Friends and Circumstances

Job 33:19-26

Verse 23  Yet if there is an angel at their side, a messenger, one out of a thousand, sent to tell them how to be upright,

    Yesterday we started talking about some of the ways the Father communicates with us if we are listening.  Dreams, Scripture and the still small voice of the Holy Spirit are not the only ways the Father has for communicating with us.  Some of us need someone in the flesh or something of the flesh to help us hear Him.

    Elihu begins today’s passage talking about how God can speak to us in our ailments.  This was something the young friend was really hoping Job would grasp.  Elihu understood how sometimes God needs to get our attention because we are not listening and needs to allow us to get to the end of our rope so we will look up and focus on Him.

    There are times when we don’t need such drastic attention grabbing from the Father but our circumstances will lead us in the way we need to go if we are paying attention.  We need to be cautious not to follow any option which appears but to see where He could be guiding us with the circumstances which come up in our lives.  Some may just be opportunities but others may be Him speaking to us to go a different direction.  Again, if it isn’t going against His teachings, it may be Him speaking.

    While in Scripture He sent angel messengers to present His message these days He may use a friend or someone else in the Church family to communicate the truth He needs you to hear.  Have you ever had someone say something to you and it spoke to you as boldly as if you had just been smacked by the truth?  That could have been the Father giving you the word He needed you to hear from a source you would listen to.  There is nothing like the truth from a friend to remind you how God wants you to proceed.

    It doesn’t matter how He speaks, it matters how we listen.  It doesn’t matter when He speaks, it matters how quickly we obey.  He only wants good for us.  Job may not have been able to see the full picture but God wasn’t done in his life.

Making It Personal

    When is a time in your life where God spoke through circumstances or a friend?  Did you listen?  Why do you sometimes fail to listen?

Making It Personal Kids

    What kinds of circumstances might Jesus use to guide you?  Would you listen and obey?  What are some things you think Jesus will guide you in?

Closing Prayer

    Father, Your desire to communicate and guide us speaks of the great love You have for us.  Help us learn to love You and show that love through immediate obedience.  In Jesus’ name, amen.