The Joy of Glory

Discovering endless joy in the boundless glory of God…

Month: April, 2014

April 15, 2014

Lent Devotional: Job 38

Job 38 (click here)
Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: 2 “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. 4 Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. (Job 38:1-4)

Reflection
God speaks! If we knew nothing else…this would be grace enough. After so much silence, the Lord speaks to Job, but in a manner for which Job was completely unprepared. Job wanted to question God, but the reverse is what unfolds.

God aims to show Job his human limitations in contrast with God’s own divine limitlessness! Job’s estimation of all that is happening in his life has acted like a blanket of darkness, covering up the light of God’s counsel/plan. Through his questions, God will dispel the darkness, but not in order to reveal his complete plan to Job, but in order to reveal himself!

God doesn’t give Job the “WHY” he wants…he gives Job the “WHO” he needs!

Job may be limited in time and space, but God is not! God has seen all from beginning to end and been present for it all. This means he sees Job and is present with him in his suffering. He knows how his suffering fits into the big picture of history. He knows how Job’s suffering is working for Job an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison!

He knows…and so he can be trusted! When you suffer, you haven’t fallen of God’s radar. He knows, he sees, and he is there with you amidst all the pain. Things may make absolutely no sense from our limited perspective, but from his eternal perspective God promises all things are working for our good and his glory. Trust him.

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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April 14, 2014

Lent Devotional: Job 36-37

Job 36-37 (click here)
Bear with me a little, and I will show you, for I have yet something to say on God’s behalf. 3 I will get my knowledge from afar and ascribe righteousness to my Maker. 4 For truly my words are not false; one who is perfect in knowledge is with you. (Job 36:2-4)

Reflection
Elihu claims to speak on behalf of God. We all do this from time to time. If we ever try to teach someone anything about God then we are, in a way, claiming to speak on God’s behalf. We have been commissioned to do this very thing! We are ambassadors representatives of the Lord, and we are to proclaim him to the world.

Yet…teaching people about the Lord is a mission that should be approached with humility, holy fear, and much trembling.

James 3:1 warns, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” As someone who regularly teaches and preaches, warnings like this often cause me to lie awake at night, thinking back through everything I’ve taught…searching to see if I can find any error in need of correction.

Elihu has a good goal that we also should seek… he wants to ascribe righteousness to his Maker. He wants to proclaim the glory of God and show his greatness to the world! Our heart should beat with this kind of passion and our lips should proclaim it! Yet, Elihu’s approach is anything but humble…he claims to be perfect in knowledge…a claim that can be made by God alone.

Don’t get me wrong… we should teach truth with conviction and confidence. Uncertainty is not the same thing as humility. The difference in an arrogant or humble approach to teaching the truth about God is found in the source of our confidence. Elihu’s confidence is in himself and his own knowledge. Our confidence needs to be in Christ and his Word.

We humbly, confidently teach people the truth about Christ on the basis of his Word…striving to be as faithful as possible to what he has said about himself.

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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April 13, 2014

Lent Devotional: Job 34-35

Job 34-35 (click here)
Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding: far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong. (Job 34:10)

Reflection
Is it ever “right” to accuse God of wrong? Is it ok for us to be angry with God?

We must answer these questions carefully and not be overly simplistic. Scripture tells us that God is never in the wrong, he never acts wickedly, he never sins, etc. Therefore, it IS sin to accuse God or be angry with him. There is no such thing as justified anger at God, for he never does anything wrong…he never does anything worthy of our wrath.

Yet…as soon as I say that, people begin to get upset because there are many times in their life they have “felt” wronged by God. Perhaps you have felt this way. Anger towards the Lord has festered in your heart. Are we just supposed to suppress that anger and put on a hypocritical face of love towards the Lord? No.

If we are angry with God, we should be honest about it. He knows anyway. Confess it, pray for comfort, and help… and eventually… repent. He is faithful and just to forgive. When we sin by being angry with the Lord, we don’t sin again by hypocritically hiding that anger.

Ultimately, we need to see that our anger is pointed in the wrong direction. Typically when we are angry at the Lord, it IS because some injustice has taken place, but such injustice should make us angry at sin, death, and Satan! We should not be angry with the only solution to those problems! The Lord is the solution! He has promised to deal, in a real/final way, with sin, death, and Satan. When we are angered by injustices, let us not aim that anger at the only one who has promised to bring us the justice we desire.

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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