Tag: Bible

More Precious than Gold

But [God] knows the way that I take (the way with me); when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Job 23:10

I thought of this verse before going to bed last night, and I looked it up. Then I was prompted to look at the context of the verse. I’m glad that I did!

At the end of Job Chapter 22 Job’s friend Eliphaz exhorts Job to delight in God as his gold and precious silver. The allusion to these precious metals sets the stage for Job 23:10, where Job states that he will “come forth as gold” after being tried by God.

Eliphaz (in Job 22:24-26) exhorts Job to “place your gold in the dust” – to find his fulfillment in God alone, above precious gold and silver! The neat thing is that the Hebrew for “the Almighty” in Job 22:25-26 means “Shaddai”; Job was exhorted to find his everything in God, to rely on God to be his portion, far above gold and silver.

I recently studied about the Hebrew meaning of “El Shaddai”, a name of God found in Scripture. In this passage of Job the author brings together El Shaddai (our Almighty Provider and Sustainer) with our need as Christians to rely on Him completely as He uses trials in our lives to refine us. We need God in EVERY situation!

At this realization I knew that God saw me in that moment, right where I was, amidst my struggle to keep Him as my everthing.

He is so good!

Father,

Be my portion, my all in all. Help me to lay aside all treasures from this world and to make You my gold and silver. Also, use the trials in my life to refine me and to present me as pure gold – precious in Your sight.

I love You, Abba!

Crystal (from a journal entry on 3/10/22)

Thankful Thursday – God Carries Our Burdens

I’ve been overwhelmed recently.

Overwhelmed by questions that I don’t have answers to and decisions that we need to make as a family. The future seems so unclear and confusing. We ask God for wisdom, but sometimes no direction is forthcoming. And it all gets wrapped up in a big bundle that I feel on my back, weighing me down.

But God doesn’t want that burden on my back. He wants to take it for me.

Matthew 11:28-30 reads, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

I’ve mentioned these verses before in my writing. It’s a promise that is special to me – however, I don’t often do my part by giving my burdens to the Lord and letting Him carry them for me. I can be a control freak, and letting go of those burdens means letting go of control. But I’m learning that we’re not meant to have that control.

It’s just too much! It’s too much. God never intended for us to be weighed down by burdens to the point of anxiety and even negative physical symptoms. He wants us to take His yoke upon us and let Him do all of the hard work – the lifting, the carrying, the controlling. He promises to gently come alongside us and take the weight, and to teach us the way to go. He will give us rest for our souls.

So today I’m grateful for a God who carries our burdens. And I pray that I will continually surrender the weight of my worries to Him, trusting that He’ll take care of me and our family and our future.

He is good, and He deserves my (and our) heartfelt praise. ❤

Photo by Ryan Jacobson on Unsplash