A FRIEND'S COMFORT

A Friend’s Comfort

Read: Job 2:7–13
Bible in a Year: Job 1–2; Acts 7:22–43

No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.—Job 2:13

I read about a mom who was surprised to see her daughter muddy from the waist down when she walked in the door after school. Her daughter explained that a friend had slipped and fallen into a mud puddle. While another classmate ran to get help, the little girl felt sorry for her friend sitting by herself and holding her hurt leg. So, the daughter went over and sat in the mud puddle with her friend until a teacher arrived.

When Job experienced the devastating loss of his children and became afflicted with painful sores on his entire body, his suffering was overwhelming. The Bible tells us that three of his friends wanted to comfort him. When they found Job, “they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was” (Job 2:12-13).

Job’s friends initially showed remarkable understanding. They sensed that Job simply needed someone to sit and mourn with him. The three men will begin to speak in the next few chapters. The irony is that when the friends do begin to speak, they end up giving Job poor advice (16:1-4).

Often the best thing we can do when comforting a hurting friend is to sit with them in their suffering. —Lisa Samra

Heavenly Father, help me to be a good friend to those who are hurting. Thank You that You promise to be near to those who are suffering and provide encouragement through Your Holy Spirit.

A friend’s presence in the midst of suffering provides great comfort.

INSIGHT: Job’s wife’s suffering (except for the painful sores) was just as keen as Job’s. She had lost just as much, and her angry advice to Job is completely understandable: “Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9). Yet even in Job’s response, he “did not sin in what he said” (v. 10). He merely noted that she spoke “like a foolish woman,” implying that he knew her character to be noble. The text also highlights the fact that Job’s friends truly did sympathize with his situation and were there to provide genuine comfort (v. 11). But Job’s wife and his friends couldn’t fathom that he was part of a cosmic battle they didn’t comprehend.

In this life, certain things will remain beyond our understanding. Perhaps someone close to you faces some unanswerable questions. Who might need your quiet presence today? Tim Gustafson

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STAGECOACH PRAYER

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

OUR DAILY BREAD DEVOTIONS

Stagecoach Prayer

Read:  John 15:7-14

Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father

may be glorified in the Son.  John 14:13

Five-year-old Randy wanted a toy stagecoach for Christmas.  While shopping with Mom, he found just the one he wanted.  It was about six inches long and had cool wheels and dark brown plastic horses pulling it.  “Mommy, I want this one.  Pleeeeease!” he begged.  As young children sometimes do, he threw a tantrum, insisting that he get that stagecoach for Christmas.  Mom said, “We’ll see,” and took him home.

Randy was sure he’d get what he asked for.  Christmas morning came, and he opened the package confidently.  Sure enough, it was the stagecoach he had begged for.  He was so pleased.  But then his older brother said,, “You real did a dumb thing to insist on getting that coach.  Mom bought you a much bigger one, but when you begged for that little one, she exchanged it!”  Suddenly the small stagecoach didn’t seem so appealing.

Sometimes we’re like that with God.  We pray about a specific need and tell Him how He ought to answer.  We beg and plead-and God may even give us exactly what we ask for.  But He may have had something better in mind.

Phillips Brooks once said “Pray the largest prayers.  You cannot think a prayer so large that God, in answering it, will not wish you had made it larger”                                                                   AC

Do not presume to know what’s best

When you begin to pray;

But say to God, “Your will be done”

Then trust His perfect way. -Sper

Large asking results in large receiving.

BELONGING

Belonging

Read: Isaiah 44:1–5
Bible in a Year: Esther 9–10; Acts 7:1–21

The Lord who made you and helps you says: “Do not be afraid . . . my chosen one.”—Isaiah 44:2 nlt

I’d been out late the night before, just as I was every Saturday night. Just twenty years old, I was running from God as fast as I could. But suddenly, strangely, I felt compelled to attend the church my dad pastored. I put on my faded jeans, well-worn T-shirt, and unlaced high-tops and drove across town.

I don’t recall the sermon Dad preached that day, but I can’t forget how delighted he was to see me. With his arm over my shoulder, he introduced me to everyone he saw. “This is my son!” he proudly declared. His joy became a picture of God’s love that has stuck with me all these decades.

The imagery of God as loving Father occurs throughout the Bible. In Isaiah 44, the prophet interrupts a series of warnings to proclaim God’s message of family love. “Dear Israel, my chosen one,” he said. “I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children” (vv. 2-3 nlt). Isaiah noted how the response of those descendants would demonstrate family pride. “Some will proudly claim, ‘I belong to the Lord,’” he wrote. “Some will write the Lord’s name on their hands” (v. 5 nlt).

Wayward Israel belonged to God, just as I belonged to my adoptive father. Nothing I could do would ever make him lose his love for me. He gave me a glimpse of our heavenly Father’s love for us. —Tim Gustafson

Heavenly Father, we all come from families that are broken in one way or another. Thank You for loving us in that brokenness and for showing us what real love looks like.

God’s love for us offers us the sense of belonging and identity we all crave.

INSIGHT: In addition to the imagery found in Isaiah 44, we see other examples in Scripture of God as our Father. In the Old Testament, God is called the Father of Israel, not on a personal basis but as a nation. When God delivered the nation from slavery in Egypt, God declared that Israel is His “firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22). Moses reminded the Jews about to enter the Promised Land that Yahweh the Lord is their Father (Deuteronomy 32:6). God Himself said He is “Israel’s father” (Jeremiah 31:9). Because of their sins, Isaiah warned that the nation would go into exile (Isaiah 5:13). Then crying to Yahweh to restore them to the Promised Land, the Israelites said, “Surely you are still our Father!” (63:16 nlt).

In the New Testament, the Christian faith is a love relationship couched in the most basic of all human relationships—a father and child. Those who believe in Jesus are called children of God (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1). The parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-31 is a picture of our loving and forgiving heavenly Father welcoming His wayward children into His arms.

Indeed He is “still our Father!” Have you come home to your Father? K. T. Sim

NOON

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

OUR DAILY BREAD DEVOTIONS

Noon

Read:  Psalm 23

He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me

beside the still waters.  Psalm 23:2

Our office is a busy place where things sometimes feel like they are moving at breakneck speed.  This often involves meeting after meeting, hallway conferences, and an avalanche of e-mail.  

In the midst of this extreme busyness, I sometimes feel the need to escape, to decompress.  My response?  To create a quiet place.  On those days when I have no lunch meeting, I retreat to the quiet of my car.  I grab some lunch and sit in my car, where I can read, listen to music; think, pray-and be refreshed.

I think this is the essence of what the shepherd-psalmist points to in Psalm 23:2.  He sees the Good Shepherd bringing him to “still waters” -that is, waters to rest by.  It pictures a quiet place, a retreat from the pressures of life, where you can rest in the presence of the Shepherd of your heart and be strengthened for what lies ahead.  Even Jesus withdrew to a solitary place to pray and commune with His Father (Mark 1:35).

We all need retreats in our lives, not only because of the overwhelming nature of life, but because of our dependence on the resources of the Master.  In our fast-paced days, it is essential to find a place of solitude, “a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God.”  Where’s yours?                BC

There is a place of quiet rest,

Near to the heart of God,

A place where sin cannot molest,

Near to the heart of God. -McAfee

When we draw near to God our minds are refreshed and our 

strength is renewed!

FELLOWSHIP WITH JESUS

Fellowship with Jesus

Read: Philippians 3:7–14
Bible in a Year: Esther 6–8; Acts 6

I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.—Philippians 3:8

I’ll never forget the time I had the privilege of sitting next to Billy Graham at a dinner. I was honored but also somewhat nervous about what would be appropriate to say. I thought it would be an interesting conversation starter to ask what he loved most about his years of ministry. Then I awkwardly started to suggest possible answers. Was it knowing presidents, kings, and queens? Or preaching the gospel to millions of people around the world?

Before I had finished offering suggestions, Rev. Graham stopped me. Without hesitation he said, “It has been my fellowship with Jesus. To sense His presence, to glean His wisdom, to have Him guide and direct me—that has been my greatest joy.” I was instantly convicted and challenged. Convicted because I’m not sure that his answer would have been my answer, and challenged because I wanted it to be.

That’s what Paul had in mind when he counted his greatest achievements to be of no worth compared to the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8). Think of how rich life would be if Jesus and our fellowship with Him was our highest pursuit. —Joe Stowell

Lord, forgive me for chasing after things that matter far less than my fellowship with You. Thank You that You stand ready to enrich my life with Your presence and power.

To remain faithful where God has placed you, give Christ first place in your heart.

INSIGHT: The apostle Paul’s passion to know Christ and to make Him known to others should guide our lives as well. In Philippians 3:1-14, we see how growing in our knowledge of Christ is mixed with both joy and pain: “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings” (v. 10). Jesus told us, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). As we grow in our relationship with Christ we can expect both joy and suffering.

How has both joy and suffering deepened your fellowship with Christ? Dennis Fisher

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EXISTING OR TRULY LIVING?

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

OUR DAILY BREAD DEVOTIONS

Existing or Truly Living?

Read:  John 10:1-11

I have come that they may have life, and that they may

have it more abundantly.  John 10:10

On a family visits to Disneyland, I pondered the sign over the entrance arch that read, “Welcome to the happiest place on earth.”  The rest of the day I looked at the faces of the people and was impressed by the small number who were actually smiling during their visit to “the happiest place on earth.”  I roamed the park with divided attention-trying to make sure my kids had a good time and wondering why so few adults seemed to be enjoying themselves.

As I think of that day, I am reminded of a line from an old song that says, “Life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone.” So it seems.

To live life to the fullest is qualitatively different than merely existing.  In fact, Jesus said that part of His mission was to enable us to live life to the fullest:  “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).  He came so that we could experience life to the full-not according to the standards of a fallen world, but life as it was intended to be.  It is life according to the designs and desires of the Creator of life.

By coming to provide forgiveness for rebellious, broken people, Jesus has made it possible for us to live a life of joy and hope in a world of despair.       BC

Jesus came to bring us life-

Abundant living full and free;

Trusting Him to save and keep us

Gives us joy the world can see. -Sper

To know God puts a song in your heart

and a smile on your face.

TELLING TIME

Telling Time

Read: Psalm 90:9–17
Bible in a Year: Esther 3–5; Acts 5:22–42

[Make] the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.—Ephesians 5:16

“Westerners have watches. Africans have time.” So said Os Guinness, quoting an African proverb in his book Impossible People. That caused me to ponder the times I have responded to a request with, “I don’t have time.” I thought about the tyranny of the urgent and how schedules and deadlines dominate my life.

Moses prayed in Psalm 90, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (v. 12). And Paul wrote, “Be very careful, then, how you live . . . making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16).

I suspect that Paul and Moses would agree that our wise use of time isn’t just a matter of clock-watching. The situation may call for us to keep a tight schedule—or it may compel us to give someone an extended gift of our time.

We have but a brief moment to make a difference for Christ in our world, and we need to maximize that opportunity. That may mean ignoring our watches and planners for a while as we show Christ’s patient love to those He brings into our lives.

As we live in the strength and grace of the timeless Christ, we impact our time for eternity. —Bill Crowder

Father, You have given us all the time we need to accomplish what You have given us to do. May we use our time in ways that honor You.

For more, read Mary and Martha: Balancing Life’s Priorities.

Time management is not about clock-watching, it’s about making the most of the time we have.

INSIGHT: Psalm 90 is a worshipful conversation Moses has with God. The superscription reads, “A prayer of Moses, the man of God.” But even if we weren’t alerted that this psalm is a prayer, the language and tone clearly indicate the psalmist was talking to God. This prayer was spoken during a rough period in Israel’s history. It appears the people of God had experienced discipline (vv. 7-11, 15), which prompted Moses to talk to God about the brevity and fragility of human life in view of God’s eternal nature (vv. 1-6). The psalm includes many references to time, such as “generations” (v. 1), “years” (vv. 4, 9, 10, 15), “day(s)” (vv. 4, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15), “morning” and “evening” (v. 6).

Indeed, tough times can compel us to talk to the Lord about our brief time on earth and appeal to Him for His help (vv. 12-17). They can also cause us to ask who may need the gift of our time. Arthur Jackson

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