Speaker: Rusty Gerhart

Theme: Game of Life

Weekend Music links on iTunes: All Because of Jesus - Fee, Run - Hillsong, For Who You Are - Hillsong, Forever Reign - Hillsong

Read:  Job 9

Think: In Chapter 9 of the Book of Job (today’s reading), we find Job reflecting on the nature of God. He’s trying to understand how - after suffering terrible tragedy and loss in his life, material losses of wealth, health and family - how it is possible that God should still love him at all.

When our lives race along at a fast clip and then careen out of control, we can have a Job-sized crash in our faith journey. Pastor Rusty gave us seven ways that the effects of a hurried life can catch up to us. I can easily identify with his message because it’s been a tough month in my home because my wife has been mostly out of town. Let me explain through each of Pastor Rusty’s points:

•  Flash flood anger - As my wife began a long uncertain multi-week absence, I started to feel increasingly ungrateful. I missed her. I started to get progressively more impatient and agitated.
•  Addiction to speed - I started trying to do more to keep myself busy so I’d forget about how irritated I was that she was gone and that I didn’t have any control over the time frame.
• Constant multitasking - I started to pile on more tasks at work to distract myself and keep busy.
• Superficiality – In my busy-ness, I didn’t keep intentional meaningful communication a priority with my wife. My extra tasks and hurried pace hurt what little conversation we had, and I was often exhausted or distracted by my work.
• Poor decisions - As our phone calls became less happy and fulfilling, my frustrations increased. I felt lonelier trying to deal with them myself instead of turning to God and my wife.
• Relationship fatigue and Spiritual emptiness - The stress increased and made my wife upset, and affected her ability to focus on the situation she had travelled to be a part of. We had some very hard conversations leaving me to realize my efforts lacked real power and I felt increasingly depressed.

Reflecting back I could see that I clung to things (routine, work, old habits) that did not serve me well while I was apart from my wife. I needed to reach out to God more and yet like Job, I didn’t see how I could connect to Him again. I needed someone to help mediate that. In the words of Job:

 If only there was a mediator between us, someone who could bring us together…Then I could speak to him without fear, but I cannot do that in my own strength. Job 9:33, 35

This situation is exactly why Jesus matters to us. His presence is literally spiritual life and death to us. Just seeing how hard it was for Job and how badly He had lost confidence in God (like many of us would, too) the Lord knew and Job knew there was a need for a mediator. Both we and Job would need to have someone mediate on our behalf with the Father when we have fallen away from our faith and can’t figure out how to regain it. The great news is God provided the perfect mediator… In 1 Timothy 2:5, 6 we read:

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.

That is where Jesus as the Good Shepherd – our Mediator - is saying “Trust me, I can lead you back, you’re never too far gone if you will just call on me.”

Do: As you read Job 9, consider how the effects of a hurried life have afflicted you. Take time to think specifically about each of the seven symptoms Pastor Rusty mentioned. Do you see evidence of those in your life? What changes do you need to make or next right step you need to focus on?

Pray:   God, you constantly draw me back to you! Help me to find the peace, rest and comfort I need to cope with all that life presents me. Jesus, thank you for being the One who restores me and re-connects me with the Father. Show me how to slow down, to see how I can put You back in the center of my life.  Lord, let me start in a new season of your glorious unbounded grace. Amen.

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.