Moments of Quiet Truth

     I started a study on the book of Job. The Lord has brought me through some pretty deep and scary waters of late and I needed to find hope in the midst of them. He gave me that word - hope - and has encouraged me with it since I passed through the torrent and came out on the other side.      Hope. It's not something one would expect to find very much of in a book like Job, but as I traced its footsteps though the Old Testament I was amazed at how often it showed up in that book.      I'm planning on placing my bare feet into each foot print and explore the topography surrounding the marks it made in the dirt of the book. I want to understand the context of this theme in one of the hardest books in the Old Testament to get a grasp of.      In conjunction with my reading of the book itself, I'm also working my way through "Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job" by Layton Talbert. It's been quite enlightening...

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!   Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,        who forgives all your iniquity,        who heals all your diseases,           who redeems your life from the pit,             who crowns your life with good, so that your strength is renewed like the eagle's. . . . The LORD is merciful and gracious,   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. . . . . He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth,   so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;        as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion on his children,   so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. ...

"If I call, will you come?    When I cry, do you hear?      I believe ev'ry tear is caught up by a faithful God.        So, I will cry until You come, cast my cares into Your arms.          I can't see past this storm, but I'm counting on a faithful God. Faithful God, You hold my life secure and all my days are Yours. I believe my God is like a fire defending me, faithfully. I believe You still heal, and demons still bow.   I'm convinced there is power in trusting in a faithful God.     So, I will praise 'til You appear, and set Your foot upon this shore,       And I declare that ev'ry foe is subject to my faithful God. Faithful God, You hold my life secure and all my days are Yours. I believe my God is like a fire defending me, faithfully. I'm Yours and You are mine, and I am Yours, I am Yours! And I know Your faithfulness, it will endure, it will endure! Faithful God,...