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Jan. 15th, 2012 09:07 pmGod's Presence in Suffering
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 2:11--13
The book of Job is not only a witness to the dignity of suffering and God's presence in our suffering, but it's also our primary biblical protest against religion that has been reduced to explanations or "answers." Many of the answers that Job's so-called friends give him are technically true. But it is the "technical" part that ruins them. They are answers without personal relationship, intellect without intimacy. The answers are slapped onto Job's ravaged life like labels on a specimen bottle. In response, Job rages against this secularized wisdom that has lost touch with the living realities of God.
The late (and I might add great) Joe Bayly and his wife, Mary Lou, lost three of their children. They lost one son following surgery when he was only eighteen days old. They also lost the second boy at age five because of leukemia. They then lost a third son at eighteen years after a sledding accident, because of complications related to his hemophilia. ( Read more... )
Expressing Grief
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 3:1--26
There are days too dark for the sufferer to see light. That's where Job is as we end this chapter. Unfortunately, his so-called friends will not bring him any relief. Like Job, you may not have seen light for a long time either.
There are experiences too extreme for the hurting to maintain hope. When a person drops so low due to inner pain, it's as if all hope is lost. That's why Job admits his lack of ease, his absence of peace, and his deep unrest. ( Read more... )
Good and Bad Advice
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 3:1--26
Every person reading this chapter has been the recipient of bad advice. You listened as someone gave it to you. You followed the counsel you received and then suffered the consequences. We have all benefited from someone's good advice too. We were unsure and confused, so we reached out to somebody we trusted. We received good counsel, followed the advice, and enjoyed the benefits.
Take for example Proverbs 12:15: "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel." You and I have experienced those very words. We have been foolish, thinking we were right, and along came a parent or teacher, perhaps a friend who talked some sense into our heads, thankfully. As a result we benefited from wise counsel. ( Read more... )
Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 2:11--13
The book of Job is not only a witness to the dignity of suffering and God's presence in our suffering, but it's also our primary biblical protest against religion that has been reduced to explanations or "answers." Many of the answers that Job's so-called friends give him are technically true. But it is the "technical" part that ruins them. They are answers without personal relationship, intellect without intimacy. The answers are slapped onto Job's ravaged life like labels on a specimen bottle. In response, Job rages against this secularized wisdom that has lost touch with the living realities of God.
The late (and I might add great) Joe Bayly and his wife, Mary Lou, lost three of their children. They lost one son following surgery when he was only eighteen days old. They also lost the second boy at age five because of leukemia. They then lost a third son at eighteen years after a sledding accident, because of complications related to his hemophilia. ( Read more... )
Expressing Grief
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 3:1--26
There are days too dark for the sufferer to see light. That's where Job is as we end this chapter. Unfortunately, his so-called friends will not bring him any relief. Like Job, you may not have seen light for a long time either.
There are experiences too extreme for the hurting to maintain hope. When a person drops so low due to inner pain, it's as if all hope is lost. That's why Job admits his lack of ease, his absence of peace, and his deep unrest. ( Read more... )
Good and Bad Advice
by Charles R. Swindoll
Read Job 3:1--26
Every person reading this chapter has been the recipient of bad advice. You listened as someone gave it to you. You followed the counsel you received and then suffered the consequences. We have all benefited from someone's good advice too. We were unsure and confused, so we reached out to somebody we trusted. We received good counsel, followed the advice, and enjoyed the benefits.
Take for example Proverbs 12:15: "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel." You and I have experienced those very words. We have been foolish, thinking we were right, and along came a parent or teacher, perhaps a friend who talked some sense into our heads, thankfully. As a result we benefited from wise counsel. ( Read more... )
Excerpted from Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005). Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.