I started thinking about Job from the Bible.. Man. He had it rough. God literally took everything he had.. .everything that Job valued… God “took” it from him. He had it rough… a lot more rough than the junk I’m going through. I have constructed my life with all of the things I think I need the most and many of those things are indeed… comforting. And when God lets His archenemy take one or all of those things away, we think our lives have been shattered.
There is an overarching purpose in this universe and it is not the comfort of man. I like to think that God exists for our benefit, that He is a heavenly wish-granter and need-fulfiller. And while He has committed to grants our hearts desires…of course, assuming that our hearts are godly…and to fulfill all of our needs-assuming we look to Him in faith-His actions are not guided primarily by the welfare of me, human. Ugh, that was a doozie to try to take in and absorb.
His actions are first guided by the glory of H-I-S name…its not about me or my wants. Its not Planet Amy.
And with Job.. It wasn’t Planet Job either. However, with Job, the glory of God’s name, the Almighty, well… it called for a demonstration.
I… you….we….Christians…humans… we get so caught up in human-centered thinking. We assume that God’s salvation is first and foremost about our well-being and we even try to define “well-being” for Him as comfort, prosperity, success, and health. God is interested in all those things; after all… He cares for us passionately. But there is a higher purpose…shocker, I know. HIS GLORY. This is a God-centered universe, not a man-human-centered one. And, this is where, when I asked God to protect me and deliver me. I was under attack from the adversary. But… God doesn’t just want us to treat Him like a rescue ranger… He still wants His glory…. Because, like said before.. This is a God-centered universe. I am learning how to ask God to PRESERVE H-I-S reputation in myself…despite my circumstances or trails. Because….this conflict revolves around issues much higher than myself.. It revolves around the GLORY of God. I gotta ask for victory for HIS sake first.. Then for my sake second.
One thing I am learning is that when my trails are the most severe… worship is not my first reaction. In fact, I criticize God, question His goodness and ask pointed questions about why this had to happen to me-a whole ritual of self pity… and usually, I dwell there for a long time before I come to a place of true worship. However, in my study of Job… that was his FIRST reaction…sure, he had a some complaints but overall, he had a heart of worship. Can you blame his complaints though? His livelihood…donkeys, oxen, ect had been stole. His transportation.. Camels had been stole. And his children…aka, his legacy had been killed. All of this is ONE flippin’ day. Tough day. But.. Job’s first reaction….well, after his initial shock and grief… was surprisingly NOT anger… or bitterness… or questions and not apostasy. It was worship…
Gah, I got a lot.. And by lot, I mean a whole behavior modification pattern break… that I need to learn from this guy. It was worship… He violated my sister and every other psychologist’s formula for the stages of grief.
I can not even wrap my head around this… its just my nature to respond that way… get pissed.. .get mad.. Then get carried away in grief and self pity. How… how… how did he manage to come to a place of worship? The stuff I was going through seems so minor compared to the catastrophe Job was going through. I don’t even get it. Did he know he was under some divine microscope? No.. of course not. Its obvious with the questions that him and his buddies wrestled with. He did not have a clue what was going on. Did he assume that his sins had finally caught up with him? Because… If I’m honest… I started confessing every little thing! I thought… darn, I guess God is for real punishing me for that stupid piece of gum I stole when I was 8. But.. that’s not God’s character and Job even knew that he was a righteous man.. He maintains his innocence throughout the book. So… my dilemma with Job is… how did he, how could he come to a place of worship? Well Job knew something then in his spirit that I am just now learning/comprehending… despite that I’ve been a Christian for a long time… He knew deep down in his heart two essential facts that we all could really mature in…and apply.
1.) God is sovereign.
2.) God is good.
That’s it. And.. It seems so simple… like, those two are automatic givens, right? Well, yeah… but tell that to someone who is currently going through fire and see how simple it is. But Job could worship because he knew these fundamental truths and because whatever was happening, it was all under the sovereign hand of a really good God. He didn’t know why bad things were happening, but he knew who watching over him. And despite circumstances, he knew that the One who watched over him was worthy. In his devastation, he remembered the character of God.
I get it.. This is probably foreign to you as it was to me… especially when I was having an all out break down. It goes against our human nature. When our lives fall apart, we’re inclined to accuse God of not living up to His end of the bargain. Job remembered that he was not in a bargaining position-never had been. All he had received from God was from His mercy. He knew that the fact that it was now gone had nothing to do with God’s character. When our trails weigh heavily upon us-even when crisis strikes- we must remember the unchanging, merciful nature of God.
