Ladies Bible Study Saturday, July 9th

by | Jul 9, 2011

Job 6:14

He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

 Poor Job lost almost everything and along came his “wonderful and godly” friends.  It really looks as though they were probably jealous of the blessings of God Job had been living with so this seemed like the perfect time to pick on him.  They were not really there to comfort and help Job and encourage him in the Lord, they were there to “twist the knife”. 

Satan knew that he could use Job’s jealous friends to “kick him while he was down”.  They would add insult to injury by trying to prove that there had to be some major sin in Job’s life for all of that to happen to him.  It’s like they were hoping to find something wrong with him so they could justify themselves.

Have you ever been in that place where it isn’t that your heart isn’t right with God but one thing after the next seems to keep happening until you have other people accusing you of having sin in your life or sometimes they will just accuse you of not “doing” enough – you aren’t in church 4 times a week or you aren’t serving enough and the list can go on and on telling you that your performance is what will allow you to have favor with God.  I know from experience that it happens a lot when you are a single Mom and it can happen when you are doing ministry, no matter who you are it can happen to you.  For some reason if things aren’t working in your life for a season instead of others jumping in to help get you through they can often make the season seem like an eternity by questioning your spirituality – “what have you done wrong to bring this on”?  Of course there are times when we all pay the consequences for our poor choices and sin in our lives but every time something goes wrong it doesn’t mean we are suffering from the wrath of God on our lives, sometimes it is just a season for growing, not punishment. If you are in a season like this just ask God what type of season it is and what can you learn from this experience.

Have you ever seen that TV show titled “What Would You Do?”  It is a show where they put actors in different situations and they video tape the people around them to see what their reactions are and to see if they will get involved or just watch the injustice.  Well, how about you; what would you do if you see someone who is struggling what path will you choose?  Will you encourage them in the Lord or will you hold Satan’s hand to “kick them while they are down” to somehow make yourself feel more spiritual?  If you are truly walking with God you won’t feel a need for someone else to be down for you to feel up spiritually.  Take the time to examine your heart to see if you are on track to love someone out of their hurt and if there’s any doubt just ask God to give you His heart for other people especially when they are down.

Quote:  “Graciousness is more than good manners.  It is more that courtesy.  It is the etiquette of the soul.  True graciousness has such a divine quality we feel it is something that comes through us and not from us.”  Fred Smith

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