“The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3 He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
4 Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.
5 You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings.
6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
forever.” Psalm 23:1-6
Death cast a frightening shadow over us because we are entirely helpless in its presence. We can struggle with other enemies – pain, suffering, disease, injury – but strength and courage cannot overcome death. It has the final word. Only one person can walk with us through death’s dark valley and bring us safely to the other side – the God of life, our shepherd. Because life is uncertain, we should follow this shepherd who offers us eternal comfort.

Taken from the NLT LIfe Application Study Bible

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
Your glory is higher than the heavens.
2 You have taught children and infants
to tell of your strength,
silencing your enemies
and all who oppose you.
3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you set in place—
4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them?
5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You gave them charge of everything you made,
putting all things under their authority—
7 the flocks and the herds
and all the wild animals,
8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that swims the ocean currents.

9 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
To respect God’s majesty, we must compare ourselves to HIS Greatness. When we look at the vast expanse of creation, we wonder how God could be concerned for people who constantly disappoint him. Yet God created us only a little lower than himself and the angels! The next time you question your worth as a person, remember that God considers you highly valuable. We have great worth because he put a stamp of approval on us at creation!

Taken from the NLT LIfe Application Study Bible

“Oh, the joys of those who do not
follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.
But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.” v.1-3
You can learn how to follow God by meditating on his Word. This means spending time reading and thinking about what you have read. It means asking yourself how you should change so you will live as God wants. Knowing and thinking about God’s Word are the first steps toward applying it to your everyday life. If you want to follow God more closely, you must know what he says.

The more we delight in obeying God, the more fruitful we are. On the other hand, the more we allow those who ridicule God to affect our thoughts and attitudes, the more we seperate ourselves from our source or nourishment. We must have contact with unbelievers if we are to witness to them, but we need to be careful to set an example for them and not become a hinderance for them coming to Christ.

Taken from the NLT Life Application Study Bible

“So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters. He named his first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers. Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life.” v. 12-17

The main question in the book of Job is timely: Why do believers experience troubles and suffering? Through a long debate, Job’s supposedly wise friends were unable to answer this question. Job’s friends made a serious error for which God rebuked them. They assumed that trouble comes only to people that sin. People make the same mistakes today when they assert that sickness or lack of material blessing is a sign of unconfessed sin or lack of faith. Though normally following God leads to a happier life, and rebelling against God normally leaders to an unhappy life, God is in control. In our world of sin, calamity and suffering come to good and bad alike.

This doesn’t mean that God is indifferent, uncaring, unjust, or powerless to protect us. Bad things happen because we live in a fallen world, where both believers and unbelievers are hit with the tragic consequences of sin. God allows evil for a time although He turns it around for our good. We may have no answers as to why God allows evil, but we can be sure He is all-powerful and knows what He is doing. The next time you face trials and dilemmas, see them as opportunities to turn to God for strength. You will find a God who deeply loves you and wants to show you His love and compassion. If you can trust Him in pain, confusion, and loneliness, you will win the victory and eliminate doubt, one of Satan’s greatest footholds in your life. Make God your foundation. You can never be separated from His Love!

Taken from the NLT Life Application Study Bible

“Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’” v. 1-3
My God is so Big so Strong and so Mighty, there’s nothing my God can’t do. As we drove our youngest to the Hospital in November, this is the song Josiah, our 3 year old at the time, began to sing. I had never heard him sing it, but talk about appropriate. This will forever be etched in my mind of just how Big our God is.

In this passage as the Lord speaks back to Job, we see how Strong, Big and Mighty He is. Just by looking at our everyday world we see how big God is. He controls all the elements, like rain, hail, wind, lightning, the rising and setting of the sun, and the list goes on . . . and on . . . and on. The next time you see any of these things let it be a reminder that God is Strong, Big, and Mighty!

Taken from the NLT Life Application Study Bible

“But Job replied, ‘You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?’ So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.” v.10
Many people think that believing in God protects them from trouble, so when calamity comes, they question God’s goodness and justice. But the message of Job is that you should not give up on God because he allows you to have bad experiences. Faith in God does not guarantee personal prosperity, and lack of faith does not guarantee troubles in life. If this were so, people would believe in God simply to get rich. God is capable of rescuing us from suffering, but he may also allow suffering to come for reasons we cannot understand. It is Satan’s strategy to get us to doubt God at exactly this moment. Here Job shows a perspective broader than seeking his own personal comfort. If we always knew why we were suffering, our faith would have no room to grow.

Taken from the NLT Life Application Study Bible