A Matter of Life and Death

Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; Thereby good will come to you. Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in your heart.

Job 22:21-22 NKJV

Although what Eliphaz said was absolute Truth regarding repentance, he missed the mark in how it applied to Job. I'm relatively certain he was passionate and persuasive, however, his assessment of Job and the situation was decidedly limited.  We've all had friends who meant well and yet misspoke.

Oftentimes, we, being human, only know or are known in part. Paul tells us in 1st Corinthians 2:11, No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. Two verses later, Paul writes, When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. And therein lies the crux of the matter - human wisdom. Isn't that an oxymoron? 

The Word tells us that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all Truth. Do we want all Truth or just what sounds good? Are we listening to the Holy Spirit?

In Proverbs, we learn that death and life are in the power of the tongue. Given these truths, whether we are the speaker or the recipient, we must be sure to follow the Lord's leading. It IS a matter of life and death.

Prayer:

Father,
           Give us Your wisdom. Guide us into all Truth. And let us be like Jesus and only impart to others what we hear You say. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen