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“There’s something comforting about a billion stars held steady by a God who knows what He is doing.”
There are many types of fights in this world, such as Good Vs. evil, man vs. beast, mosquito vs. camper, Trump vs. Alvin Bragg and Mike Tyson Vs. Jake Paul. Maybe you are in a battle today – arthritis vs. your hips, cancer vs. your future, slander vs. your reputation. It can be a small battle such as getting a toddler to put on a TUTU or a major battle such as convincing the whole world that Israel was given the land by God centuries ago.
A Sunday school song says, Big or little, large or small, we can trust God with it all….
But can we?
What if God, like Mike Tyson, is getting old with Sciatica? What if with all the modern technology and wisdom, we are now wiser, smarter than our celestial Dad in the Heavens? After all, we have Google now. It’s a question some may think, even if they don’t say it. Jake Paul wants to take on one of the greats and to show him what muscle the new kid has, in a stadium for all to see. It’s true, he’s got some pumped up muscles, but not the seasoning of the knockout King –Mike Tyson. I doubt people would put up money to question or fight God but many still doubt His power. Even within the church.
After reading Job for many years, it is starting to make sense, now that I have two teenagers. They question everything and want to tell us what new things they know and what new skills they have to compare with our old, decrepit, outdated wisdom that surely will not suffice in the new era. While they have and will learn new things, the wisdom and understanding to use that knowledge will only come after time and experience. When we compare our miniscule earthly burdens with problems like keeping the ocean from flooding the earth or the sun from dropping out of the sky, God still comes out smarter and always will. His track record remains strong.
When things get tough in our little world, we tend to buckle. You’ve been there, trying your best, struggling to survive and then the bottom falls out. In the middle of an otherwise glorious month–you get the bill, or the diagnosis or the arrival of an unbearable situation and rather than your family, friends or church surrounding you, they scatter. Some may examine, judge or give advice — with chemotherapy strength, when you’re suffering with a wound that only requires a little love and a Band-aid. Or perhaps it’s the other way around and you need chemotherapy, but they just offer empty words. After all the noise, you are more miserable than before. What do we do, how do we respond when trials come our way?
At the very beginning of his trial, Job had the perfect response – get with God, fall down on the ground and worship Him. He didn’t charge God with wrong but after his friends two cents, and some stinkin thinkin, he could not figure out how God had the audacity to charge him. Prove to me why I’m being disciplined God! So, he starts to deflect, project and justify himself. His anxious friends were trying to find the sin, the culprit, the spiritual warfare that caused all this. The speculation just caused more layers of confusion. They sat with him, they listened to him. Maybe they should have worshipped and trusted Gods’ character and ability instead? Sometimes bad things do happen to good people– because they are good, because God, the One in control has a better plan. If that does not fit into our theology maybe its time to take up Gods Word instead.
Note Jobs friends– They wait, they pray, they listen for a long time. When Job doesn’t get instantly “super-fixed”, they start to panic and then start to blame Job and defend Gods’ name (as if a supreme being would ever need to be defended). In their effort to appease their own anxiety or “get God off the proverbial hook”, they descend into bad theology with “you must have done something”, “you didn’t claim or decree something enough” and the list goes on.
We rarely see God as angry or wrathful but, in this book, He has wrath – for Jobs friends’ bad advice and cheap opinions. God has wrath and anger, He’s not a sweet Santa, He is just and punishes sin. We need people to know God, the real God from scripture. One day that just Judge will return, and make all wrongs right.
When the suffering continues, Job is left with some options. His wife tells us the first one – Suicide, which is never a desirable choice. “Curse God and die”, she says. Ending one’s life causes more damage and puts blame on innocent people. It’s the worst choice. It rules out any hope that God will move in the future which is serious deception. It shows that the person has very little regard for God or His power. Imagine believing that nothing could change in the next five hours or 50 years. I change apps on my phone weekly, schedules change for big fights and games daily, people change their minds in restaurants hourly. My teenage son can change outfits by the minute when getting ready to go out. Surely the God of the Universe can change a life situation within the scope of His influence and our depravity. We must believe God is capable of changing our situations. IT WON’T ALWAYS BE THIS WAY. I love the quote by Maya Angelou, “Every storm runs out of rain.” We need to remind ourselves and others of this. People do not intrinsically know these things. There is HOPE in God, the One who is in control over our past, present and future. He’s not limited to just observing and then remaining at a calloused distance. He’s got this and is not shaking His head, nor wringing His hands with worry.
If you struggle with suicide, please call The Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. They have options for Veterans, and other special groups. Calling your local church or hospital are also valuable resources.
The next set of nonsense advice Jobs friends gave him was that JOB was ultimately to “blame” because of some sin in his life. This placed condemnation on top of him which doubled his trouble. I remember being a young adult and making the decision to switch churches. It was a multi-layered decision. During that time, I had a leg injury and was scheduled for amputation. People told me God was judging me because I had changed churches. Pretty serious consequence, losing a leg for wanting to go someplace where they worshipped longer. Seriously, where do these crazy ideas come from? Because I did not know Gods word or character, I wrestled with that for a long time. I got serious about theology and Gods heart and have spent many years after that helping people understand spiritual abuse and systems that are not Christ focused. Gods’ perspective is higher, sweeter and produces fruit, not sorrow.
The word of God is essential to me because it will connect people with either a true version of Jesus or a butchered up, evil version of Him. We can only see the real version if we spend time in the real Bible. My trial was a dark time, but the physical pain was no where near the heart pain from people who were seriously misguided and misrepresented Gods’ character. Sometimes Gods’ people are the worst “marketers” for God’s grace and goodness. I wonder to this day if they know Him. Really know Him. We are called to minister to people in their pain and trials – not to meddle, manipulate or masquerade as Gods messengers. It is always a good idea to point people to HIM.
On top of the trials, Job was then left to question if God was caring and compassionate or aloof and cruel. He did not have the benefit of reading Genesis 1 which states God is GOOD and makes ALL things GOOD. Our God is not cruel or capricious but is fair and not willing that any should perish. Jobs friends were long on opinion and short on love.
Another way Job could respond and fight this fiery trial was to remind God of all of his (Jobs) good works. Why, he had fed the poor… Job had prayed for many. How dare God mess with me, He owes me! He expected treatment commiserate with his good works, possibly thinking that was his relationship with God= special class. Those works justified him right? He had not read that God rains on the just and the unjust or that Jesus died for ALL. He was presenting himself as more righteous than others and more merciful than God. The tone of his story changes when God is being accused falsely and does not see Job as justified. It accuses God of partiality at the very least.
We must remember that the Judge that Job is pleading with is not an earthly judge that is unjust, unbalanced, or petty. He is not a lower court judge that one day decides truth counts and another day that is does not. This is the highest Judge in the land and with Him all decisions are FINAL. The ONE we appeal to, is not Republican or Democrat, paid for by Soros or swayed by the latest news cycle. He does not answer to Donald Trump or Joe Biden – HE IS GOD. As God, He guarantees to reign in righteousness.
Let me remind us all that in a culture of false narratives, sneaky deceptive politicians and angry, bitter naysayers –that God is fair, just, impartial and holy. Then and now. You can read thru Jobs reactions and attempts to get God to answer to him – to no avail. The God who speaks and hears does so in His timing, not ours, not how much we rally, whine and pout.
God, like a patient parent, comes in and shows Job who is really the boss, really the ultimate Champion. Like a good parent who does not answer their teenager according to their folly but according to their love and wisdom, God gives Job a lesson in being His servant. Job repents, not of his drummed-up charges of sin but of his weaker, lower view of God. God IS caring and good, God IS Just and God retains His authority and justice by not having to answer or explain His ways to ANYONE. Not MSNBC, CNN, FOX –or random friends.
God had brought some things to Job for him to endure. Whatever the purpose we are unsure,– but in the end, it caused Job to declare – “with my ears I have heard of you but now, now my eye sees YOU; therefore, I repent in dust and ashes”. Wow.
Moldable, bendable, yielding Job then prays for and blesses his friends and gets blessed beyond measure. We then see hospitality and fellowship rather than isolation and accusation. Right relationship, right alignment with God and His Kingdom, right view of true servanthood. We also see Job give his new sons and most beautiful daughters an inheritance – a sign of equal blessing and fairness even in this very early book of the Bible. Old Testament Job was fair and just– because His God was fair and just. The family was altered, Job was altered, his legacy was altered, for the better.
May we learn a higher view of God and His ways. A true view rather than a corrupted view based on the culture around us or our insecurities about the true strength of God. He is good and compassionate; He is fair and just. He is eternal and powerful. He is the ultimate Judge and can be trusted. Ultimately, we are HIS servants. While we pray for those around us who are not convinced or face the issues like Jobs friends did, we continue to pray for them while pressing on to what God requires of us.
Lord, here we are, YOUR servants and we believe that YOU are Good, Compassionate and JUST. Always, in every circumstance or trial, we worship YOU.
RenaeRoche2024