The Joy of Glory

Discovering endless joy in the boundless glory of God…

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April 11, 2014

Lent Devotional: Job 31

Job 31 (click here)
I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? 2 What would be my portion from God above and my heritage from the Almighty on high? 3 Is not calamity for the unrighteous, and disaster for the workers of iniquity? 4 Does not he see my ways and number all my steps? (Job 31:1-4)

Reflection
This is Job’s final appeal. He walks back through his life and looks at how he has lived…searching for something that could have brought about his present situation. But, there is nothing to be found. Job has lived his life in the pursuit of righteousness.

He poses an interesting question that we do not have consider…if he had lived NOT pursuing righteousness, then he asks, “What would be my portion from God above and my heritage from the Almighty on high?” The implied answer is obvious…NOTHING!

Job believes that if he did not live a life pursuing righteousness that he would have no inheritance from God! Wait a minute Job…isn’t that works based righteousness? Are you saying that your “good deeds” merit you salvation? No. All too often we have no place in our thinking (or living) for a pursuit of righteousness because we immediately want to label that as “legalism” or “works-based-salvation.” But, this is not the way the Bible talks.

A pursuit of righteousness is evidence that one has a real relationship with the Lord. I don’t pursue righteousness to create the relationship…I pursue righteousness because I AM in the relationship! Such a pursuit does not save me, but it is necessary evidence that I am saved! A life devoid of pursuing righteousness is evidence that someone does not have a relationship with God and will have no inheritance from him.

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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April 10, 2014

Lent Devotional: Job 29-30

Job 29-30 (click here)
Then I thought, “I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand, 19 my roots spread out to the waters, with the dew all night on my branches, 20 my glory fresh with me, and my bow ever new in my hand.” (Job 29:18-20)

Reflection
Job reflects on his life as it was in all his prosperity. He reveals to us why he was known as a man who was blameless and upright, fearing the Lord and turning away from evil. Job was not just a wealthy man who offered sacrifices, but he offered his very self to all.

Job helped the poor and the powerless, the blind, the needy, the lame, the widowed, the orphaned, etc. He used his blessing to bless others. Job was not self-centered, but God-centered. Yet…in all his material wealth, certain unhealthy thoughts crept into Job’s mind as expectations of how God would/should act towards him.

Job thought that life would continue on as always until the day he died peacefully in his sleep. Trouble, bankruptcy, sickness, were not a part of Job’s future calculations. He may have known they were possibilities, but they were not his expectation.

For how many of us is this the dream ending to our lives? To die “in our nest,” peacefully, in our sleep after a long life that has had days/years like the sands. This is our expectation, but it is not what we are promised. Most of our disappointments with God are due to unmet expectations which we un-rightly place on God, not unmet promises which he has graciously held out to us.

God has promised us that we will experience suffering and trouble and hardship. The odds of dying peacefully in our sleep are not very high for the Christian. Yet, he has promised to be with us amidst our suffering…all the way up to death’s door and even on the other side of it! That is the kind of promise which brings true peace. Job will soon learn much about the peace brought about by the presence of the Lord.


*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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April 9, 2014

Lent Devotional: Job 28

Job 28 (click here)
Man puts his hand to the flinty rock and overturns mountains by the roots. 10 He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing. 11 He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle, and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light. 12 But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? (Job 28:9-12)

…Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding. (Job 28:28)

Reflection
How often do we mistake knowledge for wisdom? Job lists marvelous technological accomplishments which mankind has achieved by the power of intellect…yet despite all these “advances” we are no wiser.

Is this not true amidst our “advanced” culture. We have seen so many advances in technology over the past several decades. Everywhere you turn, there is another celebration of human accomplishment. We have come so far!…but have we really?

Our world is still one covered in brokenness… and more so than ever before. The 20th century saw the greatest technological advances in history and the greatest human atrocities. For all our increased knowledge we are no wiser.

Wisdom cannot be found in us. It must come from outside us. Wisdom comes from God. The good news is that he is a gracious giver of wisdom to those who humble themselves and seek it in him instead of in themselves. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him (James 1:5).”

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

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