Who Do You See?

Happy Easter 2019!

The men that I do life with every Sunday night have asked if we could go thru the life of Job as our new study, which got me thinking back on my two years that I spent with Job.  So as I reflected, there were a few thoughts that came to mind that I wanted to share with you as I encourage your heart to be melted by God's faithfulness or as Job says, "my heart faints within me."

Job 14:1 simply says about life, it is "few of days and full of trouble."  Isn't that just great news?  But is it not true?  And yet, guess who is faithful to us in the midst of all that?  God!  He never leaves us nor does He ever forsake us.  So how do we reconcile that life is "few and full of trouble" and  yet God never leaves us nor forsakes us?  Well, I hope to give you maybe one true golden nugget by the end of this blog, so walk with me or just simply go to the bottom of this and see if it is there.  And by the way, I do pray that God awakens something within you more so than what my words say.

So majority of Job is Job being attacked by his 3 friends about why Job is going thru what he is.  Listen to some assumptions that the 3 boys stated, without knowing the full story...may we learn from them in how NOT to be when we walk with someone through their afflictions.

1.  Job's friends did not understand the backstory of God, Satan, and Job.  Job didn't either!
2.  Job's friends argued about what God was up too. 
3.  Job's friends relayed to Job about God's purposes.  Again, dangerous ground for us to walk when we don't understand the backstory.
4.  This one hurts, but Job's friends argued about Job's professed faith.  Wow.  Do we do that today?
5.  Job's friends did not give Job grace nor room to grow.
6.  Job's friends gave him a lesson in how to respond with afflictions.  Wait, do they really know what Job is going through?  Who on earth has answers to our afflictions?
7.  Job's friends were determining God's favor or disfavor.  Again, they are on very thin ice to play the role of God.  They were accusing Job of sin and the curses of sin and although Job is a sinner, the afflictions were not a result of sin but the backstory of what was happening between God and Satan.  No one else knew.  And today, may we not act like we know.  I like to say that when others are going thru afflictions, please stay quiet and just sit in their presence.  Don't be like Job's friends...please, please, please.

And on top of all that, do you remember what God said about Job?  "For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil."  (Job 1:8)  So I want to pause and ask a very serious and deep question.  Who are we listening to when it comes to life stuff?  "Job's friends" or God's Word?  For real, think about this in the context of Job.  And by the way, Job's friends' theology is very solid.  And what makes this all terribly hard is that God is silent from chapters 2-37.  So who do we listen to?  What do we do when God seems silent?  I have an answer to that question in a second, but you must keep walking with me!  Haha.

So, I want to now talk about the only difference between Job's afflictions and our afflictions today.  Do you know the only difference that takes place?  Here it is, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  Jesus.  We have what only Job could dream about.  Jesus.  Which by the way, Job says something very interesting on two occasions that always gives me the chills when I read them.  Job 19:25-27 - "as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth.  Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I SHALL SEE GOD; Whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes will see and not another.  My heart faints within me!"   Then, Job 42:5 - "...but now my eye sees You:"  Wait, what happened?  How did Job see God?  I believe by the power of God's Words.  Yes, simply by God's Words in Job 38-42.  I don't know about you but I find that to be not only powerful, but life-changing.  Let me ask again, because this is what got me going on this blog in the first place, when we are going thru afflictions and life stuff, who are we listening too?  "Job's friends" or God's Word?

Let me wrap this up.  How do we reconcile afflictions and God's faithfulness?  What do we do when God seems silent?  Those are the two questions I want to do my best in answering.

God did not wish or choose sin to become a part of His story.  Yes, He gave His created beings the freedom to choose sin, but true love works that way.  It is not true love if God controlled every aspect of His created beings.  Don't get me wrong, God longed for His creatures to love Him deeply, but in order for that to happen, He had to allow them the freedom to do so.  And if I may say so, I love God more than ever because of walking through my brokenness and experiencing His grace then never walking through brokenness ever.  I don't think I would know anything about His grace without brokenness.  I now know because of the journey I have gone through of His deep love for me.  Someone wisely said, "the road to eternity is marked with difficulties"  Or I have been thinking about the fact that when we struggle Scripture becomes real.  Why, because it is real and full of real people's struggles, like Jesus' affliction of the Cross.  And through their struggles we see God's faithfulness.  I mean a third of the Psalms (around 50 chapters) are of afflictions and God's faithfulness.  Scriptures from Genesis 3 to Revelation 22 is God's answers to our failures.  It is a picture of God's faithfulness to us.  Let me finish with these two passages.

2 Corinthians 4:6 - "for God, who said, "light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."  Do we really know the Light without darkness?

1 Peter 1:6-9 - "In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not see Him, you love Him, and though you do not see  Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls."  Like Job, I have not seen Jesus.  And yet, what is amazing, is that through God's Word, I have seen Jesus.  Isn't that powerful?

My afflictions are on me and yet, can be used to draw me closer to Him.  God's faithfulness is on Him and what a gift it is for us to live under His umbrella of faithfulness everyday.  What I have that Job did not have is the full revelation of Jesus Christ.  And although God might seem "silent", all Scripture shouts Jesus, so really, may we choose to be people who "take and eat" His Word and see Him in His Glory and by doing so...we do not lose heart as we prepare for HOME.