I am pretty sure that almost all Christians at some point in their life have danced this dance.
The dance where something happens or does not happen and we start to question God’s motives. You see if God is All powerful and All knowing, then for sure He must have known about …………. (you fill in the ending).
Perhaps someone got sick, someone died, someone didn’t die, a job loss, a repossession after we could not pay, our child is missing or ran away… Huge horrendous and horrible things, all of them!
As we question these events, our foot starts tapping, our legs get itching and we start to sway with the questions:
1) If you loved me God then…………
2) I thought you cared about me so…………..
3) I do not believe you are real, if you are, prove it…………
These are all legitimate questions, although the 3rd, is more of a challenge to God than a question. The problem is God does not have to give you an answer, He does not owe you an answer, He does not sway to our dance. God is God and you and I are not.
It might seem unfair, however as my mom used to say a lot, “life is not fair, get used to it.”
The book of Job, believed to be the oldest book in the Bible has inexpressible losses. All of Jobs’ children die, everything he has is taken away or lost, except his wife. He does have some friends who rally about him while he becomes ill with painful, blistering sores all over his body. Friends can be the best…. Really? Not if you read the book of Job.
These particular friends know about God and they know Job. They are convinced from their knowledge of the scriptures that they have accurate Biblical wisdom and they begin to let Job know exactly what their knowledge and wisdom is (this next part is me paraphrasing).
“You know Job, you must have made God really mad because He has obviously cursed you.”
“Job, tell us what sins you have committed, confess them to God and get well.”
“The scriptures are clear Job, bless God and He will bless you, God has found you lacking.”
These statements from those friends appeared to speak the truth, they knew their Bible and thus, end of the matter – Job was a sinner who deserved punishment. God has proclaimed, if you bless God, He will Bless you.
However – even though they knew their scriptures, those friends were totally wrong. Job was not being cursed, he was actually being blessed, I know, how does this tragedy mean a blessing, right? God had put His full trust in Job. He, Himself declared Job to be a righteous man, there was no one like him. Job was a bit of a pawn in a contest between God and satan. That was the promotion, Job had won God’s unwavering trust even when life turned hard, God trusted in Job.
Job, the man himself, knew that he had not sinned, nor was there any sin his children had committed because daily Job prayed and confessed for his children to God. Job was a righteous man.
The pressure of the losses became so great that Job declared that God should come down and give Job answers personally (kind of like question 3 at the beginning) and let Job question Him to prove to his friends and to shut up the mocking of his friends (note: choose your friends wisely).
What happened?
God does actually make an appearance and begins talking to Job, there are 3 chapters of God’s narrative and to me they are some of the most spectacular and most wonderful passages in the Bible, probably my favorites. (Job 38-41)
But honestly it was only the first couple lines that Job needed to hear and to make God even more convincing, and the voice came out of a storm: (freaky)
“Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you must answer me.” Job 38:2-3
Job started out strong and firm in his convictions of who he was and then as he faced huge pressure, he got worn down by life, losses, his friends, his pain… and he started to dance the “Do you Love me God?” dance. I think had it happened to us, we all would have danced this dance, wondering, questioning because it all appears “unfair.”
God came back with a comeback that we cannot even hope to answer: “Who are you to question me?”
God did not join Job in his dance, He simply stopped Job in his tracks.
Job had a reverent fear of God. I wonder today, if we have that same reverence for God. We may hear people talk about and even sing about “the fear of the Lord,” but do we really understand it?
God is love, it is His nature. Did you know that love can also be harsh, firm, truthful, and blatantly honest as well, we simply have to remember the flood, that almost wiped out all of mankind.
God is judge and jury – do not think that because God is love, that there will not be a judgement day. There will be, we will All stand before God and all of our works will be exposed. I love that country song (link at bottom) In the end: Everybody Talks to God by Aaron Lewis
Jobs' friends knew their Bible, they knew about God, but they were not chosen by God for this test. Job had a huge reverence of God and the proof of that was Job’s life, he had surrendered all he had to God, including his life, his possessions, and himself. His very famous line: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed by the name of the Lord.” Job 1:21
Job chose to do the “If you love me God dance…” He knew he had not done anything wrong, he simply did not have a clue, God had picked him to stand this test. Job did not waver in his love for God nor did he question God’s love for him, rather he wanted to know “why?” A really fair question to us.
The evidence of God in our life, must be lived out by the Holy Spirit and we must let Him have access to our lives in order to do that. It is called surrender.
When things begin to go south in our world, it would be good to ask, humbly: Is that you God? And listen for an answer.
For me, things begin to go off track and sometimes, I just blurt out, looking upwards: “you have got to be kidding me, right?” That is probably not the fear of God that I am trying to put across here. That is blatant childish disobedience and sarcasm.
What does the fear of the Lord look like?
1) You take Him at His word. If God says it, He will do it and you trust Him to do it no matter how long it takes.
2) You have a deep respect and honor for God for who He is. He is God, I am not.
3) He is the ultimate boss of your life, He calls the shots.
4) You trust that God is for you, not against you. (that does not mean people will always be for you, because they are not. People can be fickle, one minute, wonderful or
the next minute mean and hurt you, people are people, they are not God).
5) You do not mouth off to Him because He is not running your life the way you think it should be run. You are not the one in charge.
6) You take the time in your daily life to commune with Him, talk with Him, spend time with Him, get to know Him, and listen for what He has to say to you.
7) You praise God with your words, with your singing, with your life; in spite of what is happening.
I am so sorry if no one explained to you when you first became a Christian that that is not a guarantee to an easy life or that no harm or sadness will ever befall you. A read through the Bible would point drastically to the otherwise.
There will be trails, there will be strains and challenges, but I figured out long ago, that I would rather walk through this life, especially knowing it has struggles and challenges, with God right by my side, than to walk through this life without Him.
Song Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=allxx9EzoxU
Everyone Talks to God: Aaron Lewis
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