Scripture:

Job 23:8-10

8 “Look, I go forward, but He is not there,
And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;
9 When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him;
When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.
10 But He knows the way that I take;
When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

Better

Today, Job reminds us of some really solid truths we should take to heart.  The first being that although we don't see God or perceive Him, He is still at work.  Job in the midst of all that he was going through, pauses here in Job 23 to remind us that just because you're in a difficult time, in a rough patch, this does not mean that God is not with you in it, at work.   That brings us to something else Job teaches us today here in vv. 10. Job reminds us that what God is doing in our lives will make us better; he uses a metaphor: "I shall come forth as gold."   Well, gold does not come in the state you receive it; it is refined, the impurities are heated out of it, it is refined in the fire, in a process that leaves it purified.    This reminds you and me that what God is doing in your life is for your good, that in the end you will be better than you were before you began, He is always "REFINING" us, to make us better, to give us life, and it is ABUNDANT!

Today's God-Shot:  The PRESENCE of TROUBLE is NOT the ABSENCE of GOD.   Although we might not be able to see God through the smoke in our lives, although things seem difficult now, we will be better on the other side, today if you are in the "REFINING" process, TRUST Him, He is at work in the situation He did not cause to make you better, to refine you, to make you shine.

Lord, I pray we would always trust the process, trust you, that you are working on our behalf, that even when we can't see you through the smoke, the flames of our situation, you are there, working to refine us, make us better, we praise you, we thank you that you have not left us, and are working for us, in Jesus' name, Amen!