OUR DAILY BREAD : PERSPECTIVE FROM THE CLOUDS

[cimi]

March 17
Monday

PERSPECTIVE
FROM THE
CLOUDS

READ:
Job. 3:3-5; 42:5-6
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I have heard of You...
but now my eye sees
You. __Job 42:5
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In 1927 the silent film Wings, a World War 1 film about two Americans aviators, won the first Academy Award for Best Picture. When it was being filmed, production stopped for several days. Frustrated producers asked the director why. He responded: "All we have is blue sky. The conflict in the air will not be as visible without clouds. Clouds bring perspective." He was right. Only by seeing aerial combat with clouds as a backdrop could the viewer see what was really going on.

We often wish for blue skies instead of storm clouds. But cloudy skies may reveal God's faithfulness. We gain perspective on how God has been faithful in our trials as we look back on the clouds.

At the beginning of his terrible suffering, Job lamented "May the day perish on which I was born....May a cloud settlr on it" (Job 3:3-5). His experience of despair continued for a long time until God spoke. Then Job exclaimed, "I have heard of You...but now my eye sees You" (42:5). Job had encountered the sovereign Creator, and that changed his perspective on God's purposes.

Do clouds of trouble fill your skies today? Sooner than you think, God may use these clouds to help you gain perspective on His faithfulness. __Dennis Fisher

`````````````````````God, give us wings to rise above``````````````````````
```````````````````The clouds of trial that block the sun,````````````````````
`````````````````````To soar above gray skies and see``````````````````````
`````````````````The love and goodness of Your Son. __Sper`````````````````
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Often the clouds of sorrow reveal
the sunshine of His face. __Jasper

***********************************Today's Bible Reading __ Job 3:3-5; 42:5-6*********************************

Job 3

3 May the day perish on
which I was born, and the
night in which it was said,
"A male child is
conceived." 4 May that day
be darkness; may God
above not seek it, nor the
light shine upon it. 5 May
darkness and the shadow
of death claim it; may a
cloud settle on it; may the
blackness of the day
terrify it.

Job 42

5 I have heard of You by
the hearing of the ear, but
now my eye sees You.

6 Therefore I abhor myself,
and repent in dust and
ashes.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

In Job 3:3-5, we have what many Bible scholars call Job's soliloquy.
After a time of quiet agony, the great Old Testament saint breaks
his silence and lets out his anguish. He calls for darkness and then
destruction to overwhelm him. Instead of seeing God's light-filled
and good creation, Job feels he is living in a world of darkness. But
in Job 42:5-6, we see the resolution to Job's conflict. Out of the
whirlwind, God challenges Job and points to creation as a witness to
His reality. Although he is never told that his sufferings are the result
of spiritual warfare from the devil, Job submits to the sovereignty of
God and experiences restoration.

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