Wayfarer

One of the greatest things the book of Job has to teach me is how not to be when I find myself sitting with others in the midst of their suffering. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 21. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

I can't control every circumstance of this earthly life. Sometimes the wicked prosper and escape earthly justice. Sometimes the righteous and innocent unjustly suffer. It is what it is. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 20. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

On August 18th my family gathered at Glendale Cemetery in Des Moines to bury my mother's ashes.... A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 19. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

The demonization and scapegoating of others, especially those who are different or with whom we disagree, has long been a very human enterprise. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 18. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Along my life journey, I've known multiple individuals who have been given a terminal diagnosis. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 17. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Along life's journey, I've observed that it's in life's darkest moments that you learn who your true friends really are. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 16. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

In the quiet this morning, I find myself pondering the two core questions that the story of Job has presented to humans for thousands of years. Why is it that sometimes the innocent suffer unjustly? Why is it that sometimes the wicked prosper unjustly? A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 15. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

In his black-and-white thinking, Job is blinded to the spiritual gradient of growth that lies between. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 14. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

In my head and heart are a number of things I would like to write about in greater length than a blog post. Perhaps a book, an essay, or an article. Let me tell you about one of them. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 13. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

In today's chapter, Job continues to struggle with the "why" of his suffering. He wants to know why he is going through this painful stretch of his life journey. Job wants to pin the blame on something or someone. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 12. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

https://tomvanderwell.com/2023/08/08/relationship-communication/ By its very nature, relationship is built on the quality of communication between two parties. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 11. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I pondered Job's prosecution of God this morning as if I was a juror in his improvisational courtroom play. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 10. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Job sees the relationship between he and God as a chasm of irreconcilable differences. Job mourns that there is no mediator to bring the two sides together. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 9. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

All due respect to Job's friend, Bill, but in telling Job to take a backward glance to the past he has chosen to be carefully selective in his stated evidence so as to justify his simplistic conclusion. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 8. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Along my life journey, I have learned that I can brood with the best of brooders. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 7. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

There is always more to the story.... A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 6. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

In reading the last half of Job's friend, Eli's, first discourse about Job's suffering, it felt kind of slimy from a relational human perspective. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 5. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Do good, receive presents. Be naughty, reap coal. It's the "Santa Clause." We feed it to our children, and it sticks with us as adults. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 4. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

When Job finally speaks, the first thing he does is curse his birthday. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 3. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Despite his agony, Job refuses to do abandon God or curse him. He asks his wife another one of the big questions that resonate throughout the entire story, and that resonates with me in my own life: “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 2. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

My previous journeys through Job reveal it to be a story that asks big, challenging life questions that test the human limitations of understanding. A chapter-a-day podcast from Job 1. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

I know, contentment isn't as inspiring as moving mountains, but to my mind it might be more difficult. A chapter-a-day podcast from Philippians 4. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

All of my earthbound blessings, achievements, status, and possessions are eternally worthless in God's economy. A chapter-a-day podcast from Philippians 3. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

I have an app with a list of things I need to accomplish for our home maintenance and improvements. What about a list of things I need to do in my spiritual maintenance and improvements? A chapter-a-day podcast from Philippians 2. The text version can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Believing in Jesus does not result in immediate transformation into righteousness. Rather, believing in Jesus launches a long-term, top-to-bottom, spiritual DIY renovation project. A chapter-a-day podcast from Philippians 1. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .