“Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger.”
~ Job 17:9
Hi James and Ellen,
What are you looking forward to doing today or tomorrow or next week or in three weeks? It is not difficult to make plans to do something today or tomorrow or next week or in three weeks. Do you ever make plans to spend time with a friend, go to a zoo or buy a video game? Your grandmaa and grandpaa recently made plans to spend a couple of days in a nearby tourist town called Antigua. Your grandmaa and grandpaa have plans to be with you again in less than three weeks. What are your plans James about going back to school? Are you looking forward to seeing your friends there at the school again? Are you looking forward to the possibility of making new friends at your school? Your birthday James is going to be here again soon. A birthday plan is to get together with family and friends to . . . life on planet Earth can be filled with lots of good times and with lots of good things happening. Your grandmaa and grandpaa really enjoyed their recent downtime in Antigua. Your grandmaa and grandmaa really enjoyed having your Uncle Chris and Aunt Lynn here in Guatemala with them. Your grandmaa and grandpaa also really enjoyed spending time with the young guys and gals on the First Alliance Church short term ministry team who came to Guatemala with your Uncle Chris and Aunt Lynn. Your grandmaa and grandpaa used boats at times to take the short term ministry team to different locations. Some of the young guys and gals on the short term ministry team rode horses one day. The young guys and gals on the short term ministry team spent time with kids – like you, doing things with the kids. The young guys and gals on the short term ministry team had the opportunity to learn about Guatemala. Each young guy and gal on the short term ministry team had the opportunity to meet guys, gals and kids who live in Guatemala. Each young guy and gal on the short term ministry team had the opportunity to see how kids – like you, interact with each other. Each young guy and gal on the short term ministry team had the opportunity to see the difference between the guys, gals and kids who are living in Latin America and the guys and gals who are living in the United States. The guys and gals who are living in the United States plan what they want to do and then they do it. The guys and gals who are living in the United States do what is the most important thing for them do at the time. It is more important for guys and gals who are living in the United States to accomplish goals, to make a lot of money and to have a lot of things than it is to have friends. The guys and gals who are living in Latin American countries – like Guatemala, do what they have to do to stay alive. It is important for guys, gals and kids who are living in Latin America to have relationships with other guys, gals and kids. There is a sense that the guys, gals and kids who are living in Latin America are happier than the guys, gals and kids who are living in the United States. Do you think that having friends makes a guy, gal or kid happier than having a lot of things?
Friends sometimes can be really mean. Just ask Job. Your grandpaa has already written a lot about Job. There are forty-two chapters in Job. Job 17 will be the sixth chapter that your grandpaa will unpack for you. You are going to hear from Job today. Job is into the second chapter of responding to Eliphaz. Eliphaz was one of Job’s supposedly three good friends. Zophar and Bildad were two other allegedly good friends of Job. These three so-called buddies of Job did not show Job much friendship. Do you remember what happened to Job? Job without warning found his life changed. Job had a family, possessions and good health. Satan decided that he wanted to get Job to reject or to deny God. Satan got God’s okay to try to get Job to reject Him or to deny Him. God permitted Satan to afflict Job. Afflict means to make a guy or gal miserable or to cause problems in the life of a guy or gal. Satan made Job very miserable. Satan caused problems in Job’s life. Satan caused Job’s kids to be killed, Job’s possessions to be taken and sores to cover Job’s body. Job went from having one day a very good life to having nothing to live for the next day. You can have your life changed just like Job had his life changed. You can be in an accident. You can become very ill. You can compromise what you have been taught to understand is right. If God allows the enemy to change your life where you can no longer look forward to tomorrow, you need to know what to do. You can learn a lot from how Job managed to make it through the extremely difficult times that he had to experience.
Job knew something which you are not to forget. Job in verse 9 says “Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways, and those with clean hands will grow stronger.” Because Job understood God’s sovereignty and because Job had a personal relationship with God, Job knew that there was hope for him. Job had experienced his happy life ending. Job had his spirit bruised. Job’s friends were not supportive of him – when Job really needed his friends to be friends. Job knew that he was no longer respected by anyone. Job could only cry. Job knew that the plans that he once had were not going to happen now. Job would not be able to do what his heart at one time had been leading him to do. Job was no longer that same guy who he recently had been. Job could only hope that death was very close. Your lives could change just as fast as Job’s life did – from looking forward to happy times to not being able to look forward to anything. Do you know what to do to be prepared for your lives being changed from what they are today? You would be preparing yourself for whatever might happen if you are being intentional about trusting in God. You would not be preparing yourself for whatever might happen if you are being purposeful about accruing wealth, accumulating possessions and pursuing a legacy. You need to always make your plans using God’s leading.
Job 17 (86)