Taste and See

“Nothing is so strong as gentleness, and nothing is so gentle as real strength.” — Francis de Sales 

Just the grass family includes over 11,500 accepted species. I suppose we still have things to learn! 

Whatever these creatures are, they're giants to us. To God? He might consider them some of His pets. 

We all know what it's like to be humbled by a virus we can't see, and that doesn't even know it humbled us! 

It's the irony of humanity that, in aspiring to being godly, we discover the secret of humility. 

Of course, God is more than enough. He's more than everything—the everything He made one week! 

When God speaks to us, it is always His truth; when He speaks again, it's also the echo of His grace.

“When God places a burden upon you, He places His arms underneath you.” —C.H. Spurgeon 

“Apply yourself wholly to the Scriptures, and apply the Scriptures wholly to yourself.” —J.A. Bengel 

Job learned nothing when his friends turned the microscope on him, but when God used the telescope? Wow! 

“The eagle that soars in the upper air does not worry itself how it is to cross rivers.” —Gladys Aylward 

Does Job, sitting in the ashes, understand that he is the battlefield between right and wrong? 

What a picture! The ostrich's wings can't fly, but that doesn't keep her from lifting up in pride. 

When we domesticate animals for our benefit, we diminish their ability to fend for themselves.

“It is possible that God says every morning, ‘Do it again' to the sun.” —G.K. Chesterton 

You want rain? Elijah-like, talk to the God who made the clouds, because the clouds aren't listening. 

“God's promises are like the stars: the darker the night, the brighter they shine.” —D. Nicholas

“I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting system through which God speaks to us.” —Goethe 

“He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom” (Jer 10:12). 

Imagine that! Man's mighty war machines rendered useless by the Lord's little flakes of snow! 

Astronomer Johannes Kepler spoke of discoveries “as though I had thought one of God's thoughts.” 

We use the words “I wonder” to mean, “I'd like to know.” But it should mean, “I'd like to worship.” 

This has to be the ultimate interview, with God asking the questions. Is Job interested in running the universe? 

A whirlwind is energy in motion. What may seem chaotic could, in fact, be God on the move for us. 

Don't try staring at the sun. But how will you see the Lord when He appears “as golden splendor”?

The Lord can speak His “Shalom!” to the storm. Or, as the storm rages, He can speak peace to us! 

“The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet” (Nah 1:3). 

How can I have “the tongue of the learned” (Isa 50:4)? I'll need first “to hear as the learned” from the Lord.

“One of the greatest rewards for serving God is the permission to do still more for Him.” —C.H. Spurgeon 

Is being half-right better than all wrong? Not if it makes you presume you know more than you do. 

It is an unsettling mistake God's people often make, that if I can't see the Lord, then He doesn't see me. 

“To love all men is the greatest virtue; to be impartial in love is the greatest wisdom.” —Mencius 

“Let me ne'er forget…though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet.” —M.D. Babcock 

A non-confidence vote in God will dissolve His government, and “all flesh would perish together” (Job 34:15).

Between “the law of sin and death” and “the law of the spirit of life” is the Spirit's call to abide in Christ. 

Miracles—barring the creation of the world—always start with problems. No problems, no miracles.

Job is a shadow of Jesus at the heart of our gospel, displaying “the best man in the worst fortune.” 

Job isn't suffering for sin, but he needs to watch out that his suffering doesn't lead him to sin! 

Nothing “is more hateful to God than idolatry, for idolatry is at bottom a libel on His character.” —A.W. Tozer 

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise” (Prov 12:15). 

Job has compared himself to other men and looks good as a result. But what happens when he meets God?

We weren't expecting young Elihu, especially when he tells us he's expecting divine revelation! 

“What is happening to our youth? They disrespect their elders.…They riot in the streets…” —Socrates 

Sow an act; you reap a habit. Sow a habit; you reap a character. Sow a character; you reap a destiny.

Hallmark, landmark, trademark, watermark, postmark—all are used to identify for a purpose. 

“When the wickedness of the wicked grieves and humbles…Christians…you may expect a revival.” —Charles Finney 

The one who responds before he has all the facts is both foolish and shameful. See Proverbs 18:13. 

“Still I stand the tempest's shock, For my anchor grips the rock.” —W.C. Martin 

The Lord has called us in some measure into “the fellowship of His sufferings” (Php 3:10).

God could keep the enemy always at bay if He chose to, but He didn't with His Son, nor does He with us. 

This lesson overlaps two chapters (Job 29:21–30:19). Was the change so abrupt that a division was inserted?