Chuck Smith :: Verse by Verse Study on Job 38-42 (C2000)

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? tell me, if you have understanding. Who has laid the measures of it, tell me if you know? or who has stretched the line upon it? Where are the foundations fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:1-7)

God is now talking to Job about the creation of the earth, about nature. Pointing out that Job knows so little about nature. "Job, where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? What did I fasten the foundations upon? When the morning stars sang together."

Now, the morning stars, the word star oftentimes refers to the angels. You remember in the book of Revelation, chapter 13, when the dragon was cast out of heaven, he took a third part of the stars with him. Referring to the angels that fell with Satan. Now can you let your mind go back and we see God as He is bringing the earth into existence and the angels, the morning stars, are singing together and all the sons of God are shouting for joy. The sons of God referring again to angels. Now Jesus is referred to as the only begotten Son of God. Special classification. But the angels are referred to as sons of God. In the first chapter of Job the sons of God were presenting themselves to God, and Satan also came with them. In the New Testament, we are referred to as sons of God. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God. It doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know when He shall appear we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (I John 3:2). But Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. What a glorious scene that must have been when God created the earth and the angels, the morning stars, sang together.

Who shut up the sea with the doors, when it broke forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and the thick darkness a swaddlingband for it (Job 38:8-9),

God is talking about the earth now, His creation of the earth. "Who put the bounds for the seas, when I allowed the water to gush forth, as a child out of the womb? When I made the cloud a garment of the earth, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it."

And I broke it up for in my decreed place, I set the bars and doors, and said to the seas, This far you shall come, but no further: and here shall your proud waves be stayed? Have you commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place; That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment. And from the wicked their light is withheld, and the high arm shall be broken. Have you entered into the springs of the sea? or have you walked in the search of the depth? Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death? (Job 38:10-17)

Now go back to verse 2: "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?" God is rebuking Job for talking about things that he doesn't know anything about. "Have the gates of death been opened to you? Have you been beyond them? Do you know what is there?" You see, Job was saying, "Oh, I wish that I were dead, where all is silent, where there is no memory, where there is no thought. Oh, I wish I were in the oblivion of death. Where man is at rest, where everything is at peace." And God said, "Job, have you been there? Have the gates of death been opened to you? You're talking about these things, Job, but you don't know anything about them."

That is why it is wrong to use the scriptures out of Job to try to prove the doctrine of soul sleep. That when a person dies he is in an unconscious state of waiting, that there is no consciousness or awareness or anything else. That is wrong to conclude those doctrines out of the book of Job, which they usually find their proof scriptures in Job or in Ecclesiastes. And when we get to Ecclesiastes, we'll show why it's wrong to use Ecclesiastes for proof text. These were things that Job was saying, but God is rebuking him for saying them.

Have you perceived the breadth of the earth? tell it if you know it all. Where is the way where light dwells? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof (Job 38:18-19),

Where does light dwell? Tell me this: where did the darkness go when they turned on the lights tonight? Where is the darkness hiding? Now it's around here someplace. And it's very close. All we have to do is flip off the lights and it moves right back in. But where is it lurking? I don't know. But God is questioning Job and saying, "Where is the place where light dwells? Where is the place where darkness dwells?"

That you should take it to the bound thereof, that you should know the paths to the house thereof? Do you know it, because thou wast then born? or because the number of thy days is great? Have you entered into the treasures of the snow? or have you seen the treasures of the hail (Job 38:20-22),

Beautiful treasures in every snowflake. Have you seen the pictures of snowflakes magnified? The beautiful geometric designs, and no two of them alike. Talk about a God of variety. You see a snowstorm, I don't know how many flakes of snow fall in a single storm, but it can blanket large areas of the United States. And you take those snowflakes and put them under a microscope and you'll see beautiful treasures of intricate, beautiful, geometric designs. Perfect geometrical patterns, and no two of them alike. Now how did Job know that when this book was written? "Have you entered into the treasures of the snow or the hail?"

But then He says something even more interesting:

Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war? (Job 38:23)

What do you mean you've reserved the snow or ice for the day of war? During World War II, as we were seeking to supply the Allies with Trinitrotoluene (TNT), one of our ships was blown up because TNT is a very volatile type of explosive and, jarred, it'll go off. In fact, that's the way you set off TNT is by putting a dynamite cap in it and the dynamite cap, when it explodes, it sets off the whole Trinitrotoluene. But at any rate, Weissman discovered that by packing TNT in ice, they could transport it safely. After some of the ships and all had been blown to smithereens trying to transport TNT, this Jewish scientist discovered that if they would pack it in ice that that way they could transport it, store it and all without any dangers. Here God declared that He had reserved ice for the day of war and trouble. "I've reserved it for that." Man didn't come to the discovery of God's reservation until 1916 or so, but God had reserved it all that time for the day of battle and war.

By what way is the light parted (Job 38:24),

"How is light divided?" God said. Now, we know that now we can divide light. We have developed the spectroscope and we can actually divide light into compartments. God was speaking about the dividing of light before man ever knew that light could be divided. It can be divided into definite areas through the spectroscope. God is challenging Job about this, thousands of years before we even discovered the spectroscopes.

Who hath divided the watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; or the wilderness, where there is no man; To satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth? (Job 38:25-27)

God said, "Who waters the wilderness, Job, causing the wilderness to bring forth grass and flowers and all?"

Has the rain a father? or who has begotten the drops of dew? Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of the heaven, who hath gendered it? (Job 38:28-29)

How are these things formed, Job?

The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen. Can you bind the sweet influence of the Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Can you bring forth the Mazzaroth in his season? or can you guide Arcturus with his sons? (Job 38:30-32)

The Pleiades is a constellation that is most commonly mistaken by amateur stargazers as the Little Dipper. It is a winter constellation and it comes up just about in the middle of the winter skies. And it's a little cluster of stars that does look something like a dipper, but it is the Pleiades or the Seven Sisters. Now the North Star is actually a part of Little Dipper and the Big Dipper. Of course, the pointer stars always point to the North Star, but it takes a good clear night in the mountains or out in the desert to actually see the Little Dipper, so it is accepted for people to make the mistake and to point at the Pleiades as the Little Dipper, but don't you make that mistake. In the winter constellations, then, of course, you get up early in the morning now and you can see the Pleiades is starting to come up early in the morning as we're moving into the fall equinox. But it is a part of the winter constellations, comes up in the center of the sky, small little cluster, Seven Sisters, the Pleiades.

Now, God said, "Can you bind the sweet influence of the Pleiades?" Astronomers now believe that the Pleiades actually is the center of the gravitational forces in our Milky Way Galaxy. Pretty well accepted now that it is the center of the gravity and the gravitational forces within the Milky Way Galaxy. Here God is telling Job, "Can you bind the sweet influence of the Pleiades?" Hinting actually, to what the astronomers have discovered, that this actually is the center of the gravitational forces in the Milky Way Galaxy.

Then God said, "How about, Job, how would you like the job of guiding Arcturus?" Arcturus is known as the runaway star. Now how did Job know this? It travels at about 125,000 miles per second. Now God said to Job, "How would you like the job of steering that thing through the sky?" Get this steering wheel and this large mass. Arcturus is larger than our sun, guiding that thing at 125,000 miles a second through the sky, dodging these stars and so forth so you don't have a major collision in our universe here. No thanks. You go ahead, God, and You keep Your hand on it.

Do you know the ordinances of the heaven? can you set the dominion thereof in the earth? Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that the abundance of water may cover thee? Can you send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are? (Job 38:33-35)

Can you order the lightning?

Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? or who has given understanding to the heart? (Job 38:36)

Where did you get your knowledge? Where did you get understanding? Where does it come from? Who put it there? Who gave you the capacity? Who put the DNA there? Who created the memory cells? You know, God is just speaking of the marvels of His creation. Pointing to Job the marvels of His creative genius. And surely as David said, "We are fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14), and we live in a marvelous universe.

Who can number the clouds in wisdom? or who can stay the bottles of heaven, When the dust grows into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together? Will you hunt the prey for the lion? or fill the appetite of the young lions, when they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait? Who provides for the raven his food? (Job 38:37-41)

Who is overseeing the universe? Who's taking care of the animals, the ravens?

when the young ones are crying unto God, they wander for the lack of meat (Job 38:41).

Here God saying these little ravens in the nest are squawking, they are actually crying unto Him.

Chapter 39

Do you know the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? can you mark when the hinds calve? Can you number the months that they fulfil? [Do you know how long their pregnancies are?] or do you know the time when they bring forth? They bow themselves, they bring their young ones, and they cast out their sorrows. Can you actually harness a unicorn to plow in your field and to do your work, to bring in your harvest? Did you paint the beautiful wings on the peacocks? or the feathers of the ostrich? And this dumb ostrich that leaves her eggs in the earth, warms them in the dust, and forgets that a foot might crush them, or that the wild beast might break them in. She's hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers: her labor is in vain without fear; Because God has deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding (Job 39:1-3, 10, 12-17).

Now some birds have tremendous instinctive abilities: who put it in the mind of the golden plover to fly from Alaska to the Aleutians Islands in the springtime in order that they might hatch their eggs and raise their babies in Alaska in the springtime? Who put it in the mind of the plover to fly 2,000 miles over uncharted oceans and land up there in the Aleutian Islands? And then after they have their little ones, and as winter is approaching, the little golden plover turns around and flies back to Hawaii. Who guides it? Who's given it its instinctive guidance system that it can fly over the 2,000 miles of ocean nonstop and land by careful navigation there in Hawaii, even though it may be blown by crosswinds of up to 100 miles an hour and be blown off of course, yet find it's way to Hawaii? Well, you say it remembered the way that it came. Well, then who guides the kids who are left behind, who don't take off for Hawaii until two weeks after their parents have left? And they've never been to Hawaii.

God is just saying to Job, "Hey, Job, who has done all of these things? You know, you think you're so smart, go ahead and see how far you can get in doing these things." Now the ostrich, it lays its eggs, it doesn't worry about, you know, someone coming along and stepping on the sand and cracking the egg because God has hid wisdom from it. He's just let it be dumb, not care about the egg, whether it will hatch or not. He's hardened her against her young ones. And yet with some animals, there is very strong mother instincts. Then God talks about the horse with its tremendous strength and the excitement of the horse in battle and so forth. Who created this excitement within the horse?

Does the hawk fly by wisdom, and stretch forth her wings toward the south? Does the eagle mount up at your command, and makes her nest on high? (Job 39:26-27)

Who gave the eagle that instinct to build the nest way up on the cliff? Did you order that?

She dwells and abides on the rocks, upon the crags of the rocks, and in the strong place. And from there she seeks her prey, and her eyes behold very far off. Her young ones also suck up blood: and where the slain are, there is she (Job 39:28-30).

Chapter 40

Moreover the Lord answered Job, and said, Shall he that contends with the Almighty instruct him? (Job 40:1-2)

"Job, are you trying to instruct me?" Isn't that ridiculous? Can you think of anybody trying to instruct God? How foolish! But you're looking at one. How many times I've tried to instruct God. "Now, God, this is the way I see it, and I think You ought to work it out this way." "Lord, why aren't you doing it this way?" I have been so foolish thinking that I can instruct God, and I get upset when He doesn't follow my instructions. That's the dumb part. I seek to instruct God and then get upset when He doesn't follow them. Unfortunately, there are those who are espousing some kind of a doctrine that really deals with instructing God and telling God exactly what to do and when to do it and how to do it and He's got to do it if you instruct Him in the right ways. And they take the power out of God's hands and put it in man's hands of man's destiny. "You control your destiny; it is your confession that controls the destiny." Making the positive confession, that's the control of your destiny. And they take the control of a man's destiny out of God's hands and put it into man's hands, and they are constantly instructing God. That's dangerous.

God said to Job,

Shall he who contends with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproves God, let him answer it. Job answered the LORD, and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? (Job 40:2-4)

God said, "Hey, look, you've been trying to instruct Me, contending with Me, trying to instruct Me. All right, answer Me, Job." Job said, "What can I say? What can I answer, Lord? I am vile. Trying to instruct You, contending with You. God, I am vile."

Once I have spoken; but I'm not going to answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further. Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Gird up your loins like a man: I'm going to demand of thee, declare unto Me. Will you also disannul my judgment? will you condemn me, that you may be righteous? (Job 40:5-8)

Think about this for a moment, because I think quite often we are guilty of this ourselves. Condemning God in seeking to make ourselves righteous. "I don't know how God could do that to me. After all, when I'm so good and I'm so pure and I'm so righteous. Why would God allow that to happen to me? God isn't fair to me. God isn't just. He's allowed it to happen to me." Dangerous.

Have you an arm like God? or can you thunder with a voice like him? Cast abroad the rage of your wrath: and behold everyone that is proud, abase him (Job 40:9, 11)

Now God says, "Here, do this now. Go ahead and,"

Deck yourself with the majesty and excellency; array yourself with glory and beauty. And cast abroad the rage of the angry person: behold everyone that is proud in the earth, abase him. Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together; bind their faces in secret. And then I also will confess to you that your own right hand can save you (Job 40:10-14).

God said, "If you can do these things, then I'll confess to you your right hand can save you. If you can abase every proud person and bring them low and all."

Now God goes and He gives the illustration of the elephant and talks of the elephant, again one of His creatures and of the description of the elephant, its size and its diet and so forth.

Chapter 41

And then in the next chapter God speaks of the leviathan. Now just what the leviathan is, they're not quite sure. Some think that it is perhaps a crocodile, some think that it's perhaps even a dragon, while others think that it perhaps is a hippopotamus with a hefty hide. And so those are some of the opinions. And God said, "Can you catch him with a hook like you catch a fish?"

Can you put a hook in his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn? Will he pray to you? and speak soft words to you? And make a covenant with you? that you might take him as a servant forever? Will you play with him like you would with a bird? or will you bind him for your maidens? Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants? Can you fill his skin with barbed irons? or his head with fish spears? Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more. Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him? None is so fierce that dare to stir him up: who then is able to stand before him? (Job 41:2-10)

And God goes on to speak of leviathan and of his strength and so forth and showing that Job really doesn't have much power over nature. God has created the things of nature and all, and man stands pretty helpless even before nature, how much more before God.

Chapter 42

Then Job answered the LORD, and said, I know that you can do everything, and that no thought can be withheld from thee (Job 42:1-2).

Pretty important: "I know God can do everything." Secondly, "I know that you can't hide a single thought from God."

The Bible says concerning Jesus that He didn't need anyone to come and tell Him of other people because He knew man and He knew what was in man. You can't hide any thoughts from God. The Bible tells us that some day our very thoughts are to be judged, for God is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of a man's heart. We are going to be judged not so much by what we do but by what motivated us to do the things that we did. Now you may be doing many right things but with a wrong motivation. Jesus said, "Take heed to yourself that you do not your righteousness before men to be seen of men" (Matthew 6:1) to be looked upon by men as righteous and holy, and therefore you're doing your deeds in order to get this accolade of man is wrong. God's going to judge the motivation. Our works are to be tried by fire and many of them will be burned like wood, hay and stubble. Those that remain will be rewarded for, but much of our works, done out of wrong motivation, will not endure the testing of fire. God is a searcher of the thoughts, the intents of a man's heart.

So Job says, "Lord, I know that I can't hide any thought from You."

Who is he that hides the counsel without knowledge? therefore I have uttered what I (Job 42:3)

Now Job is confessing.

I have uttered what I did not understand; things that were too wonderful for me, which I did not know (Job 42:3).

I've been talking, Lord, out of my hat. I don't even know what I was talking about.

Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, declare thou unto me. For I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now my eye seeth thee (Job 42:4-5).

And so Job, the discovery of God. "God, I've heard of You. I've been talking about things that I've heard, but now I see. My eye seeth Thee." It's always a glorious day in our lives when God is moved from our heads to our hearts. From just a knowledge to an experience. "I've heard of Thee, God, with my ears. I've heard people talk about You. I've talked about You. But, God, I was talking about things I didn't really know, I didn't really understand, I didn't really see. I've heard about You with the hearing of my ears, but now I really see You." And what a difference it makes when our eyes are open and we actually begin to see God. "Blessed are the pure in heart, they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). And how glorious when our eyes behold, when the spiritual eyes are opened and I really begin to have a real experience with God in my life. And the scriptures are suddenly opened up. A whole new dimension of spiritual life is open to me as I am born again by the Spirit and come into the spiritual dimension. No longer just hearing about God, but now actually seeing, comprehending God. And in the discovery of God there comes the resultant discovery of self.

Wherefore I abhor myself, I repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:6).

Daniel spoke about when God gave to him this revelation when he saw the glory of God in this revelation, he said, "Then was my comeliness turned into ugliness within me" (Daniel 10:8). When Peter saw Jesus, he said, "Depart from me. I am a sinful man" (Luke 5:8). When Isaiah saw the Lord, he said, "Woe is me, I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell amongst people of unclean lips" (Isaiah 6:5). Seeing God gives you the greatest insight on yourself you've ever had. So many times a person is, "Oh, I'm pretty good. I'm, you know... " Once they see God, that's all it takes to bring a man down to his knees begging for mercy, "God be merciful to me, a sinner." When I can see me as God sees me, a sinful, hopeless wretch, no longer looking at myself, deceiving myself, justifying myself, but seeing me as God sees me. But that can't happen until I first see God. "Lord, I've heard of You, now I see You, now I see me. I abhor myself."

And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD turned to his friends, to Eliphaz the Temanite, and he said, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against your two friends: for you have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job has. Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that which ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job (Job 42:7-8).

Now, let me say that God doesn't like you going around saying false things about Him. He doesn't appreciate that at all. Or going around speaking for Him things that He has not said. Now there are many people who are guilty of spreading false concepts about God. God does not look kindly upon that at all. And He told Eliphaz, "You guys haven't been speaking right about Me. Now, you offer, and you ask Job to pray for you. I'm going to listen to him; I won't listen you because you have not spoken things that are true about Me. And so you'd better get Job to pray for you."

So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: and the LORD also accepted Job. And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came there unto him all of his brothers, and all of his sisters (Job 42:9-11),

Where were they, I wonder, when he was in affliction?

and all of they that had been his acquaintance before, and they did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold. So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, a thousand she asses. He had also seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first, Jemima (Job 42:11-14);

Which means "a dove."

and the name of the second was Kezia (Job 42:14);

Which is a sort of a spice.

and the name of the third was Kerenhappuch (Job 42:14).

Which means "a horn of paint." Now I don't know why they would call a girl "a horn of paint."

And in all of the land there were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers. And after this Job lived for a hundred and forty years (Job 42:15-16),

Now if Job indeed was a contemporary to Abraham as is thought, 180 years is not unusual. Abraham lived to be 180 years old. This was actually just about two generations after the flood. And so longevity was still common in those days. And so after this experience, Job lived for another 140 years.

and he saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even to four generations. (Job 42:16)

So he had his great great grandkids all around him.

So Job died, being old and full of days (Job 42:17).

The interesting story of Job. A story that deals with the problems of pain, the problems of suffering. Why do the righteous suffer? Why are the ungodly oftentimes prosperous? And yet, though it deals with the issues, it doesn't come up with any firm answers. Righteous people often suffer, and what we know is we don't know the reason. Good people often experience pain; we don't know the reason. Godly people sometimes die young; we don't know the reason. Righteous people are often sick; we don't know the reason. Sinners are many times prosperous; we don't know the reason. Now because we don't know the reasons, we should not draw false conclusions as Job did. "It doesn't pay to try to live right. It doesn't pay to try to be good, because you're going to get afflicted anyhow." Those were wrong conclusions that Job drew from his experiences.

What we need to realize is that this present suffering is not worthy to be compared with the glory that is going to be revealed in us when Jesus comes for us. So if we do experience hardship or suffering or disappointment, you can't compare it with the glory that God is going to bestow upon us eternally. "For this present suffering, which is but for a moment, worketh an exceeding eternal weight of glory" (II Corinthians 4:17). Now, it is important that we remember that as God deals with us He always has eternity in mind. I always have today and tomorrow in mind. And I am oftentimes concerned with my present comfort, with my present ease, with my present prosperity. God is interested in my eternal comfort, in my eternal prosperity and He's dealing with me over the eternal things, where I am so often only thinking in the time things. But when God is working in your life, He's always got eternity in mind, for He wants you to enjoy the blessings of His kingdom forever.

Now, there may be things right now that are stumbling you and could drag you into the pit. And so God, because He loves you and wants you to be with Him eternally, will oftentimes take away something that could deter you or turn your mind from Him or to deter you from the path that He wants you to walk. And it isn't that God doesn't love you, it isn't that God is angry with you, it isn't that God is actually punishing you. God is looking out for your welfare because He knows so much better than you know about your life and about the world around you and about your weaknesses, and God is trying to shield you and protect you.

I can remember when my boys were small. They were fascinated with my shaving. And I would lather up my face and say, "Ho, ho, ho." You know. And they used to love to watch me shave. And as I would change the blades in the razor, they tried to grab the blade and I slapped their hands. And I said, "No, you can't play with that." "Oh, we want to play with it, Daddy." "No, you can't." "Ohhhhhh, mean Daddy." No, I wasn't mean. I love them. I knew the dangers of their playing with the razorblade; they didn't. It looked like it would be fun to take that and cut things with it. That would be a lot of fun. What they didn't realize is that they would be cutting their fingers, their hands. I knew that. I restrained them.

I think that many times we're yelling at God and angry with God, "Oh, God, I wanted that. Oh, Lord, You know I wanted that." You know, "Why don't You let me play with that?" And God knows that it could hurt you. God knows that it could destroy you. And God is always, always looking at you with the eternity in mind. And He deals with us with eternity in mind and thereby we do not always understand the present inconveniences or deprivations. But God, looking at the eternal, is working in you His eternal purposes. And if you keep that in mind, then you won't be troubled when you see the ungodly prospering, because you know they're going to be cut down in a moment. Then you won't be troubled when you may be going through a hard experience, because you know that God is working in your life in more exceeding, abundant reward in the kingdom. That is why we are told, "Count it all joy when you have these tribulations" (James 1:2). "Oh, praise the Lord, I had the worst tribulation this week!" God's working; He must love me, putting me through the fire. Better that I go through the fire now, better that I be purified now that I might have remaining works rather than to watch all of my works go up in a puff of smoke and enter into heaven by the skin of my teeth. God loves you and God has eternity in His mind and He's dealing with you in light of eternity.

Father, we thank You for Your dealings with us. Forgive us, Lord, for our complaints, for our folly, for the foolish charges that we make against Thee. God, they are done out of the rashness of our own immaturity, our own lack of understanding. Help us to know Thy ways. Lead us in Thy paths. Lord, may we also have eternity in mind. In Jesus' name. Amen.