Job 21:16
Indeed, our prosperity is not in His hands!”
Far be it from me, the counsel of the wicked!
In my daily devotional reading today, the topic was being content with what God has provided. My recent goal to project that as work has helped me. I have not done well in projecting that at home or away from work. That is my next new goal.
Only my favorite source attributed this first stitch as a quote of the wicked rather than Job speaking about them.
‘Indeed’ was also ‘yet’, ‘lo’, ‘but’ or the use of a question. ‘Prosperity’ was also ‘good’, ‘happiness’, and ‘bounty’. ‘His’ was ‘their’ every other time. ‘In … hands’ was also ‘own achievement’, ‘own doing’, and ‘made their own’ which actually matches my favorite source a little (by the least favorite).
‘Far be it from me’ was also ‘Incomprehensible to me’, ‘beyond me’, ‘repugnant to me’, and ‘I stand aloof from’.
The goofy thing about the first stitch is that I know my prosperity is only in God’s hands as I am too close to nothing to prosper on my own. If we do look at this statement as the counsel of the wicked, we should most likely do the direct opposite to be following God. I have seen a lot on social media about all kinds of things under the sun and most of it is just a person’s way to get money off someone else. I do not mind the clear ads about products, but the sneaky cat videos posing as ads for crap I don’t need are not appreciated.
My people are talking, and it is distracting me. I read something that reminded me of people that can block out every noise. I am not one of them. As one of my tools dealing with my attention issues, I am trying to just push on. I have certainly heard some wild stories about how parents treat their hyperactive children. Probably better I was not diagnosed as a kid.
Since I believe the Bible is the living word of God, I have tried to use it as a source of Godly wisdom and compare all the world tries to tell me against what God has. Even this new book I read is about how God wants us to prosper to share with the church and others. I know Christians want prosperity as much as the next person, but the goal is that we do not pursue it while abandoning God as the center of our lives. God counsels me through His word and the interactions I have with other people seeking Godly lives pursuing the Lordship of Christ. Incorporating new data into my understanding of how to do this is my only real goal.
Written 5/10/26, Posted 7/3/26, Job 502/~1070