But He knows the way that I take [and He pays attention to it]. When He has tried me, I will come forth as [refined] gold [pure and luminous].” Job 23:10 AMP

Song of The Day

Watch and listen to “We Shall Behold Him” by Sandi Patty.

Bible Basis

June	Book	Read From	Read To	Devotional
20^th	Job	Chapter 21	Chapter 24	As Pure Gold

Memory Verse

“But He knows the way that I take [and He pays attention to it]. When He has tried me, I will come forth as [refined] gold [pure and luminous].” Job 23:10 AMP

Key people

Here is a list of key people found in today’s reading (in order of appearance) with bios from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Eliphaz. Argues that those who are truly good are never entirely forsaken by Providence, but that punishment may justly be inflicted for secret sins.

Job. God’s faithful servant. “Job is presented as a good and prosperous family man who is beset by Satan with God’s permission with horrendous disasters that take away all that he holds dear, including his offspring, his health, and his property. He struggles to understand his situation and begins a search for the answers to his difficulties.”

Zophar. One of the three friends of Job who visits to comfort him during his illness.

Today’s Devotional Reading: Job 21 – 24

Job 21 Amplified Version (AMP)

Job 22 Amplified Version (AMP)

Job 23 Amplified Version (AMP)

Job 24 Amplified Version (AMP)

Despite Job being an upright man, his calamity has fallen with a heavy hand.

“My feet have carefully followed His steps; I have kept His ways and not turned aside.” Job 23:11 AMP

Job now claims that the wicked are not so swiftly dealt with as his friends would suppose.

He takes it for granted that times are not hidden from the Almighty; past times are not hidden from his judgment (Eccl. 3:15), present times are not hidden from his providence (Matt. 10:29), future times are not hidden from his prescience, Acts 15:18.” Mathew Henry Commentary

Job describes his situation as one whose heart is faint and terrified of the Almighty, seeing what is in His hands to do. Still, Job finds the courage to persist and speak up in his defense although he claims a thick darkness covers him.

Reflection

When we face trials and tribulations, we must learn to keep the faith when God says, “Wait.” Is that easier said than done? Yes, sometimes. What do you do when it seems that the wicked are advancing while you remain in place? My honest answer is, “I don’t know.” I had been lagging behind my peers for decades when it came to many levels of prosperity. But, what I lacked in fortune, I made up for in thoughtful talent. I only recently started making gains, after a near-death experience.

So I did what many people do when they look for answers: I Googled it. I searched for “why do the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer?” Here’s a chapter that came up: Psalm 73.

Verses 1-15 depict the trial of the psalmist’s faith when he observes the blessing of the wicked. Verses 16-28 describe the triumph of Asaph’s faith, when he turns from protest to praise, from doubt to the declaration of the goodness of God (Deffinbaugh, 2004).

When we compare our lives to others, we should not consider their success and our lack thereof so much as we should find a place of gratefulness to see our own lives as a gift. We must harness our inner abilities and virtues and produce something that empowers others. In this way we will make the use of our lives outlive our lives. That friends, is what real success is made of.

When we are overcomers, after the trial has passed, we shall be perfected in our faith through the insurmountable love of the Father. We shall be made as pure gold.

References

« The Amplified Bible