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Job 36:15-16
15 He delivereth [chalats] the poor [`aniy] in his affliction [`oniy], and openeth [galah] their ears ['ozen] in oppression [lachats].
16 Even so would he have removed [cuwth] thee out of the strait [peh] [tsar] into a broad place [rachab], where [tachath] there is no straitness [muwtsaq]; and that which should be set [Nachath] on thy table [shulchan] should be full [male'] of fatness [deshen]. KJV-Interlinear
15 'He delivers the afflicted in their affliction, And opens their ear in time of oppression. 16 'Then indeed, He enticed you from the mouth of distress, Instead of it, a broad place with no constraint; And that which was set on your table was full of fatness. NASB
If you read the 23rd psalm, then you will see a tremendous amount of correlation with what Elihu has and is saying here.
If a person opens up their soul to God, calls on Him for help not only in time of need, but even in time of relative peace in their life, then God is there to help. The person of God needs to establish a genuine pattern of life, which is consistent with that which God teaches in the Bible.
Most folks think that they have to be nice, use spiritual words, never be aggressive in life, and in other words be some type of humiliated, head hanging down maroon in life. That is not the spiritual life.
The toughest competitor in sports, the most aggressive soldier in battle, the quietest person in town, all, can be spiritually mature giants. Your spiritual life does not depend on your personality, but the spiritual life will help mold the personality you already have, into one which is compatible with Gods specific plan for your personal life.
Remember the 'arms raised high' study? Live your life in fellowship, pursue your daily studies, remain open minded (this can be the tough one), obey Gods commands (you have to know them in order to be able to obey them).
And Gods principle commands are first to live in fellowship and study daily. That will get you going on the right path for life.
Life was designed for spiritually mature believers. Heaven will become the home of all believers. Who is missing? Unbelievers.
Likewise, life will be much better for you if you pursue your spiritual life.
Living in this world, by default means that you are the afflicted. We are all in the same boat, so to speak. Oppression means all of the burdens of life that you can imagine.
The narrow road is the tight place in which it is extremely difficult to move around, if at all. The broad road is the wide-open spaces that give you all the freedom in the world to move about and function in life. The table full of fatness is the prosperity, which you always dream of, but never seem to attain.
All of this and more, comes from God and from God alone. You can never achieve on your own, the freedom and prosperity of life which God defines. You have to look to God through your spiritual eyes, and those eyes come only from growing up spiritually.
This is the devils world and the devils world is filled with deceptions, even the deception of false prosperity, which is designed to make you believe that you do not need God, even the deception of false hope, which is designed to make you think that God does not care about you.
For those who look to God, in the proper way, the way which God has defined (not by your definition), as the function of the spiritual life and the function of a relationship with Him, then He is there. He is always there. God listens and in fact He has heard your prayer all the way back in eternity past, and has already made provision for you.
'Before you call, I will answer. While you speak, I will hear.'
You just have to get your life straightened out and in line with His will. Which, by the way, is not very difficult to do. It only takes a commitment on your part to learn and then do (with responsibility), and stick with it for the rest of your life.
God is not a genie and life is not going to be a free ride. Have reasonable expectations and open up your eyes to life's realities. God has given you many tools for making a living. The wishes and miracles of fools are not among them.
But fools saturate this earth and they look far too much for the luck of life to get them through.
Those who pursue their spiritual life, will soon discover that God becomes that extra ingredient (that others do not have), which will enter your life and cause solutions that you could otherwise never attain.
'Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things.'
But, you have to make the commitment and stick with it. The spiritual life is a long-term contract, not a weekend convenience.
