Job Part 1-Holding Fast to Your Integrity

We count those blessed who endured.  You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings,  that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

                                                                                                                        James 1:5

                                                                                                                         

This new study will be a modification from Kay Arthur’s book Trusting God in Times of Adversity.  Her study series is available through Precept Ministries and is a great resource for learning how to study using the inductive study method.  The inductive method is used by myself and my co-leader Callie in our small group to prepare each week’s material.  Though our group started with this method, it is not for everyone as some people get bogged down in marking the text.  Though I find it very helpful, I know not everyone learns in the same way so this study is a modified version of the full inductive method without marking.  

 

To do this study you will need a bible and notebook for taking notes. 

 

Remember some helpful habits for having a rich study:

1)   Always begin with prayer.  This will prepare your heart and most importantly connect you in an intimate way with God.  As He opens our minds to receive truth, this step is essential to understand what you are learning and see how it applies to our lives.

2)   Be in the word daily.  Though there are only three questions and a one journal prompt in this week’s study, you can always read the weekly selected scripture and journal your insights and questions as another way to interact with the text. 

3)   Continue in your day with what you learn after studying.  Try to find a personal application each week.  An application is simply what you do with what you are learning.  This might mean doing something new in your faith, stopping something when God convicts, or sharing what you learn with someone else.  Sometimes I write down a simple truth that spoke to me in a meaningful way and post it somewhere that  I can be reminded of it.  Maybe a special verse stands out to you that you don’t understand yet, but you’ve felt the Holy Spirit bring it to your attention.  Meditate on it.  Biblical meditation is not an empting of the mind but a filling of it with God’s word.  Simply repeating it over and over is a way to meditate.  Does the scripture you read bring a worship song to mind?  Play it that day to ponder the truth God revealed to you.  The previous responses can keep you in God’s presence with His personal word for you. 

 

Now let’s get to work!

 

The Book of Job is a dialogue about suffering, pain, and doubts.  Like many who have faced similar trials, Job asks “Why must this happen to me?”  Throughout the book, Job’s wife and friends answer Job’s question with bad theology and misapplied truths about God.  Ultimately, like all of us, Job must decide whether to submit to God’s complete sovereignty and to trust in His good plan.  As we begin this new study, my prayer for each of us is that, like Job, we will recognize God’s goodness, His grace, and His sovereign hand in every circumstance of our lives.

 

Read Job 1

 

·        Make a list of everything you learn about God’s character, ways, and sovereignty.

·        Make a list of everything you learn about Satan.  What can he do?  What can he not do?  Who is he subject to?

·        Make a list of everything you learn about Job.

 

Journal Prompt:  What was the worst event or time of your life?  Where did you place God during that time?  What would you change about your response?