Month: July 2013

In order to turn a person from his actions and suppress his pride. God spares his soul from the Pit, his life from crossing the river of death. Job 33:17-18 HCSB

The Scriptures tell us that “pride comes before destruction” (Proverbs 16:18). There is nothing wrong with being proud of an accomplishment but pride develops when a person has an inflated sense of personal status or accomplishment. Often someone will treat others poorly or speak badly of others in an attempt to make himself look better. Jesus taught that one must be humble and be a servant to others if he truly wants to be great.

Pride is the original sin and is the root for all other sins. When Adam and Eve thought they were better than God and did not have to follow His instructions, they brought sin into the world. In these verses Elihu was telling Job that God uses discipline to suppress the pride of man. God had allowed many disasters to come upon Job but He had spared his life from death and the grave.

Challenge: Evaluate your own life. Do you have a prideful spirit? Do you think you are better than others? Ask God to give you a spirit of humility and to help you to have a servant’s attitude.

In a dream, a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber on their beds. He uncovers their ears at the time and terrifies them with warnings. Job 33:15-16 HCSB

Wikipedia says, “Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a subject of philosophical and religious interest throughout history. Scientist believe that other mammals, birds, and reptiles have dreams. Dreams mainly occur in the rapid-eye-movement (REM) stage of sleep when brain activity is high. Dreams can last for a few seconds, or as long as twenty minutes. The average person has three to five dreams per night.”

Elihu was telling Job that God does speak and answer and often it is through dreams and visions. The Bible records many times that God used dreams to communicate with someone (Abimelech, Jacob, Laban, Daniel, Joseph, Ananias, Peter, and Paul). After the Holy Spirit came there was not as much of a need for dreams and revelations since God could speak to believers through the Holy Spirit. God also speaks to people through His Word, teaching, preaching, friends, family, prayer, and even circumstances.

Challenge: Do not rely on your dreams and visions to give you a direction for the future. Seek God’s wisdom and direction through reading His Word and prayer. Look for ways that God may be trying to communicate with you.

Why do you take Him to court for not answering anything a person asks? For God speaks time and again, but a person may not notice it. Job 33:13-14 HCSB

One of the most frustrating things for me is when I leave a voicemail message for one of my children and do not receive a return call back. In today’s culture, it is often easier to text a request or reply rather than to answer a call at home or at work.

Elihu was responding to Job in these verses. He was asking Job why he was complaining because God had not answered his cry for an answer to why all of the disasters had come into his life. Elihu reminded Job that he was not entitled to question God and to ask God to give an account of His actions. Many times we feel that our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling and God is not answering or doesn’t care what is happening in our lives. Often God is speaking to us in a variety of ways (God’s Word, prayer, His Holy Spirit, friends, and circumstances) but we fail to listen.

Challenge: Take your concerns and requests to the Lord in prayer. Spend time reading God’s Word for wisdom and direction. Know that God hears your prayers but sometimes chooses to answer in a way that you may not like or He chooses to wait and answer your requests later. Be patient and wait on the Lord for His answer.