Key Verses: Job 7:17, 8:21
What is man, that You should exalt him, that You should set Your heart on him?…He will yet fill your mouth with laughing, and your lips with rejoicing!

Job asks a great question. What is man? Jesus answered that question. Mankind is the object of God’s love (John 3:14-17). Jesus changed many things that Job and his friends believed. For example, Job said, “He who goes down to the grave does not come up” (Job 7:9b). But Jesus did come up! His grave is empty! (John 11:17-26).

Bildad correctly predicts God’s ultimate plan for Job: (1) Eventual prosperity. (2) The joy of God’s way. (3) Laughing. (4) A confession that brings rejoicing! (Romans 10:8-13). As I’ve written often here in the blog, “Jesus changes everything!”

PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, I pray for the grace to look beyond my present circumstances to Your long-range plans for me. Thank You for the fact that I am loved by You and that You are mindful of me. May I not live, as has often been said, “under the circumstances,” but may I live “over and above.” In the Name of the One who has overcome even death itself, the Lord Jesus, Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I confess every day that I am an “overcomer.” In the last book of the New Testament, Revelation 12:11, we are told that, “They overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.” Job and Bildad did not have the written Scriptures in order to know absolute truth, but we are able to compare Scripture with Scripture. I’ve learned through the years that I must diligently study in order to, as the Apostle Paul taught a young pastor/teacher, Timothy, be “diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

I had a great example from my Dad. Mother died when I was 12 and Dad and I were left to carry on. He would have the porridge on the stove when he called me to get up for school, and when I arrived in the kitchen, he would have his Bible open on the table, ready to read to me, and then we would kneel and he would pray for me for the day ahead. Only then would he serve the porridge for our breakfast. A child never forgets such consistency. To this day, my number one priority is reading God’s Word and then praying for the day ahead. I’m overcome with emotion just now as I type this and think of the heritage I was given.

Yours for consistently reading God’s Word and for praying with our loved ones,

David