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The Bible Breakdown
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The Bible Breakdown
Job 17: Be Gone Frenemies!
Can you identify the true friends who will uplift you through your toughest times? In this episode, we journey through Job 17, examining the raw emotions Job felt as his so-called friends only deepened his despair. Learn how to discern genuine support from those who may inadvertently harm your spirit. We discuss the significance of seeking solitude or aligning with spiritually supportive companions to ensure your faith and integrity remain intact, even in the darkest of times.
Discover the profound power of prayer and gratitude. We begin with a heartfelt invocation, seeking God’s presence and support for those enduring hardships. Reflecting on Job 1:21, we embrace the truth that everything we have is given and taken away by the Lord, committing to praise Him through good and bad times. This episode serves as a vital reminder of the strength we can draw from faith and prayer, not only for ourselves but as a beacon of encouragement and wisdom for others. Join us and find solace in the divine plan, trusting that every trial has a purpose.
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The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, job, chapter 17. Today's title is Be Gone Frenemies. Be Gone Frenemies. I don't know about you, but there are just some people, whether they mean to or not, they're not good to be around. When you're low, when you're having a bad day, there are some people you need to run to and there are some people you just need to leave on unread, you know, just don't read that and get back to it later, right. And when you're in that low place, it's important to realize who are your friends, who are not your friends, and to deal with that accordingly. Right, and you can see that Job is going to kind of help us figure this out today. But before we do that, as always, make sure you like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure that you are letting us know and you're connecting with us on both of those. We want to hear from you and also join us at the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook, because the more we dig, the more we find.
Speaker 1:And if you have your Bibles, I want to open up with me to Job, chapter 17 and this long conversation that we're having with Job and his horrible friends who are trying to help him, but really it's not helping at all. We're learning in this conversation about trusting God's wisdom in suffering, and that is, job is going through a really difficult season, and what he doesn't know is that God has a plan. God is doing more than he can realize, but he doesn't know that. At the moment, all he knows is he's on that struggle bus and Job's friends are supposed to be helping him, but really they're making him feel even worse. And so I want us to read this and kind of hear the desperation, the disgust and the sadness in Job when he's saying guys, I'm needing help here and you're making it worse and let's see what. Maybe the Holy Spirit would speak to us today in this chapter.
Speaker 1:So, if you're ready, job, chapter 17 at the New Living Translation, it says this my spirit is crushed and my life is nearly snuffed out. The grave is ready to receive me. I am surrounded by mockers. I watch how bitterly they taunt me. You must defend my innocence, o God, since no one else will stand up for me. You have closed their minds to understanding, but do not let them triumph. They betray their friends for their own advantage, so let their children faint with hunger. God made a mockery of me among the people, and they spit in my face. My eyes are swollen with weeping and I am but a shadow of my former self. The victorious are horrified when they see me, and the innocent rise up against the ungodly. The righteous keep moving forward, and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.
Speaker 1:As for all of you, come back with a better argument, though I still won't find a wise man among you. And he says make my bed in darkness. What if I call the grave my father and the maggot my mother or my sister? Where, then, is my hope? Can anyone find it? No, my hope will go down with me to the grave and we will rest together in the dust.
Speaker 1:Other words, job is saying this is hard, this is really, really difficult. And he says on top of it, I'm surrounded with people that really just want to make it all about them. Notice how he is saying they make a mockery of me among the people. You know, god has made me a mockery. In other words, he surrounded me with these people and all they want to do is talk about what they're going through. Have you ever been around people like that. You try to get honest with them and because, whatever you know, let's look at this in the best possible way Because they're trying to be so self-aware and they're trying to connect with you. They connect with you by talking about themselves.
Speaker 1:Right Now, I've known people before who what they will do is is they will try to make you feel as though you're not going through it alone, like you're not the only one who's had to go through that, and just say that you know that there's nothing wrong with you. We've all been through difficult things. And so they'll say man, I know what you're going through. And then they'll tell you a story about what they went through, but at some point, they forget that it's supposed to be for your good and before you know it, they're just talking about themselves. Right, and Job is saying all of you, guys, you're making this worse. You're supposed to be helping me, but this is becoming about you, and while I'm going through this hard time, it's just getting worse. And so what can we take out of this?
Speaker 1:Well, first of all, be careful who you're around when you're going through difficult things. Be careful who you're around when you're going through difficult things. There is a time for reaching out, and there's a time when you need to be careful, because many times it's when we're at our lowest that we're the most vulnerable to spiritual attack. So I want to encourage you if you're going through a difficult time and you're suffering, don't hang around people that intentionally or unintentionally try to tempt you to be ungodly.
Speaker 1:I have friends of mine who you know they have very different ideas of what it is to be a Christian than I do, and so when I'm going through a difficult time, they suggest that I go do something that I consider to be a sin. Well, I know they mean well, but I don't need to be around them. So I'm going through a really hard time. I don't hang around them because they're going to unintentionally try to tempt me to do something that wouldn't be honorable to my pursuit of God. I know other people that they would encourage me to do things that they're not intentionally trying to get me to sin or draw away from God, but it happens just the same. But I also know people who love Jesus and I know that they're going to pray for me and then they're going to pray for me and then they're going to invite me into environments. That's going to encourage my soul.
Speaker 1:And can I tell you that's the people that you need to look for, people that are going to make it all about you and make it all about Jesus, because ultimately it doesn't even need to be about you, it needs to be about Jesus, because he's the only one that can truly bring healing to your hurting soul. And then, on the other side, can I tell you, sometimes the best thing you can do to be a friend is to say nothing at all. Now, I don't mean avoid, I mean be in that environment, but don't feel like that. You have to change the subject. It's okay if they want to talk about what's going wrong in their life and what's difficult, and you don't have to bring a smile to their face. You don't have to try to relate to them with your story, but instead just sit with them in the difficulty, because unintentionally sometimes we can shift the conversation away from where it needs to be, but ultimately lead them back to Jesus, because that's the only one who can heal them. And when we work out this difficult dynamic, I'm telling you God can be in it and he can help us. And so last I'll say again if you're going through a hard time, be careful who you hang around, because they may unintentionally lead you further away from the Lord. And then, if you're the one trying to help, be so very careful that you're leading them to Jesus. You don't have to give them your story. Just going to them and sitting with them in the difficulty is enough.
Speaker 1:Let's pray together, god. Thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that you're with us in more ways than we can ever understand. God, I pray for those who are going through a difficult time. I pray you'll surround them with people who will speak into their life, will speak hope to them and help them, lord, to find that next step. And, lord, for those who are the encouragers. I pray that you will give them the courage and the wisdom and the insight to make it all about you, to lead them closer to you, because, god, when we find you, we find everything that we need. We celebrate that today, in Jesus' name. We pray Amen, amen. Well, god's word says in Job 1, verse 21,. I came naked from my mother's womb. I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord. In other words, job is saying I'm going to praise God when it's bad and I'm going to praise him when it's good. I trust the Lord.
