““What is man that
You magnify him, and that You are concerned about him, That You examine him
every morning and try him every moment? “Will You never turn Your gaze away
from me, nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle? “Have I sinned? What have
I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I
am a burden to myself? “Why then do You not pardon my transgression and take
away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust; and You will seek me,
but I will not be.”” (Job 7:17–21, NASB95)
They had all in some way considered the false principle that
if something significant goes awry, it must be punishment from God in some form
for something which they had done. In Job’s case, we have the benefit of being
able to read the whole account from beginning to end. In the beginning we read,
“There was a man in
the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing
God and turning away from evil.” (Job 1:1, NASB95) And at the end we
read,
“The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when
he prayed for his friends, and the Lord
increased all that Job had twofold. Then all his brothers and all his sisters
and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in
his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversities that
the Lord had brought on him. And
each one gave him one piece of money, and each a ring of gold. The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more
than his beginning; … After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his
grandsons, four generations. And Job died, an old man and full of days.”
(Job 42:10–12a, 16-17, NASB95)
God knew Job’s heart and his actions, and He even knew how
Job (and his friends and his wife) would respond and how He (God) would
ultimately return blessing to Job. What Job suffered was not as a result of disobedience
or because he had riled God in some way. Though God made it clear that Job was
in no position to judge God and that Job was not the creator and sustainer of
things as God is, God also made it clear that He would not abandon those who
are His and that He indeed is aware and in control of all that He allowed to
come Job’s way (and our way). And unlike our ability to see the account of Job
from one end to the other, we (like Job) may not understand what God is doing
while we are in the middle of it. (Consider reading the whole book of Job if
you have not done so, or done so in recent memory)
So far this concerns a man who was considered righteous by
God, who lived his life in obedience to God and was impacted severely by events
beyond his control or his own initiation. Yet there are also things which come
into our lives which are results of actions we might have taken. These are
known as consequences, and our God is even sovereign over consequences.
First and foremost, He is faithful to forgive. If you have
placed your trust in Jesus Christ for your salvation then all of your sins—past,
present, and future—are forgiven and God will not hold them against you. What
He tells us in His Word is that we are to come before Him and admit (confess) those
sins, thank Him for His forgiveness, and commit (as before) to obey Him in the
future (1 John 1:9). Then what God does with the physical consequences of wrong
actions in this life is really subject to His overwhelming mercy and grace. For
example: When we break a law we may be convicted and then have to go to jail.
This does not mean that God loves us any less, what it does mean is that there
are consequences to our actions. This does not change our eternal acceptance by
God or His willingness to grow us even in our transgressions and through the
consequences. After all, it was not our cuteness and cuddliness that brought
about His action to save, but our dire need and our inability to do anything
about it.
So, when things press in and you are tempted to question God’s
love and even His punishment, know first of all, that His love never fails and
our acceptance by Him is never in question. Ask if there is something you need
to confess, and (if there is) deal with it before Him. Then, ask Him to
strengthen you for the things that lie ahead, whether you know the cause of them
or not.
As with the past few days I was a bit out of whack in my
devotional reading, with today’s “Jesus Calling” actually being the one from
the 15th. And you know what, as I was going to bed last night and considering
the season we (my family and I) are in, I am very thankful that this is how God
spoke to my heart today.
Today in
“Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young (8/15)
I am the God
of all time and all that is. Seek Me not only in the morning quietness but
consistently throughout the day. Do not let unexpected problems distract you
from My Presence. Instead, talk with Me about everything, and watch confidently
to see what I will do.
Adversity
need not interrupt your communion with Me. When things go “wrong,” you tend to
react as if you’re being punished. Instead of this negative response, try to
view difficulties as blessings in disguise. Make Me your Refuge by pouring out
your heart to Me, trusting in Me at all times.
Evening,
morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. Psalm 55:17
Therefore let
everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the
mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. Psalm 32:6
Trust in him
at all times, O people; pour your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm
62:8
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