Reading through the Bible in 2020: Notes from the Bible Recap Day 11

Read through the Bible 2020
Bible Recap Day 11 Job 29-31
Personal notes from reading Job 29-31:
Job speaks so beautifully in this passage of Scripture.  His words are poetic and I really feel his heart as he speaks.  Looking at his current situation is so starkly different than his past situation and he just can’t help but look back on how things used to be and wonder, “Why?”.  He thinks back on his life and reflects on the things he did right. He defended the defenseless. He cared for the poor. He loved the unloved. He lived selflessly and with a desire for genuine goodness.  And he just can’t wrap his mind around how his current situation could be a reflection of justice. It doesn’t seem right and for the life of him, he can’t understand. It’s easy to do what Job did. We like to know why things happen.  But sometimes the answer is beyond our own comprehension. When seasons of sadness or sickness or tragedy enter our lives, it’s difficult not to view it as some sort of sentence we’ve been dealt. It’s hard not to look at how unfair life can be.  But the thing we need to keep in mind is that our joy and our relationship with God is not dependent on how fair life is. The reality is that no good comes from comparing our days of trial to our days of triumph. Learn from both. Live in both. Stay steady and close to God in both.  God isn’t farther away when life gets tough, nor is He farther away when we don’t seem to hear Him. Silence doesn't equate to distance. Job seemed to feel that way though and we might tend to feel the same when sorrows and stresses of life creep in. It also does no good to compare your life to others.  It’s hard, but just focus on the plan that God has for your own life and take it as it comes while trusting in God and praising Him in all circumstances.
Notes from the Bible Recap Job 29-31:
Job looked back with his friendship with God with fondness.  I loved when she pointed out in the podcast that knowing about someone is different than having a friendship.  Think about all the people you know something about versus your friends. The relationships are quite different.  There’s an intimacy, an understanding, a deep connection with a friend that isn’t there with someone you just know something about.  A friend is someone you trust. Someone you spend time with. What’s your relationship with God? Do you know something about Him or is He a friend?  
God used Job’s suffering to reveal something about Job’s heart that would not have been made known without this trial.  I think there’s something so valuable about this lesson. Good things happen through struggle. And although I hope that I never have to suffer to the extent that Job did, I know that through every low, God does something good in my heart.  A new perspective. A new appreciation. A new level of intimacy with Him. A greater depth to love. 

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