JOB MOMENT – (13JUN19) The Lord questioned Job’s ability to
contend with Him. Job’s response was that he was unworthy to do so. Despite all
of Job’s righteousness, it did not measure up to Him being able to challenge
the Lord nor question His ways. The Bible says, “All of us have become
like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we
all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away” (Isaiah
64:6). Nothing we do can make us an equal to the Lord, nor does it give
us cause to act as if God is a mere mortal who has to justify Himself to us.
The Lord, in showing Job how weak of a mortal he was in contrast to Him, gave
the analogy of the Behemoth, a strong creature with whom He only had to approach
with the sword of his mouth to destroy. This was unlike humans, who were unable
to kill this creature with the exception of using man-made weapons, thus showing
their weakness in comparison to God. As much as Job thought that God owed him
an explanation for his troubles, God was letting Job know that He has to answer
to no one because He alone is God.
Sometimes when we go through tings in life, we seek to find
answers. We may even blame God because He allowed us to go through certain
events that we did not think should have happened to us. And yet, God is the
one who created us, so He has no obligation to justify His plans, decisions, or
give revelation unless He chooses to do so. He does not have to give an account
to us, but we have to give one to Him. We have never been nor will ever be on
the same level with God. We, being God’s children, must be in a posture of
humility and trust that whatever God allows to take place in our lives and the
lives of others is all done in accordance to His divine wisdom. We must keep in
mind that our human abilities do not compare to God’s, and our understanding of
Him is limited despite all the knowledge that we may acquire. Therefore, we can
only have faith and trust Him in all areas of our lives, for He alone knows the
plans that He has for us. Something to ponder….
QUESTION OF THE DAY – (13JUN19) Leviathan, a creature of the
sea, which some scholars describe as being a large vicious serpent, sea dragon,
or crocodile type creature, is described by God as being impossible to catch. The
Lord questions Job’s ability to tame such a creature and his ability to reason
with it through mere words. Since Job was unable to tame even a mighty sea
creature, it was not possible for him to think that he had the capability of standing
against the Lord Almighty for reparations. Therefore, we must ask ourselves the
question, “Does God owe us anything?”
Some of us may feel that when we lose a loved one, job,
house, health, or some other important person and/or thing in our life that God
has to give an account for it. We sometimes take on the role of the IRS towards
God where He has to give us a balance sheet and justify every purchase, or in
our case decision, that was made throughout the year. Yet, God does not owe
this to us. Our desire for answers can cause us to forget our place in the chain
of Command. God is not a genie that we rub three times and demand His presence.
He is not a witch-doctor who we can conjure up through a crystal ball. We
cannot use manipulative tactics to get the Lord to move when we think He
should. Faith, trust, hope, humility and obedience are the only proper
responses to the Lord as we wait on Him to move, respond, and/or deliver His
promises. If we are missing any of those elements, we are truly missing God. Something
to ponder….
JOB MOMENT – (13JUN19) After God brought Job into accountability
concerning his mindset and quarrel against Him, Job acknowledged that he spoke
on things that he did not understand and repented. After this, God addressed Job’s three friends
and told them that He was angry with them, for they regarded prosperity with righteousness,
Yet, God promised to forgive them once they sacrificed offerings and Job
interceded with prayer on their behalf. After this was done, the Lord restored to Job
twice as much as He had before. He also had seven more sons and three beautiful
daughters who were the fairest in the land. The second half of his life was
better than the first and Job lived one-hundred and forty additional years.
Job never received an answer as to why he experienced the trials
that he had. Nevertheless, Job’s lesson was one of trust, faith, and humility.
He and his friends learned that righteousness does not guarantee that one will
have a life free from challenges. Even in today’s times, we sometimes think that
a righteous life is a prosperous life, and a life of lack is a cursed life. If
this were the case, Jesus would have been in the category of being cursed by
God, but we know this to not be true. He did not have a place to even rest His
head and yet, He was God. He did not have money or wealth and He was treated as
a common criminal. Nevertheless, He was and still is the best blessing that
mankind has ever received. Christians should not listen to prosperity teachers
who say that you are cursed when you do not have an abundance of material possessions,
or if you become sick in your body. As long as we are on the earth, we will encounter
challenges, but we must remember that God is faithful even during those times.
A homeless person is not cursed just because they do not
have a house. A person with cancer is not cursed just because there may be no
cure. A divorcee is not cursed just because his wife left him. An unemployed
person is not cursed just because they were laid off from their job. Just
because one does not have material possessions, status, money, or health does
not mean that they are cursed. Now, does some wrong decisions bring about
certain consequences? Yes! Nevertheless, many Christians will automatically assume
that a person struggling is a person who has sinned in some area of their lives
just as Job’s friends did, and that is not necessarily the case. God reigns on
the just and the unjust and He loves us all. If you are going through some sort
of trial right now, please know that God has not left you, and that you are
under the care of His wings despite what the situation looks like. Just as He
restored Job, He can do the same thing for you. Something to ponder….
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