Argue and Confront God!?

Job Chp 9

The question of whether we have standing to argue with God is an easy one (yes) but the method we use is a tougher question. 

Job poses the dilemma here:

³² “He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him,
   that we might confront each other in court.
³³ If only there were someone to mediate between us,
   someone to bring us together,
³⁴ someone to remove God’s rod from me,
   so that his terror would frighten me no more.
³⁵ Then I would speak up without fear of him,
   but as it now stands with me, I cannot.  

I am certain that Job is not one to confront God in a way to say that God is wrong for what He is doing (or allowing to happen to) to Job...this of course is acknowledged by Job.  Job recognizes that he is not perfect and he acknowledges that he does not know more than God.  The question becomes one of method.

And here I found an interesting commentary by John Piper on this subject.  What strikes me in this commentary is how the argument is a more of struggle for God to reveal truth and His plan.  From Piper, "Finally, always and only ask for what will honor God."

My Prayer: Lord, I am clear that You are great.  Your wisdom and righteousness is above all and Your will is perfect.  I am unclean and for this I seek You - please forgive me when I seek other gods who can be no substitute.  Purify me of my uncleanliness - my harshness in my dealings with others at work and at home with Lisa, Zach, and Dusting.  Help me see and deal with others as You do.  Help me be more like you Jesus and help me depend more on You and seek only what honors You. 

I Can Hang On By A Thread...If Only Through God's Help

Job Chp 8

As I read through the words of Job's anguish and the response of his friend Bildad, I can recall my experiences of unemployment during 2002 and 2003.  During this period it definitely felt like the end of the world for me and that God had forsaken, Yet it was God's word and the encouragement and prayers of others that carried me through.  I was able to hang on by a thread if only through God's help:

¹³ Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
   so perishes the hope of the godless.
¹⁴ What they trust in is fragile;
   what they rely on is a spider’s web.
¹⁵ They lean on the web, but it gives way;
   they cling to it, but it does not hold.
¹⁶ They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
   spreading its shoots over the garden;
¹⁷ it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
   and looks for a place among the stones.
¹⁸ But when it is torn from its spot,
   that place disowns it and says, ‘I never saw you.’
¹⁹ Surely its life withers away,
   andfrom the soil other plants grow.

  

²⁰ “Surely God does not reject one who is blameless
   or strengthen the hands of evildoers.
²¹ He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
   and your lips with shouts of joy. ²² Your enemies will be clothed in shame,
   and the tents of the wicked will be no more.”

As I recall my experiences I DO see how God redeems us from all and He WILL "yet fill our mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy."

The question for me is AM I am blameless.  I can't say that I am yet I do seek God's will, his forgiveness, and most important is I DO seek God!  It becomes a matter of degree and I seek to more blameless than I am, and I do seek God's will more than I do, his forgiveness more than I do and Him more than I do.

My Prayer: You are great as you HAVE not ever forsaken me Lord  - even in the darkest of times!  Yet I remain sinful as I cannot say I am blameless.  I do seek a transformation of my heart and in my life that I can be purified of my sin as I do seek to be closer to you and I do seek to glorify you and please you with who I am and what I do.  Please help me follow you Lord.

Reminder To Walk With Brothers and Sisters Through Life and Walk With Christ

Job Chp 5

After Job speaks in anguish, his friend Eliphaz the Temanite replies and offers words of wisdom about the refuge and healing only God can offer:

⁸ “But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
   I would lay my cause before him. 

...

¹⁸ For he wounds, but he also binds up;
   he injures, but his hands also heal. 

The question in my mind is: do I have brothers and sisters in my life like Eliphaz that can walk alongside me in my life (regardless of the circumstances) and walk with Christ?  This chapter underscores how important it is to walk with my brothers and sisters, that we cannot do this life by ourselves.  It is through brothers and sisters like Eliphaz that we can pointed to the one eternal Truth and Savior - Christ alone.

My Prayer: Lord, daily I see your work as you have blessed me beyond anything I deserve and through this I know you love me and you will protect me.  Yet I know I can love you more and I can trust you more...please forgive me that I hold back in my love and trust in you.  Help me surround myself with brothers and sister like Eliphaz so that I can be reminded of the one and only eternal Truth and that is you Lord Christ.

Come to God Just As You Are...Be Real

Job Chp 3

The question here is when Job spoke after he had been afflicted by "painful sores", did he speak aloud in vain or was he speaking to God?

I am not sure if we will ever know but the point to me is clear: we need to be real, real in our relationships with others and real in our relationship with God.  On this latter point, we need to think of our relationship with God as if we are talking to our spouse, our children or anyone else - we need to be real.

My Prayer: Lord, You are an awesome God, caring about us and loving us through thick and thin and we know we can come to you with anything and you will comfort us.  Forgive me when I doubt you and help me trust you more in your power, might and love.

Does Joy Exist In The Depths of Tragedy

Job Chp 1

I am not certain if I will ever face tragedy as Job has. Job has lost everything, including his entire family.

Yet in the depths of this tragedy, Job finds joy.

²⁰ At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship ²¹ and said:

   “Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
   and naked I will depart.

The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
   may the name of the LORD be praised.”

 ²² In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. 

I can't be certain how I will react but I have my doubts that I can react as Job has to such tragedy.   This story is a stark reminder that we need to look for God's will and His perfect plan in all circumstances.  Our first thought might be to view suffering for suffering's sake - an end to itself.  Yet suffering in the name of the Lord, for His perfect will and plan is an entirely different thing.  Suffering as a means to and end.  This is of course tough to fathom but worthy of prayer that we can suffer in such a way.

My Prayer: Lord, I have seen you perfect will and plan unfold and I am thankful for you use me....I am an ordinary person yet you give me great strength and you use everything that I have for your will and glory.  I know I am not perfect but you are.  For this I ask that you both forgive me - for my lack of trust and obedience in you - and that you do use me.  Purify me and strengthen me so that you can use me fully.

Do I Live In My Own Little World?

Esther Chp 1

What strikes me here is Xerxes' focus on his own little world.  Early in this chapter, great lengths are taken to describe how vast Xerxes' rule is and how splendorous his wealth is: 

¹ This is what happened during the time of Xerxes,^[a] the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush^[b]: ² At that time King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa, ³ and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present.

  

⁴ For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty. ⁵⁶ The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones. ⁷ Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality. ⁸ By the king’s command each guest was allowed to drink with no restrictions, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished. When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa.

Yet for all of the vastness of Xerxes' rule and the splendor of his wealth, it of course does not compare with the majesty of Our Lord:

`¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

Is there anything more vast than the heavens and the earth?  No.  Is there anything more splendorous than the heavens and the earth? No again!

Yet here is Xerxes in all his glory with a focus on his own greatness - failing to comprehend how his greatness is NOTHING compared to God.

My Prayer: Lord, your works and your splendor is indeed great!  Yet you find time to love me, to seek me out and of course you died for me!  How great is that!  I feel that I am not worthy because of my uncleanliness and my sin.   In particular, I focus on myself far too often and I neglect you and for that I am truly sorry.  I do pray Lord that you will purify me of my sin, that you will transform my heart and my life so that I can truly focus solely on you.

No Surprise Here...We Are ALL Unclean

Nehemiah Chp 13

To the dismay of Nehemiah (although no one should be surprised), the Israelites, despite there "new" covenant with God, continue to neglect the house of God and God's will for them.

Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. ⁸ I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. ⁹ I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense.

 ¹⁰ I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and musicians responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields. ¹¹ So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?” Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts.

...

 

 ¹⁵ In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day. ¹⁶ People from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath to the people of Judah. ¹⁷ I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this wicked thing you are doing—desecrating the Sabbath day? ¹⁸ Didn’t your ancestors do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity on us and on this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.” 

Why should we be surprised - I mean c'mon I know of myself I cannot avoid sin - how silly is this?

While one can view Nehemiah as a great man, we can fault him for expecting too much.

We need Jesus and Jesus alone as our savior for only He can take away our sins and help us lead a life worthy of God's glory.  Even with Jesus, we are going to be who we are - humans.  And as such we will continue to sin until the day we die.  Until then we need to go to Jesus and ask forgiveness and to ask for Him to purify us of our sin as only He can do.  We also need to see others as Jesus does and pray that we can do this even when we don't want to or won't.

My Prayer: Lord, only you are a perfect Jesus...and You are.  And it continues to amaze me that You - our great God - love me and you died for me and that you desire me.  Lord, please forgive me for my sin because it is daily and painful.  I do wish that you can help rid me of my sin and that you will transform my heart and life so that I can more pure and more like you.  Please do help me Jesus.