God's love

Tonight I was reading the 14^th chapter of Job.  By reading Job’s words I could feel the conflict in Job as he wrestled with the pain in his heart and the emerging doubt towards God’s justice.  This wise man expressed many poignant thoughts during his trials.  Job said that the pure could not come from impurity.  He did not see a way out of his impure thoughts . . . a way to become pure and acceptable to God again.  Job also stated that human beings cannot come back to life in order to lengthen their growing time.  Job’s pain caused him to view life as futile.  He saw no hope for future goodness to come from him. It seems that Job thought his life was an unfixable mess.  He longed for God to return His blessings to him.

But Job also expresses insight into God’s nature. He said “You will call and I will answer you; You will long for the creature your hands have made.  Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin.  My offenses will be sealed up in a bag; you will cover over my sin.” (Job 14:15-17).

Job realized that the Creator loved what He had created; Job was loved by God. Though God would “count” his steps, He would “seal up” his sins. The way to righteousness was not by being a perfect human being.  The way to being righteous was by being loved by God. 

Job’s words were a foreshadow of what God accomplished through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus.  God loved us, and made a way to cover our sins and make us righteous.  Our efforts at improvement could never bring us into the purity our hearts long for.  It is futile to loathe our failures, or to justify them.  However, there is another way.

We can lean on God’s longing for us.  When we fail, it may not seem that a pure God could long for such impure people as we see ourselves. But God’s word comforts us with the following scriptures;

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rm 8: 37-39).

I’m glad that our lives cannot separate us from God’s love. I want to encourage you to lay down all sorrow and vexation at your failures and your own human nature.  Instead, let us be glad that God’s heart longs for us, and His love is everlasting.  Amen.

God Tests the Heart

God tests the heart.  And if He tests those whom He brags about, such as righteous Job (Job 1:8), who are we to escape?

Job was put into a situation that changed how he looked at life and himself, and brought questions to his heart about God. He had enjoyed being righteous.  It is our nature to want to be good.  We can look good to ourselves, our fellow Man, and to God, and in this period of being in the “good” zone, we are satisfied.  In fact, some of us avoid being in situations that would bring out anything but the good in us. Like finding just the right color to make ourselves look attractive, we can seek just the right type of life to keep us satisfied with the person we are.

The truth is, failure at righteousness stinks.  It is embarrassing, and can cause inward loathing.  Have you ever been able to love someone, until you saw more and more of them?  It is more comfortable to back away once we find our behavior is becoming less than righteous.  We may have become unkind, or act distant . . . and then long for the distance wherein we were able to be “good.”

We lose God’s benefit for us, though, when we distance ourselves from those who bring out the worst in us.  God puts us in uncomfortable situations because staying in our comfort zone breeds self-righteousness.  We like our behavior better when we’re in our own zone.

God puts us in a new, uncomfortable zone when He tests us.  Complaints, challenging God, pouting, unsubmission . . . and many more things may be what arises in our hearts when we’re tested.  But as Job complained to God and was heard, so are God’s ears ever open to our prayers.

After Job’s testing was over, God restored more than he had before.  God also made Job a priest.  And God has good things appointed for us, too.  We can trust Him to bring us through our trials, out of the comfort zone where we enjoyed our own righteousness, and into true unshakable righteousness. 

Please be encouraged that, even if you don’t like how you behave during your trials, you will be just fine when God has brought you through them.  Amen.