The Joy of Glory

Discovering endless joy in the boundless glory of God…

Tag: Devotional

April 17, 2014

Lent Devotional: Job 40

Job 40 (click here)
Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his? (Job 40:8-9 ESV)

Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together. His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron. He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword! (Job 40:15-19)

Reflection
Job has been so frustrated with his “friends” as they have judged him by only looking at his external circumstances… unable to see the purity of his heart. Yet, has Job not done the same thing with God? He (and we) judges God based on what he can see, not recognizing that there may be much hidden from his view. Ultimately, Job thinks he could do a better Job running the world than God.

So… God asks Job many questions designed to show Job just how powerless he is to “run the world.” He directs his attention to the creature Behemoth… an extremely powerful animal that Job dare not attempt to attack. Yet, God says that he made this creature just as surely as he made Job and, as creator, he has all power over it… he can “bring near his sword.”

The point is fairly simple… the most powerful creatures Job has seen are nothing before the all-powerful God. Perhaps Job cannot see exactly how God is working his power amidst his suffering, but that doesn’t mean he is not!

God works his power for his people, even amidst suffering. There is nothing in this world, not even Behemoth, more powerful than God! So, we can rest in the truth that he is in control and trustworthy. Just like Job’s friends could not see the purity of his heart, we often cannot see the goodness of God due to external circumstances, but that doesn’t mean his goodness is gone… just hidden from view.

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Leave a comment
April 16, 2014

Lent Devotional: Job 39

Job 39 (click here)
Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the does? Can you number the months that they fulfill, and do you know the time when they give birth, when they crouch, bring forth their offspring, and are delivered of their young? Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open; they go out and do not return to them. (Job 39:1-4)

Reflection
God takes Job on a tour of the animal kingdom and the whole point is for Job to recognize that none of these creatures depend upon him for anything…they depend upon God for everything! From the moment they are born and throughout their lives, it is God who sustains their every waking moment.

Life itself displays the awesome power of God…for he gives it, sustains it, and guides it all the way home!

The point is not for Job to merely feel powerless (although he should), but to see that the all powerful one is on his side! If God uses his power to care for animals, then surely he will do the same for Job!

This is a promise to every believer…that God lovingly uses his power to work for our good and his glory…which are the same thing! God’s glory IS our greatest good, for that is where eternal joy and satisfaction are found! Through Job’s suffering, the glory of God is put on display as Job’s holding onto him reveals that he is more valuable than all Job has lost. Whether he knows it or not, Job is displaying God’s worth/value/glory to the world.

Job will discover more and more how glorious God truly is, and this will deepen Job’s joy in him. God IS working for his glory and Job’s joy…and we are promised that he is doing the same in our lives…even when we cannot see it! Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Verse 28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Leave a comment
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.

Leave a comment