{"id":7890,"date":"2020-02-24T20:00:03","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T03:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=7890"},"modified":"2020-02-25T01:00:51","modified_gmt":"2020-02-25T08:00:51","slug":"job33_19-33","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/job33_19-33\/","title":{"rendered":"God\u2019s Purpose in Your Pain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Job 33:19-33 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Job 33:19-33.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Job 33:19-26 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in his bones,
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0so that his very being finds food repulsive and his soul loathes the choicest meal.
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his bones, once hidden, now stick out.
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0His soul draws near to the pit, and his life to the messengers of death.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Yet if there is an angel on his side as a mediator, one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him,
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0to be gracious to him and say, ‘Spare him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for him’–
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0then his flesh is renewed like a child’s; it is restored as in the days of his youth.
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He prays to God and finds favor with him, he sees God’s face and shouts for joy; he is restored by God to his righteous state.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 19-26:\u00a0\u00a0Just before these verses Elihu describes one way that God can speak to us: through supernatural means like a vision or a dream (v15-16).\u00a0\u00a0Earlier in chapter 32 we learned that another way that God speaks to us: through godly people.\u00a0\u00a0But visions, dreams and godly people are not the only channels by which God tries to get our attention.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As Elihu says, \u201cFor God does speak \u2013 now one way, now another \u2013 though man may not perceive it.\u201d (v14).\u00a0\u00a0Here<\/strong>\u00a0in these verses Elihu describes<\/strong>\u00a0another very important way that God speaks: through our pain and difficult circumstances.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

To illustrate this truth, Elihu paints the picture of a man who is sick, in great pain and nearing death (verses 19-22), just as Job is.\u00a0\u00a0But then Elihu says these crucial words:<\/p>\n

23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Yet if there is an angel on his side as a mediator, one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him,\u00a024\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0to be gracious to him and say, ‘Spare him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for him’–\u00a025\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0then his flesh is renewed like a child’s; it is restored as in the days of his youth.\u00a026\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He prays to God and finds favor with him, he sees God’s face and shouts for joy; he is restored by God to his righteous state.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I believe\u00a0this angel, this mediator, is one of the clearest and most beautiful pictures of Jesus<\/strong>\u00a0we will find in the book of Job.\u00a0\u00a0Just like the angel that Elihu describes:<\/p>\n