“If I summoned [God] and he answered me, I would not believe that he was listening to my voice. For he crushes me with a tempest and multiplies my wounds without cause; he will not let me get my breath, but fills me with bitterness.” Job 9:16-18 This cry resonates with sad familiarity in my […]
“If you will seek God, and plead with the Almighty for mercy, if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation.” Job 8:5-6 “And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was […]
“What is my strength, that I should wait?… Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?” Job 6:11-12 “I love you, O LORD, my strength.” Psalm 18:1 Hearing Job’s despair, reflecting on all he had lost – his property, his servants, his health, his children – I was drawn to this […]
“Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.” Psalm 32:9-10 “But for me it is good to be near God; […]
“That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17b-19 “God wants to meet you […]
“An oracle concerning Egypt: Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them… And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned […]
“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.” Isaiah 65:17-18 This morning I read […]
“Though he slay me, I will hope in him” Job 13:15a “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.” Job 19:25 “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold” Job 23:10 As I read through […]
“Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the bitter in soul, who long for death, but it comes not, and dig for it more than for hidden treasures” Job 3:20-21 I don’t presume to know every reason why God allows such heartache to reach us…why one’s soul can experience […]
“She said to them, ‘Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty.’” Ruth 1:20-21a There are times in our lives when all we see is what has gone wrong. We only see the loss, […]
In Pleasant Places 