Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

 1 Corinthians 7

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! Romans 11:33

As I continue to ponder what to study next, my Bible study this morning once again leans on DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, which today draws on history to describe how Abraham Lincoln leaned into God, despite likely earlier skepticism, during a time of both personal and professional anguish.  John Piper shares how after the passing of his 11-year old son Willie, "Lincoln turned to Phineas Gurley, pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington."  Piper also highlights how the Civil War raged at the same time, and that Lincoln - as president, sought solace from from Willie's passing and the unimaginable death and destruction that accompanied the war, which in many instances was fought within earshot of the White House.  Other sources point to how Lincoln turned towards God during this time.  Piper records Lincoln's turn towards God by noting: [t]he horrors of the dead and wounded soldiers assaulted him daily. There were fifty hospitals for the wounded in Washington. The rotunda of the Capitol held two thousand cots for wounded soldiers. Typically, fifty soldiers a day died in these temporary hospitals. All of this drove Lincoln deeper into the providence of God. 'We cannot but believe, that He who made the world still governs it.'"  Piper points to one additional source where we see a more mature Lincoln faith - as demonstrated in his second inaugural address - as he notes that God is not "a simple supporter for the Union or Confederate cause. God has his own purposes and does not excuse sin on either side."  Piper concludes the devotion by praying for readers that for those of us "who suffer loss and injury and great sorrow that it will awaken for you, as it did for Lincoln, not an empty fatalism, but a deeper reliance on the infinite wisdom and love of God’s inscrutable providence."

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My Prayer:  Lord Jesus, Your riches and wisdom and knowledge are great and Your justice is perfect - Your mercies are new every morning and they never cease....amazing that You love me, saved me and never leave or forsake me.  Thank You Jesus I am not deserving of such love and blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

John 10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10

This morning, my focus is DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, where John Piper seeks for believers to prepare our hearts for Christmas.  Today's Solid Joys daily devotion marks day 15 of Advent, and today John Piper explores how the Christmas season finds many grieving over loss, and this season, our family is grieving over the loss the Marit, our dear niece who within days of turning 15 died of brain cancer.  During these seasons of loss, John Piper encourages us to not be bitter, or to mask our feelings of loss, as he correctly shares that it is when we allow ourselves to feel loss and submit to circumstances orchestrated by God, this is when we will experience God's love and see Him at work. Piper writes: "[w]hat is love for, if not to intensify our affections — both in life and death?"  This is life in abundance now.  We are also encouraged to look forward to Heaven where we are not only reunited with our loved ones who believed.  Rejoice in abundance now and forever!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a good, good father - who is with us during difficult seasons and good seasons...and You save a placed in Heaven for us.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You provide such abundant life.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised....Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?

Job 1-3

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised....Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? Job 1:21, 2:10

Day 251 of my chronological study of the Bible with The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®) (available by purchase through Amazon - author F. LaGard Smith) continues as I start a study of Job. My commentary* starts by exploring how those during the time of the exile are likely to be asking "how can they believe in a God who would allow such suffering? On the other hand, how can they curse God in times of adversity when he has previously brought such prosperity? Is their faith to be contingent upon economic well-being? The ones who must be the most perplexed, however, are the faithful ones who never understood their personal involvement in the first place."

*Smith, F. LaGard. The Daily Bible® - In Chronological Order (NIV®). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition. 

My commentary* describes Job as an appropriate character study of suffering as "Job apparently struggled with the reasons for his adversity before coming to peace about it."

The first three chapters of Job describe his prosperity and righteousness, how God allows Satan to test Job, and we see all of Job's children and belongings taken from him.  We also see Job covered from head to toe with painful sores.  Yet Job does not curse God - even though his wife urges him to (see Job 2:9).  Instead his response is instructive for us all.

Humility is a key attribute to demonstrate during suffering as we must recognize, as Job does, that all that we experience is from God so that if He takes it away, it wasn't ours to begin with. 

Every good and perfect gift is from above[.] James 1:17 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who has provided everything to me and most importantly You saved me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such a gift as my sin continues. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.

Psalm 66

You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance. v12

God either allows or creates circumstances in our lives - good or bad.  God is in control.  Yes, we have free will but nothing is hidden from God and there are consequences for our sin.  Yet, "in all things God works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28)".

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17

For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Luke 8:17

We must see all of our circumstances as for God's glory and our good.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

My Prayer:  Lord, You are an awesome God, full of love and compassion for all of Your children...all of the time.  You create goodness and abundance in our lives daily...throughout the day and we are often not paying attention or distracted by the world.  You tell us not to conform to the patterns of this world yet too often we do.  Forgive me Jesus for falling prey to such temptations.  I worry, I am impatient, I get angry, I am full of pride and arrogance....help me turn from such sin and turn towards You Jesus.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure Lisa, Zach and Dustin and help me serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.