waiting on God – Be Still…

Job 21:1-34 – A Different Viewpoint

Read Job 21:1-34

Job’s friends talk of the curse of wickedness as a wakeup call to get Job to repent. Job sees it differently. Job sees the wicked living what appear to be abundant lives. His friends want to put Job in the camp of the wicked, assuming that is why he is being punished. Those arguments only lead Job into more confusion.

I agree with Job. When we look around at the godless, wicked people of our day, we don’t see doom and gloom. What do we see? We see successful people, people living without a care in the world. Like Job observes, they think their good fortune is because of their own doing. The wicked don’t know or even acknowledge God. Yet their lives look idyllic. Continue reading “Job 21:1-34 – A Different Viewpoint”

Ezekiel 28:25-26 – Happily Ever After

Read Ezekiel 28:25-26

Amidst all of God’s plans to discipline Israel’s neighbors, Ezekiel inserts these two verses of promise. While the verses don’t seem to fit in with the other messages, the hope they bring is like a breath of fresh air. Ezekiel had to be feeling especially heavy with all these judgment messages he’d been hearing from God.

Hallelujah! There was a light at the end of the tunnel. The judgment of Judah has already come. The reality Ezekiel and his people were living in was captivity in exile. Others had run for the hills ahead of Jerusalem’s fall. What a wonderful message to know God is going to make all things right in the world. Continue reading “Ezekiel 28:25-26 – Happily Ever After”

Mark 13:24-37 – Watch for Him!

Read Mark 13:24-37

The second part of Jesus’ warning points to himself and his return. To the disciples, this must have sounded absurd. Jesus had not yet been taken from them, killed, or raised to life again. But we come at this from a different vantage point. We are the ones waiting to see Jesus coming in the clouds.

Jesus makes it clear that he will not return until after the horrendous things of our last reading take place. Here, we learn more about that rescue mission. “And he will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the world.” What a glorious promise!

December 2 🌟 Waiting (Isaiah 64:1-9)

Read Isaiah 64:1-9

dog looking outside the window as if waiting for someone to return

I got goosebumps just reading the first two verses! As we read through these texts during Advent, I’d like you to do so using the “lens” of Jesus is coming. For us, we are waiting for Jesus to come back. Oh, what a joyous day that will be! The nations will most certainly tremble!

These verses just magnify God’s power yet keep him relatable. He’s not an untouchable God. Sometimes I forget how wonderful it is to have God working for me! “For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!”