The Joy of Glory

Discovering endless joy in the boundless glory of God…

Month: April, 2014

April 6, 2014

Lent Devotional: Job 25

Job 25 (click here)
How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure? 5 Behold, even the moon is not bright, and the stars are not pure in his eyes; 6 how much less man, who is a maggot, and the son of man, who is a worm! (Job 25:4-6)

Reflection
There is some truth in Bildad’s words. No person can be considered 100% in the right before God on the basis of their own merits. However, the point Bildad (and all Job’s friends) have been driving home is that either Job is in the wrong or God is in the wrong. The one thing Bildad has not considered is that he may be in the wrong.

His understanding of God is so tightly put together that he has no room to bring his own theology  under scrutiny. He cannot fathom a situation in which Job is not in the wrong and neither is God… but that is precisely the reality!

We must be willing to allow God to constantly teach us more about himself and more about who he is. We often form a “solid” image of God. We build this image from many things… such as… things we were taught growing up, our favorite Scriptures, things we’ve heard preachers say, etc. But, what happens when we encounter a Scripture that says something we don’t like… perhaps it corrects a belief we hold about God? What do we do then?

We dare not hold onto an image of God we have made… that is the very definition of idolatry! We must hold onto to the image of God as he has revealed himself to us. Often we take even things that are true, like Bildad, and distort them to our own understanding or purposes. We must be careful not to put ourselves in a position where we are attempting to teach God what he is like… no… he is the teacher and we are always the learner.

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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April 5, 2014

Lent Devotional: Job 23-24

Job 23-24 (click here)
Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; 9 on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. 10 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. (Job 23:8-10)

Reflection
Where is God? Job cannot “sense” the presence of the Lord. It doesn’t matter what direction he moves in, what he does, what he says… it is as if God is absent. Every believer knows this feeling. In fact all people know this feeling… we call it “alone.” But, when one has known the presence of the Lord and all of a sudden if feels removed, then “alone” transformed into “forsaken.”

This is how Job feels. This is how we have all felt. But… Job recognizes that feelings do not equal reality.

God is not a feeling! So, when we cannot feel him that does not mean he is not there! It just means the feeling is not there. Job recognizes the truth that God is still present and God is still at work amidst all his suffering. He says God is working, but he cannot behold him. The problem is not God’s presence… the problem is our perception.

He is present, but we don’t perceive.

So what are we to do? When we cannot perceive God’s presence we believe he’s present. Job says, “He knows the way I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.” Job cannot “feel” God, but he believes he is present, he knows, he sees, and he will save.

Times when we “feel” God’s presence are blessings indeed, but at the end of the day I would rather have the guarantee of his presence that I don’t perceive, than a feeling that turns out to be false.

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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April 4, 2014

Lent Devotional: Job 22

Job 22 (click here)
If you return to the Almighty you will be built up; if you remove injustice far from your tents, 24 if you lay gold in the dust, and gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrent-bed, 25 then the Almighty will be your gold and your precious silver. 26 For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. (Job 22:23-26)

Reflection
With these words, Eliphaz reveals the root problem with his (and Job’s other friends) theology. We’ve already seen that he has a “transaction” based theology. In other words, do good and God does good to you. Do bad and God does bad to you. This is the exact belief system that Satan assumed Job had in chapters 1-2.

Yet, right here, in chapter 22, Eliphaz reveals the ultimate problem created by such a “transactional” faith. He tells Job that if he will repent and return to the Lord he will be built back up… i.e. God will bless him with wealth, health, and favorable circumstances again. Then come his words in verse 25… and it is the kicker…

Once Job returns and is built back up, THEN God will become his treasure. Eliphaz believes that God is treasured through things. This could not be further from the truth! This is a treasuring of things… not of God! It is a treasuring of gifts… not the giver! Eliphaz cannot imagine a scenario in which God is treasured when all the gifts are gone.

Job is struggling with what God is doing in his life, but he has not let go of God, because he understands what it truly means to have God as treasure… to love him more than any of the possessions or people in your life… to treasure him more than your own health. If God is not our treasure amidst pain, he will never be our treasure amidst pleasure. We, like Eliphaz, will deceive ourselves into believing that we delight in God when, in reality, all we delight in are his gifts.

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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