RG: "Repent and Believe"

Summary: Teanna Sunberg delves into Romans 10, describing Paul's change in thought. Instead of fulfilling Mosaic law to be saved (which no one can do), we are to trust in Jesus that He has saved us, asking for His grace, rest, and protection. 

Response: First, did we really need the "cancel culture har har" filler paragraph? Again, I feel like I'm a bit younger than the target audience here. 

Anyway, I'll admit that Romans can get a bit dense for me. Very back and forth and lots of specific and intermingling concepts. So I appreciate the distillation to a point. In another case of "again," I wonder if this makes newer believers and those exploring the faith using guides like these just feel dumb that they can't decipher an almost purposely-vague thousands-year-old translated text. Lord, help me to continue seeking You, and may You use me to draw others to You in new and exciting ways. 

RG: "Remedy for Sin"

Summary: Launching off Acts 4, Teanna Sunberg describes a "grace that goes before us," the idea that God is preparing hearts even before we witness to them. 

Response: I'm not sure I've heard grace explained in this way, at least not just in passing. It's still in line with lines like "you catch 'em, I'll clean 'em," but the big thrust to witnessing is evident here. 

I'll be honest, I'm not very active in witnessing, at least not outside my home. I try to be a good example for my students, but I can't (and would feel guilty) really speaking on the topic there. But my kids? Happy to share with them how God blesses us and provides for us. 

RG: "Blood on Our Hands"

Summary: Comparing yesterday's Genesis passage to the center of Matthew 27, Teanna Sunberg finds a connection between Abel's spilt blood and Pilate's cleansing of hands. She reminds the reader that we always have a choice regarding grace. 

Response: If that choice were a toggle switch, I'd worry about having worn it out by now. Grace, sin, grace, sin, back and forth... Lord, help me to choose You daily. Help me to remember Your sacrifice and the blessings You have provided. They are more than enough in comparison to the pitiful gain my sin gets me, and the break from You isn't worth it either. 

RG: "Sin Destroys Everything"

Summary: Continuing in Genesis 4, Teanna Sunberg calls out sin as easily recognized. She sees that sin ruins identities and relationships. She implores the reader to seek forgiveness and restoration. 

Response: I appreciate this lesson. I often don't think about the consequences of my sin to other people. Cain's sin made him less of a brother and less of a farmer. My sin damages my reputation as a worship leader and a father. Lord, forgive me and restore me daily if not more; I need Your presence in my life. 

RG: "A Generation of Murder"

Summary: Teanna Sunberg ponders Genesis 4, where the hatred that drove Cain to kill Abel was fermenting long before they gave their offerings. She wonders aloud at all that is missing from the story, and finishes by resting in a bit of hope at the end of the chapter, that people turn to God again. 

Response: I feel like Teanna's essay is more like my reflections than the others in the devotional book: there is less of a central point and more of a desire to show authentic reaction and try to "eat the whole hog," as it were. 

Stepping back a bit, this feels a bit like a true crime show. My wife loves them, and I can't stand how much she watches them. I don't want to be surrounded by that level of death and morbidity all day long. But in this instance, I think I can see this story (and her shows) as a bit of a morality play: how close am I to snapping like Cain did? Remember, self, that you are capable of that, and guard your heart in the Lord, that you never turn out that way. 

RG: "Why Did Christ Die?"

Summary: Through Romans 5, Joseph Heath answers the question fairly quickly: Jesus died to give us hope and a future. Even though the world is upset and despairing, we can choose to get peace and hope from God. 

Response: I've become aware recently of just how jargon-y the faith is sometimes. This passage (just the Bible verse, not even the devotional) uses the following concepts in tandem in about a paragraph's worth: righteousness, faith, peace, grace, glory, hope, love of God, Holy Spirit, sin. That's a lot for someone outside the faith to take in! People have written multiple books on those single words! I don't want to throw those around lightly, y'know?

That part aside, it can be pretty easy to despair. I tend to get in an anxious knot not because of news but because of just how much I have to do. School is crazy busy and so is a home life with multiple kids in activities (and a new dog) (and social events are starting back up) (and the kids are getting old enough to be invited to birthday parties) (and my yard needs taken care of) (and I need to spray my house for spiders) (and I have so much stuff to organize that Marie Kondo would barf). Okay, you get the idea. Lord, help me keep my head above water. Keep me coming back to You for Your peace and hope. 

RG: "New Beginnings"

Summary: Looking through the beginning of the gospel of John, Joseph Heath sees beauty but only in the new but in the reclaimed. God can take something old and worn out and refinish it so it can work again. 

Response: I'm definitely feeling this way, even though this message might be meant for those twice my age. Kids' schedules and backlogs at work and home is stressing me out, getting me anxious, and wishing I had two of me and several more hours in each day. Lord, help me to take care of myself and refresh myself in You that I might do Your will. 

RG: "Boundaries: For Your Protection"

Summary: Summing up the end of Genesis 3, Joseph Heath sees God's barriers as opportunities to find and do His will. 

Response: I've got little to argue about here. I'm a parent! With littles, it is constantly "no" because they constantly make decisions that are rude, messy, and/or dangerous to themselves or someone/thing else. And yes, there's the "let them fail" element and the "let them be kids" element, but when my one year old nears the top of a flight of stairs, we either close the door leading to it or get ready to catch. Because my son completely trusts me and just takes that next step into oblivion. Lord, may I have the faith of a little child, that You will guide me and catch me (and block me when necessary). 

RG: "Remember Whose We Are"

Summary: Recapping John 15, Paul Dazet digs a bit at the contrast between Israel and Jesus. Israel, meant to be the representation of God to the world, is portrayed as a bad vine, which produces sour grapes. Jesus, on the other hand, is shown as a true vine, producing much fruit. Dazet concludes that remaining in Jesus is the way to be part of this good fruit production. 

Response: I know this study is aimed at the already-saved, but goodness. It feels like a pat on the back and not a call to put it the work (again with the wordplay? Ugh) of bearing fruit. Being fruitful is hard! Lots can go wrong, and sometimes it just feels like it's down to circumstance. Which I know is not an attitude of someone trusting the will of an almighty God, but still. There are so many "good" things to do in the world, Lord. Help me to follow Your will, and to figure out what that will is.

RG: "No Shame"

Summary: Through the lens of Genesis 2, Paul Dazet contrasts man's original created and shameless form with the serpent's shaming words. He encourages the reader to live with God and without shame. 

Response: Satan, the First Slut-Shamer? But seriously. Is it a commonly-held belief that literally all the bad thoughts were from the serpent? I've read it that he planted the seed in their heads, and they found creative and interesting ways to destroy their own integrity.

But the main point–about living with God, free of shame–Mr Dazet didn't get into that too much other than "don't feel that way." And some of shame's definition is true! I am flawed, deeply so. I am incredibly unworthy of God's love and acceptance. I guess the main thing would be to embrace that grace instead of just wallowing in the pain of shame (this sounds like a bad 90s preacher, and I'm so sorry, the words just came out that way).

Lord, I recognize I'm far from perfect. Still, You call me Your child. I don't understand it, but thank You. Help me to accept Your grace and find my identity in You and not in my flaws. 

Job 42

Summary: God's questioning of Job is finished. Job confesses he cannot stand up to God's challenges. God forgives Job in a roundabout way; He tells his friends to make sacrifices through Job for blasphemy, but Job doesn't have to do the same. 

So God gives Job his life back. Friends and family come to console him; he gains back his financial standing; and he gets his legacy back, with seven sons and three beautiful daughters. So Job's life on earth ends, full and content. 

Response: I'll admit, it felt a bit abrupt, but good for Job that his suffering lasted no longer than that. As an ancient book and epic poem, it did fine. It's pretty easy to tell that Elihu got grafted on by someone who really wanted to "set things right," as he didn't have to do the sacrifices like the other friends (but also doesn't get mentioned again).

I mean, we also don't hear from Satan again in the story after he sets the plot along. We don't hear about Job's wife and her restoration (along with bearing ten more children, wow). There's no shortage of loose ends, but I guess it can be expected from such an old tale. I'm also sure the rabbinic tradition is full of answers for little questions like mine. 

Alright, but what of the spiritual element of this book? It is in the Bible, after all. Well, I'm glad to have read it and have it shine a mirror on some bad theology. No, God is not the cop behind the billboard just waiting for you to mess up. Yes, God is big enough to take a few questions during suffering. No, not all suffering is punishment for sin. Yes, there is evil in the world, even evil that thrives in the world, due to the unfortunate fallen nature of man and their free will. The world is a messy place; as those that follow God, we are called to navigate it with generosity, forgiveness, and love, especially to those in the middle of suffering. 

Job 41

Summary: God, still speaking to Job, talks about the Leviathan, a giant impenetrable sea creature that He crafted and tamed, saying Job to do the same. 

Response: An entire chapter devoted to this fishy and you can't get me to care about it. What about the relationship between Job and God? I will say that verse 11 pauses the description and God gets a word in edgewise about Himself: "Oh and by the way, who has ever asked me for something like I owe them anything? It's all mine anyway." Lord, help me to trust that what You have for me is worthwhile. Keep me going in the face of adversity. 

Job 40

Summary: God is finished with His first speech to Job. Job responds, more or less that he could not possibly give a good answer. But God then continues, sarcastically inviting Job to His seat of power to dole out justice as he sees fit. He also, again, has Job marvel at His creation.

Response: Okay, the hippo part is neat but it doesn't fit with the main thrust here. The point is pretty clear: there's no way Job (or any person) could take over for God. Lord, keep me humble and help me to praise You for Your greatness. 

Job 39

Summary: God continues to speak, grilling Job on all the intricacies of creation.

Response: It's hard to put myself in Job's shoes here, if not just for ignorantly standing on the shoulders of many scientists who have done this observation. But they (and I) don't make these things happen; it's not by our design that any animal has its behavior. We just get to discover the plan that's already there. 

Lord, my children and my students have a plan from You. Help me to have eyes and ears open to Your plan for them. Help me to know my part in that plan. And help me to be ready to be a part of it. Thank You for the many faithful who were (and are) part of Your plan for me. 

Job 38

Summary: All human speeches finished, God shows up. He immediately asks Job a series of questions about controlling nature, questions for which Job is hopelessly unqualified. 

Response: It is a bit odd to hear God be sarcastic. I'm extremely familiar with the concept that God has a sense of humor, but I guess Job would have seen this as a tool and not a weapon. Lord, help me to know who I speak to so that my words help further Your kingdom. 

Job 37

Summary: Elihu (still speaking to Job) appeals to God's power. He claims that, since we cannot hope to understand or control the natural world like he can, we also cannot hope to speak with God and be spoken to like equals. 

Response: Sidebars on man-made climate crisis aside, grace is what tears this argument down. We are not God's equals, it's true! But He comes down to our level to hear us. And He listens! Lord, thank You for Your amazing gift. 

Job 36

Summary: Job's friend Elihu continues his speeches. In this one, his tact is that God gives out bad things to teach lessons to people and give them a chance to turn their life around from bad choices. Elihu tells Job to accept the punishment and turn away from whatever bad thing he's obviously done. 

Response: Far be it from me to be the "OnLy GoD cAn JuDgE mE" crowd, but it's not like we get a chance to really know everything about a person to be able to condemn properly, right? Okay, a different angle. Teachers work with their students in building relational capacity, basically a fancy name for a rapport. If you know me and I know you and you know I care about you, we can do more together. That's why it's so comforting that God knows you well. It's also why it's so off-putting that Elihu literally steps in and starts judging. Like, c'mon man!

Job 35

Summary: Elihu next goes after Job's claim that God is choosing not to hear his case. Elihu thinks God will not listen to those who turn from Him, especially those who complain about Him. 

Response: Again, I'm not sure I agree! And there definitely is theology that, "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Like, it was okay that we were bad; God still listened and acted for our good. Lord, thank You for Your mercy. 

Job 34

Summary: Elihu continues his speeches against Job. He builds God up as a righteous and impartial ruler. Elihu then accuses Job of denying God those attributes (i.e. Job thinks God is unrighteous and unfair).

Response: I'm... not sure I like Elihu? Not just because he can't seem to shut up, but because he's not being very friendly. Reading ahead, this is apparently "correct" enough that he doesn't get rebuked for what he's saying or how he's saying it, at least not in print. How many have followed his example, rushing in late and landing heavy blows? At least the three friends sat with Job in his suffering before giving bad advice. Lord, help me to invest in lives, that I might be a gentle hand for Your kingdom and not a harsh tool of judgement. 

Job 33

Summary: young new friend Elihu says that he's going to speak now, and speak he does. His main point is that Job can't say that God doesn't answer him because God sends messages in all sorts of ways. He then, again, tells Job he's going to talk more. 

Response: I can see why we don't always go straight through Job. The book is put together in a very old fashioned way! "I am new character, I talk now."

That said, I love Elihu's idea of God just coming back and trying new ways to reach people, to reach me. Lord, help me to listen. 

Job 32

Summary: Job's three friends can't find any more to argue about with him, so they give up. But! Another, younger man, Elihu, has been listening all along and pounces on the chance to speak his mind.

Response: Not unlike Don Quixote, I feel like this chapter gets us going in the direction of the plot but ever so slowly. This guy might be talking for a dozen chapters. "Full of words" indeed. Not to mention a very last minute character addition. 

But! I pray I find wisdom from it anyway. I pray I can gain wisdom from my elders and youngers alike.

Job 31

Summary: [hey buddy!] Our good friend Job finishes his argument by exhausting examples he has in his head of things he could've done wrong. He wracks his brain and lists out sins and consequences. He turns back on his own words frantically as he can't find one that fits this punishment. And, he stops speaking. 

Response: What I think sets Job apart in his questioning of God is that he seems always ready to accept the answer given to him. It isn't "tell me my charge, and I'll fight it tooth and nail;" it's "tell me my charge, so You can make me better." As my wise wife recently told me, "I am not the enemy!" God is not our enemy. We are a team. We work together for a common good. Lord, help me to get with Your program, to seek You and to find You. 

Job 30

Summary: Job continues, contrasting his great old life (rich, powerful, respected, generous) with the lives of those who mock him now (wild, poor, still somehow doing better than him) and his current situation (constant physical pain on top of the spiritual anguish that he feels that God has left him). 

Response: I feel like each run through of his problems is necessary. I don't always feel that way for ancient literature. There were pages of Don Quixote that I just skipped because I didn't want to do sonnets that day. But we see more in Job's character here. There is the slightest hint of entitlement, but no more than you'd normally see in his day. He also has a heap more generosity, and wonders why, similar to a blood bank, he didn't get any back when the tables turned. So I first pray for that kind of generosity, but also the wisdom to know that getting it paid back isn't the point of charity. 

Job 29

Sunday: Job (definitely for real life this time) allows himself to reminisce about his old life, which he describes as caring for those below him and gaining respect of those above him. 

Response: So in this small context, Lord, help me to appreciate how blessed I am, but not regard that blessing as my identity. May I find myself in You. 

Job 28

Summary,: We're talking wisdom. (Who? Hard to say. Either Job thinking out loud or the book's author.) He says that many precious things can be dug out of the ground in ingenious ways, but wisdom can't be found that way. Only God knows where to find wisdom. 

Response: I love the word painting here. Sorry DnDers, apparently you need to stick your points in fortitude instead. Joking aside, Lord, help me to seek You for wisdom above earthly ways. 

Job 27

Summary: Job is on a roll. He lets his friends know that he will not give in and claim he is anything but righteous because he knows what God does with unrighteous people. 

Response: I almost didn't write this down today. Lord, get me on track and keep me on track. 

Job 26

Summary: Job is sarcastic with his friends, calling them oh so helpful. He then shows that he knows just how powerful God is, proclaiming His control of the whole earth.

Response: I'd call this another of the moments where, all authorship aside, there's a bit of humanity here. While his friends can't keep it together, Job gets more determined and passionate. Lord, help me to find some passion for You. 

Job 25

Summary: Bildad, sputtering at this point, throws back to Job some lines from a speech of Eliphaz. It's a really short chapter. 

Response: I like the narrative momentum here, like they're running out of ideas while Job continues undaunted. 

Zacchaeus French translation

For whatever reason, my kiddos have been asking me to sing their lullabies in different languages. It usually takes some googling, but "Zacchaeus but in French" got nothing useful. Still, I have a music degree and took French for a two-semesters-in-eight-weeks intensive course in college (and, most importantly, I know how to Google how to conjugate verbs), so I gave it a shot. A bit of it is wordy, but it'll do for now. Et voila!

Zacchaeus, il fut tres petit

oui, tres petit fut il

il est monté dans l'arbe érable 

donc il pourrait verra le Messie

Mais alors qu'il passe devant

la Sauveur regarda levé 

et il disait, <<Zacchaeus, descendre!

donc j'irai a ton maison aujourd'hui,

donc j'irai a ton maison aujourd'hui!>>

Job 24

Summary: Job continues, wondering aloud why he doesn't see God intervene as wicked men take advantage of the already poor and disadvantaged for their own greed. He puts words in his friends' mouths, "But God gets em in the end, ho ho!" and then dares them to prove his statement wrong. 

Response: Hello, still relevant to the 21st century commentary. Lord, help me to see the needs of Your people and to be Your hand. 

Job 23

Summary: Job's response to friends 3.1 really isn't at Eliphaz at all. Instead, he insists on meeting God. He trusts and follows God and will accept His judgement, but just needs to hear it from the Big Man Himself. 

Response: And, I mean, it doesn't come off as "can I speak to your manager" at all. I wouldn't be surprised if The Good Place's later seasons plucked the "this is wrong, ask around" element of their plot from something like this. Lord, when things don't make sense, help me to return to You. 

Job 22

Summary: Friend speeches part 3.1: Eliphaz tells Job to stop thinking God can't see his sin. He warns that those who go against God in this way are like those caught up and washed away in a great flood. Finally, he tells Job that, if he'd only turn away from whatever sin there was, God would restore him to his status and wealth. 

Response: If there's one thing I feel God talking to me about this book, it's this: most of the time, you are not Job. You are the friends. You judge and mock and talk out of your ear and do more harm than good. Your advice is not as useful as your sympathy. 

Job 21

Summary: Job responds to all three friends, with a fatal flaw in their reasoning: wicked people live great lives all the time and die happy all the time. 

Response: dicaprio_pointing.jpeg

But seriously, we've been circling this idea quite a bit. Good job, Job! (How have I not made this happen yet?) So does that mean we can just leave social justice stuff alone, if it's God's place to judge the wickedly powerful on His own time? I'd say no. The marginalized still need help and recognition, with or without the condemnation of the cruel, privileged and, yes, wicked.

Job 20

Summary: Job's third friend, Zophar, speaks again. He rattles on and on about how the wicked, while rich for a short time, quickly find themselves losing everything and coming to a swift end. 

Response: "Yeah but" is a common saying in our house. My kids and I get cases of the yeahbut all the time. I think it's warranted here, though. It is comforting to think of the wicked as having to literally vomit money away, but that's rarely the case these days. And this is definitely not Job's situation. Lord, am I this friend so quick to condemn on Your behalf? Help me to spread Your mercy, not Your judgement. 

Job 19:13-29

Summary: Job feels abandoned by everyone: his friends and family, those he loves and works with, and even God Himself. But, Job still has faith that, even if he doesn't survive, he can still see God and be at peace with Him at some point. 

Response: I mean, Job treads the line here still. He still wants a resolution, still doesn't want to just curse God and die. Lord, thank You for not giving up on me. 

Job 19:1-12

Summary: Job's turn again. He is tired of his friend beating him down with their words. He finally says it straight: Job feels like God has wronged him. He feels like a besieged town to God's army; like a lost traveler to God's thorn maze; like a vine yanked out of the ground. 

Response: I don't want to be callous here or check boxes, but

- it's okay for Job to feel this way

- God can take it, He is big enough

- we know the end of the story

So it's just the takeaway. If anything, I've felt the opposite from God, that I've been well cared for and that whatever difficulties in life I encounter are either a fallen world or (more likely) my own doing. Lord, help me to rely on You, and to be a help, not a hindrance, to those around me. 

Job 18

Summary: Bildad responds again to Job, claiming that the suffering of the wicked is the way of the world and chastising his friend for wanting to pervert justice to save his own skin. 

Response: He kind of goes at this in reverse, asking Job if he wants to change the rules first and then describing what he thinks the rules actually are. As I've discussed in previous weeks, though, it seems to me that there are just as many cases of wicked people prospering on earth as suffering, much as our TV morals would like us to think. Lord, keep my focus on the needs of those around me. 

Job 17

Summary: Job continues, declaring that

- he wishes he could die

- his friends are no help

- he feels he's still innocent before God

Response: This is more or less the part where I start to look away because it is so brutal. I'm not sure of any fun little nugget of wisdom to find because this man is just so hurt and so exhausted. Lord, give me Your eyes and perseverance in situations like this, even though I'm grateful I don't have to encounter them every day. 

Job 16:18-22

Summary: Job understands that he will probably die soon. He acknowledges that God is a witness to all this suffering, and asks that he at least be remembered and not swept under the rug. 

Response: Lord, who have I left behind in the wake of tragedy? Help me to slow down and be Your hands and feet. 

Job 16:1-17

Summary: Job again responds to his friend Eliphaz, wondering if he would be so callously pious if their places were switched. He quickly returns to speaking directly to and about God; Job puts God less in terms of a romantic pursuit and more like a wild boar chasing hapless prey. 

Response: I have to remember that my experience is not the only one. I do find it charming that God keeps running after me. Someone else might find that creepy, invasive, desperate, or even threatening. And do my words, actions, and attitudes ever reflect Eliphaz and not God and His love? Lord, try me in this. 

Job 15

Summary: Job's first friend Eliphaz pipes back up, accusing Job of tainting religion as a whole. After all, if he goes around questioning God, everyone would do so! He gives many warnings about wicked people, relying on their own ways, that are unable to fend for themselves and meet an untimely end. 

Response: How many times can I use the Relient K line? "But the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair." We don't need to be perfect for God to love us. Whatever we have to say to God, He can take. As our heavenly Father, I believe He's just happy we're talking to Him. Lord, help me to keep communication open with you.

Job 14:7-22

Summary: Job acknowledges that he can't escape his own death, where (as he sees it) there would be some relief from God's judgement.

Response: My mother-in-law tells a story of how, growing up, she would put my now-wife in her own room when she got in trouble, not so the child could stew but do the parent could calm down. Maybe Job is thinking along these lines: God, can You hide me away until You calm down?

Job 14:1-6

Summary: Job continues, this time more directly at God. If mankind has such short lives, he asks, then why fill them with such punishment? Why not let them rest?

Response: Askreddit has this question all the time, "if you could go back in time to when you were younger, knowing all you know now, would you?" And my answer is always an emphatic no. I may regret things, but I'd be terrified of not getting to meet my children again. Like deathly scared of it. Lord, help me to accept the good with the bad, seeing it all as blessing from You. 

Job 13

Summary: Job wonders aloud if his friends are comfortable lying for God's cause, and kindly asks them to stuff it. He then goes for God, claiming that only an innocent man would dare try to approach the Almighty. He wants two things: first, for his affliction to stop; then, for God to come and name his sins.

Response: "Does God need your help?" "Are you really okay with lying for God's cause?" "Would He be happy to see you doing this?" I feel like the first half could easily be slung at today's American church. 

But Job is just about ready for this to be over. The bad news for him is that we're now a quarter of the way in. Lord, reveal to me my weakness, and fill me with Your perseverance. 

Job 12:7-25

Summary: Job, still replying to his third friend Zophar, makes more or less three points: knowledge of God's power (especially, Job claims, the power to destroy) is well known, even to creation; Job, as a person with ears, has a right and duty to discern what he hears as godly advice or not; and that God is capable if not responsible for all kinds of destruction, leaving nothing as too sacred or important that He could not topple. 

Response: It's easy to take a force-of-nature view of God, that stuff just happens and there's no use talking it through with Him. But I wanted to dig into discernment. I think this is Job's strength, that he keeps listening and digging deeper, and hasn't (yet) come to a satisfying conclusion. Lord, help me to search for Your truth for me. 

Job 12:1-6

Summary: Job replies now, to Zophar and the group of friends as a whole. Sarcastically, he lauds them as the pinnacle of wisdom before challenging that he, Job, is not any less capable of reason. He also notes the idea that only the wicked are punished, but points out that wicked people prosper often on earth. 

Response: Lord, grant me platonic wisdom. Help me to know that I do not know much at all. 

Job 11

Summary: Job's third friend, Zophar, speaks up. He hears Job challenge God to court, and wishes God would take him up on that offer. For God, he says, knows if men really are faithful or not, and deals with each accordingly. Therefore, Zophar recommends, Job should pay for forgiveness of whatever secret sin he's obviously holding onto. 

Response: Do I do this? I get a lot of "he said/she said" in my job and have to make some assumptions. If I rely on my instincts, they're usually right, but I don't want a student to feel like they are always in danger of being in trouble just because they've been that way before. Lord, help me to show Your grace and mercy today. 

Job 10:8-22

Summary: Job is trying to reconcile that God lovingly creates him but also seemingly harshly judges and punishes him. He feels trapped, like God is a lion toying with its prey. If life is so short and pointless, he wonders, then why go through the trouble? Why not just go straight from cradle to grave?

Response: Real emotion, check. God handles our biggest questions, check. Dramatic irony, check. Like, what else can I say? Job needs time to get all this out, and it's not like his first two friends have really been any help. I got visibly upset about being late for an appointment yesterday. Do you think I could hold it together for the loss of my earthly possessions, children, and health? No! I'd be a babbling mess. I'm surprised Job can get out the words he can, even the fun Hebrew practice at the end of doubling a word as adjective and noun to emphasize it (the dark darkness). So Lord, thank you for Your patience with me as I blow up over the absolute stupidest things. Give me Your grace, that I can show You to those around me.

Job 10:1-7

Summary: Job continues, planning out loud what he would say to God. He wonders if God really wants to punish him, a decent if not good man, and let wicked people flourish. He asks if God only has human perception and is therefore biased against him somehow. 

Response: Job starts asking "why." It's a big shift. I have to admit that "why" is thrown around with abandon at my house, from "why do I have to try broccoli" to "why can't I run into the street" and beyond. Lord, help me to trust You. Not to look at Job and think I'm any better or wiser, but just to look to You. 

Job 9:25-35

Summary: Job explores other futile possibilities: he can't simply grin and bear the punishment because it is so great; and he can't try to "go to court" to resolve this dispute with God because, not only is God the other party, He is the Judge and Jury as well. 

Response: Again, these are all fair feelings to feel. If anything, I feel like this year in kindergarten has been attuning me to kids' talk, what is just play, and what edges into real and dangerous talk. But more than anything, I've been able to ask students how they feel and it's been on me to be able to handle and accept that genuine feeling. Yep, you are legit mad about that, I get that. Nope, you just like to cry for attention.

Lord, thank You for being big enough for all of my problems and all of my blessings. Help me to continue finding how You've made me in Your image, and help me to embrace that and not fear it.

Job 9:22-24

Summary: Job brings his friends' arguments in for a landing. If God is responsible for carrying out justice in the world, but there seems to be no justice in the world, what does that say about God's ability to dole out justice?

Response: Like Job, I'm doing my best not to blaspheme here. The world is a big place. Our access to information through technology has made it abundantly clear that the world is not peachy keen. There is corruption to unearth, injustice to right, power to speak truth to. I would say that God invites us to join in the work of reclamation. It's hard, especially since we ourselves aren't perfect, but worth it. Lord, help me see Your hope past a hopeless world.

Job 9:14-21

Summary: Job lays out his predictions on any possible argument with God. How could he hope to get a word in against the Almighty? What good is it for him, a speck, to go against the Lord of everything? Yet he knows he is innocent.

Response: It would feel like an impossible position. Job knows he did no wrong, but has nowhere to lodge a complaint without actually doing wrong. God, I know You really do listen to me. Which is incredible, because I know my stuff is really not that important in the grand scheme of things. I sometimes feel like Job, that I shouldn't even bother You with it. But Lord, help me to continue seeking You. 

Job 9:1-13

Summary: Job, responding to Bildad, attempts to put things in perspective: God up there, me way down here. Who can tell God what to do with His creation? If He wants to undo any of it, that's His call. He could do it without a second thought. 

Response: Again, we have reference to literal Genesis creation parts: dark, light, sun, moon, stars; land, ocean. I just think that's a really cool way to think about it, that God used these specific things and Job talks about God in those specific terms. I mean, I know God is unlimited in power, but I personally feel I can understand it more when I can point to specifics. Lord, help me continue studying Your word, that I can fall back on it when I need You. 

Job 8

Summary: It is the turn of Job's second friend, Bildad. He claims that Job's family was sinning, which is why God killed them, and that Job ought to repent or he'd be killed off, too. After all, he says, God's justice is not unjust; He would not let evil go unpunished, and he certainly would make sure good people are rewarded. 

Response: (Woah, a whole chapter? I can do that?) I know I can let Job tear this apart next chapter, but my word this is savage. "Your dead and not even buried adult children deserved to die because you didn't raise them right enough to not sin." "Your suffering is just because you're not good enough for God to love you." Like how unfeeling do you have to be? And how often have I been that callous? Lord, try me in this. 

Job 7:17-21

Summary: Job asks God some tough questions. Why do you have to watch me all the time? What harm do I do to you if I sin? And if I'm this much trouble to you, can't you just let this pass, one way or another?

Response: One of the most powerful tactics in reprimanding a child (one I have yet to use on mine) is waiting before a talk or defining punishment. The wait is so hard! Can't you just get it over with already! I feel for Job here, not that the losing kids and physical ailment weren't enough already. 

Again, what I see in here is poetry, yes (a lot of saying things twice to get a fuller picture and make things easier to memorize is pretty much the foundation of Jewish poetry), but it describes a very human condition. Lord, help me to open myself up to You. I'm not so perfect that I don't need to show You my fragility. 

Job 7:11-16

Summary: Job turns his ire from his friends and into God. He says he won't hold back, though it seems God restrains him; he wants to rest, but terrible dreams wake him. He feels done with his life, and would prefer to simply die. 

Response: I know, super chipper. But we're not pulling punches here. This isn't the God of dry white toast. If He is God of everything, He can take anything anyone can throw at Him. At the same time, I probably can't toe that line as well as Job. How often do I look on my troubles and blame God? Lord, "may the bones you crushed rejoice."

Job 7:1-10

Summary: Job comments on his experience of life in general. He feels he has had to work hard, expecting rest that never seems to come. The sum total of that work seems to be nothing, vanishing into the ether as soon as it's done. 

Response: On the one hand, it is good to have a slight perspective in this fashion (though this may be a light Puritan work ethic brainwashing still left over in my head): no, love can't all be a bed of roses; and yes, our individual lives are pretty tiny and insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Lord, I still know here in my quiet time that You care for me; help me to remember that (and remember that You love each person I come into contact with today just as much) as I go through my day. 

Job 6:22-30

Summary: Job goes sarcasm mode and asks his friends if he has ever asked them to share the wealth or pay for his security detail. If they had something worth teaching, he says, I'd shut up. But, he notes, he hasn't done anything wrong!

Response: "Look at me!" This part would make a great film scene, or at least for the stage. Job is covered in boils and in embarrassing mourning gear. What does he have to gain by this being false? Lord, help me to believe those who are suffering and be Your light to them. 

Job 6:14-21

Summary: Job compares his friends and their support to a river that dries up, that he should expect what is clearly not there. The empathy due him is withheld, he believes, because they fear God will judge them too. 

Response: Am I this fairweather friend? I mean, yes, I know I am awful about keeping in touch, pandemic aside. But I hope I can work on being un-busy enough to make room and time and space for the needs of others. 

Job 6:8-13

Summary: Job wonders aloud if God is somehow restrained in not killing him yet, and wishes He weren't; he knows he isn't strong enough to hear his situation on his own. 

Response: I almost feel like the stereotypical loud person in a movie theater: "but God is not doing this to you! He's the only One to give you this strength to get through it!" Of course, I have extra hindsight and all that. Lord, help me to reach for You in all circumstances. 

Job 6:5-7

Summary: Job continues. Why would I make such a cry, he argues, if there wasn't something really wrong?

Response: (short one today) Working with kindergartners this year has definitely been an eye opener regarding perspective. They will wail at any inconvenience, but seldom for no reason. And God hears our cries, even when they turn out to be nothing. You have to trust me, He does. 

Job 6:1-5

Summary: Job responds to his friend Eliphaz. He begins by ascribing his unhinged talk to his immeasurable grief (sorry, that was a lot of big words. Job talked bad because he feels really bad). But he says that, even with how bad he feels, it can't compare to how much bad stuff has happened to him. He feels like God is an overpowering army.

Response: I mean, usually I feel like my misfortune is very much only my fault, but I can understand the feeling. I know Job is setting this up for more, but I do like stopping here and acknowledging that yes, you can serve God and feel pretty bad. 

[obligatory: if you have clinical depression, that is your brain needing chemicals from medication to get you functioning. That is also okay, and you should not stop taking prescriptions thinking God will take them for you. He put psychiatrists and pharmacists on this earth for His purposes too!]

Job 5:8-27

Summary: Eliphaz gets to his main point: if Job would accept that he has wronged God and submit to punishment, God would then raise him back up with just as much protection as before.

Response: The problem here is that, though Eliphaz speaks the truth, he isn't correctly applying that truth to Job, much less doing so with any sympathy. At one point he tells him his kids will be numerous, after his adult children were snuffed out all at once. Like dude read the room!

Am I like this? Do I try to "spread God's truth" with callous disregard for my brother's humanity? Lord, try me in this, and help me to grow more into who You would have me be. 

Job 5:1-7

Summary: Eliphaz continues: you can't appeal to heaven, he tells his friend Job, because that only shows how foolish and sinful you are. 

Response: Now I think I've got around his argument, though he will probably speak a bit longer. There is a difference, I think, between "all have fallen short" and "you specifically must have done something to anger God so fess up." Not that either of them had any way of knowing, but this wasn't Job's fault!

Lord, help me to persevere. Life can be difficult, but help me to rely on You, not to blame You for it.

Job 4:12-21

Summary: Job's friends Eliphaz continues, describing a scary vision. His dream stated that no human is able to match God's standard of righteousness, that people die without reason or a chance to gain wisdom. 

Response: I can see why this would be scary. I'm not sure how this helps Job? Hey man, I know your life sucks right now, just know that God thinks you're not good enough and life is meaningless. That makes you feel better, right?

And at the same time, we're getting more truth. Our works can't save us, and so many choose not to seek out God. Lord, help me to know truth but not get bogged down by just how far I am from it. Help me instead to keep running after it, pursuing You as You pursue me. 

Job 4:1-11

Summary: Job having had his say, next his friend Eliphaz speaks up. He has seen how Job has helped others and is now in need of help himself. Eliphaz posits that only wicked people perish at God's hand, and that Job should rest on the laurels of his good deeds. 

Response: Our glut of news might have many detriments, but one good aspect is knowing for sure that there is much injustice in this world, from rulers that have no right or tact for doing so to countless people trampled on by the rich and powerful. What innocent perished, Eliphaz, and what uprightness is destroyed? It numbers among the millions, every day. 

This is not how it "should" be, of course, but this is where God's people come in. It is our duty to offer help, peace, justice, even grace--to be God in the world. Not through legislation, but through action. Even just in our homes, but hopefully stretching out into the world too. 

Job 3:20-26

Summary: Job continues; fine, if the day I was born had to exist and I could not be stillborn, why can't I just die now? Why should God give life to any suffering? Job says his pain is so great that he cannot eat or rest. 

Response: Welcome to theodicy, the problem of evil, or "why does an all-powerful and loving God allow suffering?" That question "why" is the most tempting. What's lost rarely if ever seems worth what's gained. Lord, help me to trust You in all circumstances. 

Job 3:11-19

Summary: Job, continuing his wish to not be where he is, wishes aloud he were stillborn. In death, he thinks, is rest and peace away from life, which he sees only as torment. 

Response: "There was going to be a 'but'..."

"You're a butt!"

Years ago I looked at Psalms this way. I hated the ones about warfare. But I was taught of a kind of beauty in the way David is so very honest with God, that no emotion was too strong. I have to remind myself of that here. Job does not want to do subtlety and subtext. The man hurts! He did everything right and lost everything and everyone and now even his body is rebelling against him. It is reasonable to look at all of that as a torture, as a big practical joke played on poor Job! That's natural! Lord, if nothing else, help me to explore and show my true feelings to You. You know it all anyway; no sense in hiding it. 

Job 3:1-10

Summary: Having suffered material loss, the loss of his children, and now severe personal physical pain, and after mourning silently for a week, Job speaks up, cursing the days he was conceived and born for letting him come into the world and experience this pain.

Response: So first off, I think it's kind of neat how he goes about this. Job wants God to undo making the day, so he unchecks each box of creation. Let there be light? Make it dark. Moon and stars? Take 'em out, make this day literally not count. Separate land from sea (which may have had a leviathan fight in it at one point)? Bring that big fishy back into play for a night. Also, the writers really didn't like having the word "curse" written down, so they wrote "blessing" and figured the reader would understand the sarcasm. The sarcasm filter has been needed since the beginning of literature!

But yeah, other than it being Ash Wednesday, kind of a downer. I guess what I can say is that it's okay and even natural to have these feelings, at least in the sense that you don't have to ignore them or bottle them up. Job gets them out in the open to deal with them, which is more than we can say about a lot of our feelings. And God is big enough to accept these "blessings" all the same. 

Job 2:11-13

Summary: Three of Job's friends come, intending to help him along with his grief. But they see him from a distance, and he looks nothing like their friend. They join in serious mourning, and sit in silence with their friend for a full week. 

Response: Sometimes I feel like our world goes too fast to properly grieve. The most recent death in our family was our fifteen-or-so-year-old cat, a true family member. We grieved as we put her to sleep, but had to be "better" in front of the kids in an hour or so. Job and friends ripped up the cloaks everyone always saw them in; Job himself shaved his head, which was unheard of. It's as if to say, the people I lost were my life; I cannot go back to being the same person without them. Which is poignant and touching. And God is with us as we grieve. Lord, help me to realize You are here with me through everything. 

Job 2:7-10

Summary: Satan does as promised, putting a disease on Job's skin that gave him boils from head to toe, itchy lesions that needed painfully scraped so as not to get worse. Job's wife tells him to end his suffering by cursing God and dying. Job replies that he should accept all that God gives, whether it seems good to him or not. 

Response: Many, many people have argued over the guilt of Job's wife (she's fine, just doesn't want to see her husband suffer and is mourning the death of all her children at once) and over 'can God do evil' (Satan did it anyway, I hear you cry, but of course Job has no way of knowing that). But through all of this, Job has no "rebel sigh" (at least not yet). Lord, give me your peace, grace, and strength to smile through the day so that Your love is known to others. 

Job 2:1-6

Summary: Having taken Job's early possessions (therefore his social standing and legacy), Satan returns to God's presence only to hear God tell again of Job's perseverance. Satan (at least outwardly) shakes this off, giving another oath that Job would surely curse God if he suffered bodily harm. God offers Job to Satan, but on the condition that Satan now protects Job's life from ending. 

Response: Something something "move the goalposts." Both entities seem to keep their cool, but I love how God plays shrewd back, twisting Satan's words to fit His purposes. God,I know You have good planned for me even if it doesn't look it at the moment. Help me to trust You. 

Job 1:13-22

Summary: Satan gets to work. Through a series of messengers, Job hears of several calamities: his livestock are all captured, his servants are slain and, in what can only seem to him to be divine judgement, his sons and daughters are killed when the house they are in collapses. Job mourns, but does not sin in cursing God. 

Response: Now I know I probably would've failed this test. I would've at least asked God why a few hundred times by that point. Even in this earliest of stories, could this be the Holy Spirit propping Job up? I mean, I'm just dumbstruck by this effort. Lord, help me to trust you even half as much as this man. 

Job 1:6-12

Summary: Meanwhile, back at the ra- I mean, meanwhile, God holds an audience with other heavenly beings. Satan, an accuser, steps up, announcing he's been eagerly investigating Earth. God brings Job to mind, repeating the narrator's superlatives. Satan promises, under oath, that if Job were to lose all of his stuff, he would surely curse God to His face. God takes him up on this bet, giving Satan permission to take all of Job's things but not harm him directly. Satisfied for now, Satan is granted leave from God's presence and gets to work on his plan. 

Response: We're somewhere between courtroom drama and royal court intrigue here but, either way, the message is clear: God is the One calling the shots. Satan only acts within the limits God grants him. The accuser tries to weasel and connive his way to bits of power, but God here shows His wisdom. Also, I like how God shows off Job like a proud parent with a million pictures on His phone.

Quick aside, I have read a copypasta that, as you read the Bible often and put it into practice, you weaken Satan's power. If anything, this seems to imply the opposite. 

As you're opening the Bible, Satan's ears prick up. 

Turning its pages, he begins his investigation. 

As you study, he perfects plans and machinations. 

As breakthroughs happen, he mobilizes his prosecution. 

But!

You are not alone. 

Yes, Satan does gear up when you take the Bible seriously. The only reason it looks like he flees is not for you, little Mouse, but for the great God standing at your back. Yes, this is a Gruffalo reference. 

Job 1:1-5

Summary: Job is a pretty good dude. He is very blessed, with land and means and possessions and family and peace. Well, lack of war anyway. His seven sons have a habit of hosting parties, each one in turn, every day of the week, after which he purifies them before God just in case they sinned.

Response: Like any good teacher, Job didn't wait for trouble to respond to but prepared for trouble even if things looked okay. Not that he was prepared for what happened next (yes, I've read this before, hush), but that was better than a what a lot of early OT fathers seemed to do, finding their children in all sorts of messes. God, help me to watch for my kids. Help me to rejoice in my blessings while I have them, and to praise You for them.