So……I realized, that in my struggle, Job (the dude in the old testament book of Job) and I have something in common. He suffered horribly. And I have suffered some in my life. But that’s not what I’m talking about.
Lately (not that it’s anything new), I have struggled with my, for lack of a better word, disgustingness. How long will I walk with God and still be such a schmuck???? That sort of thing.
I was talking to my sister yesterday, and we started to discuss this topic and I told her that I had gone to the Lord with this very question. (AGAIN!!!) And the answer was the same. It’s always the same. God says, “This isn’t about you. It’s about Me.” And I know that. I know it’s all God. Jesus. His goodness. His righteousness. His sacrifice, alone, that makes ANY of us worthy and accepted and clean.
That holds me over for a bit, but within a few months, I am back to my discontentedness. I want to be changed! I WANT TO BE CHANGED! I tell God what a wretch I am. That I’m worthless and maybe He should just give up on me and move on to someone who will be more worthy of His time, clay that molds more easily in His hands.
See……when I go to God, I present MY shortcomings, MY failure to become a better person, and MY frustration over it, to Him. That is where I’m coming from.
And that is where Job and I have something in common. It is opposite, but as you will see, it is the same.
People read the book of Job and see it as the devil testing Job. But did you know that after that Initial few references to the devil, he’s never mentioned again in the whole book? No, this was all the work of God. The beautiful, sometimes painful, work of God.
People talk about the patience of Job. Because he suffered so much and didn’t turn on God. He just would not curse God. He was that good. He was that good, until………..he finally got fed up. He had finally had enough. And even then, he didn’t curse God. No. He was still too good to curse God. Instead, he started on a rant, a lengthy rant, about how good he had been, how he never sinned against anyone or against God. He could find no fault in himself that would warrant these horrible calamities to be brought on him. He still showed respect for God, fear of God, but inferred that basically he had given God no reason to bring him to such depths of destruction and despair. He brings an end to his rant in Job 31:35-“Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book.“
God does answer Job starting in Chapter 38, verse 1. He doesn’t even mention Job’s trouble. Interestingly enough, God’s answer to Job was the same answer that He gave me. The very same answer.
It isn’t about Job. It’s about God. Always. Only. Completely.
I come to God with my failings. Job came to God with His self-righteousness. But God’s answer is the same for each of us. If we are righteous beyond measure, it doesn’t matter. If we are filthy, miserable, transgressors, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is God, the One Who made us, loves us, and Who has everything well in hand. (If you don’t believe it, read those chapters of Job, chapters 38 and 39. He seriously has this business in hand.)
The answer is always, God has you. God has me. God has all of us on this tiny globe spinning around in the dark, cold, vast reaches of the universe. In a place so big that it has to be measured in light years, God gave you life, because He wants you, loves you, and wants you to know Him. Glorious!
Much love to all!
Good stuff!
Beck yeah!
Love this one!