We had a great time with our family and some friends over this Resurrection Day weekend. The resurrection of Jesus is the most important event of the Christian faith. If Christ didn’t raise from the dead, then no one is raised. And if no one is raised, then we are to be pitied above all others, and the Bible becomes a cruel book. For, we are commanded to be ready to sacrifice our very lives for the cause of Christ. And if there is no resurrection, then there is no life after this one, and we gave ourselves for nothing. We are left with “he who dies with the most toys wins.” Which is pretty hollow because he who dies with the most toys is still dead and has no idea he has won.
All of Scripture is moving toward the finished work of Jesus, and therefore, all of Scripture is really about Him. You can find Him on every page if you have eyes to see. I recently finished Esther and am firmly in Job now. And while Esther never mentions God, it is very clear He was at work in the whole story.
In Job, we see how all circumstances are orchestrated by God, whether we see them as positive or negative. Job had everything except his life taken from him by God allowing Satan to do his worst. Job, for the most part, understood the difference between perception and perspective. Perception is how we see the world with our fallen human nature in a fallen world. We see things from our point of view and try to bring understanding to the situation apart from the divine. This is how Job’s friends approached his situation. They were convinced that Job was a horrible sinner and had done something so heinous that he deserved all he had gotten and anything else that was coming. Their idea was that God blessed those who were righteous and punished the unrighteous.
Job said that before God, no one is righteous, so all could have these things happen to them and God would be in the right. What Job wanted was to see why God was doing this to him. He also had a little perception issue, just not as bad as his friends. Job thought he wanted to speak to God face to face to plead his case, as he thought he was in the right. But when God did speak to them, Job realized that God’s ways are not our way’s and His thoughts are not our thoughts. Job “put his hand on his mouth” essentially saying that before God, we have nothing to say. God is so above us we cannot understand all that He does, or for what reason He does them.
I am thankful God is a high above us as the heavens are above the earth, essentially infinity. If any of us could truly understand everything about God, we are in big trouble. Remember, we are fallen creatures in a fallen world.
Job is a huge lesson in trusting God with all your heart, and not leaning on your own understanding. Only He can make our paths straight. Sometimes He does let us in on what He is doing, but there is no guarantee. We need approach what God is doing with a little perspective. God is acting for at least two reasons we know of. First, God is getting the glory for all He does. No matter who it is or what they do, God will get the glory. When people are saved, God gets the glory for their miraculous redemption. And if they are not saved, He will get the glory in His righteousness and justice.
Secondly, God is building His church. When we face various trials and problems, our faith is built as we trust in Him more. Ever notice that those who God used mightily in the Bible were first brought to helplessness by God. If we think we can do anything for God by our own strength, we are of little use, and we will mess it up anyway. We are fallen creatures in a fallen world. What can we know anyway?
What we need is to learn that as we develop our relationship with God, as we delight in Him, and trust in Him, He will produce in us the desires He wants us to have. Then we test all things in light of Scripture. This is the only way to live, and the only way to be truly successful from a Biblical perspective. Success from God’s point of view is not the American Dream, but is doing what He calls us to do; walking in the good works He has prepared beforehand for which we were created. It may be that God makes us insanely rich, which He has done with a number of people. And it may be that He calls us to die for the cause of Christ. Both of these are equally successful from a Biblical standpoint. What are you being called to do? To find out, you must delight yourself in the Lord; develop your relationship with Him first and foremost. Then see how your desires line up with His Word. Then go and do what you are called to do.
Amen
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