Pondering Job...
It is interesting how when we think of the Book of Job, we think of it as a book about one man's ordeal against all things unfair from mostly his point-of-view ... but Philip Yancey made an acute observation - Job is actually written from God's POV or what I'd call God's Eye View. It starts with God and Satan's wager - a rare peek into what happens behind the scenes... and it ends with God appearing to Job and his friends, reminding us that it is not up to us to second guess God and Job being blessed more than he was originally for his not bailing out on God!
Some people feel that Job went through the ordeal unfairly... but if you look at it from another perspective, God had great faith in Job. He had enough faith in Job to make a wager on him. What was on the line? God's reputation.
Job was, as Yancey said, God's stand-in in a cosmic battle in the unseen world & I feel it is important to note that although Job was put up to the task, God made sure that Job would not be killed in the process. It is an assurance to us to that when God allows us to undergo testing, He has full confidence that we can ace it and that we are not placed where we cannot cope. He sets boundaries so no even if we fall, there is a safety net catching us. There is no point of no return, He makes sure that we can be redeemed if we choose to. The test and bad stuff doesn't come from God, and He won't allow us to be tested if He didn't have confidence in us, or wish for us to grow closer to Him and know His love more. The tests are from Satan. The ball is in our court. Which net will we toss in to score? Will we give the match to Abba or the enemy?
"As I studied Job, it struck me that The Wager was, at its heart, a stark reenactment of God's original question in creation: Will the humans choose for me or against me? ... The Wager in the Book of Job called into question the whole human experiment." - Yancey
Do we trust God? It is easy to trust God when we have everything, but what happens when things go wrong? Are we still for Him? Or will we turn against Him in anger and disappointment or in grief or in fear?
Yancey speaks about how in real life, our disappointment in God begins in Job-like circumstances, and may bring on the same questions that Job asked. That is probably why so many people turn to Job to read during down times. However I feel whilst some find their way through it right - claiming double blessings over their lives and finding the strength to continue to hope in Him, others mistakenly use it to affirm that God is a hypocrite - completely not understanding the book of Job and taking it way way WAY out of context. =(
Yancey wisely adds "As we read the Book of Job, we are given a glimpse behind what's happening, but in our own trials, we will not have such insight." Perhaps then, it is important for us to remind ourselves that what we see is just the surface... that there is a bigger picture. Whatever our situation now, it may seem horrendous, but the blessings are in disguise and just around the next bend, we just have to hang on and trust in Him. Jesus take my wheel... Amen!
The battle outside might seem to be real struggle - the outside circumstances... but just like in Job, we begin to realise that the actual and more important struggle takes place within us. Will we trust God or not?God again and again allows his reputation to ride on the response of unpredictable human beings... Like Joyce Meyer says, and I suspect I've repeated a few times to myself, if the inside doesn't change, the outside's not going to change either.
Yancey accurately points out that "Job teaches that at the moment when faith is hardest and least likely, then faith is most needed. "I read it this way - Job teaches us that at the moment when it is hardest and least likely for us to be faithful to God, then God's faithfulness and unconditional love to us is most needed. We need to understand this point even more so in times of trials. That God's forgivness for our sins doesn't depend on us, it depends on Christ.... God's extension of help to us doesn't depend on what we do, who we are but on these- Are we in Christ? Have we accepted Him as our Saviour and repented from our past? Are we walking in Christ in New wineskins or are we still remaining in our old wineskins?
Job also teaches us the "remarkable truth that our choices matter, not just to us and our own destiny, but amazingly, to God Himself and the universe He rules." This fact astounds me. We each have a part to play.
Yancey finally states how Job gives no satisfying answers to the question WHY? but substitutes it instead with the question TO WHAT END?
Our Daddy God trusted us so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to come down to Earth to understand all the sufferings we go through in our lives. Then, He sent Him to the Cross and Christ went willingly to suffer for us, so that we can be redeemed, made whole. No questions. No doubt. As long as you are a sinner, imperfect... He has died for you to qualify you. No gimmicks, just a whole lot of love.
He didn't ask us "WHY?" before He accepted us back into His arms. Like the Prodigal Son's Father, He celebrates over our return with great rejoicing. All that matters is that we are home again, with Him... under His wings. He embraces us and forgets our trespasses in Christ. The past is the past - forgotten.
So...
To what end can we trust in the love of this God?
To what end can we believe that He is for us in the light of all that He has done for us so far?
How can you refuse Him now? Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Some people feel that Job went through the ordeal unfairly... but if you look at it from another perspective, God had great faith in Job. He had enough faith in Job to make a wager on him. What was on the line? God's reputation.
Job was, as Yancey said, God's stand-in in a cosmic battle in the unseen world & I feel it is important to note that although Job was put up to the task, God made sure that Job would not be killed in the process. It is an assurance to us to that when God allows us to undergo testing, He has full confidence that we can ace it and that we are not placed where we cannot cope. He sets boundaries so no even if we fall, there is a safety net catching us. There is no point of no return, He makes sure that we can be redeemed if we choose to. The test and bad stuff doesn't come from God, and He won't allow us to be tested if He didn't have confidence in us, or wish for us to grow closer to Him and know His love more. The tests are from Satan. The ball is in our court. Which net will we toss in to score? Will we give the match to Abba or the enemy?
"As I studied Job, it struck me that The Wager was, at its heart, a stark reenactment of God's original question in creation: Will the humans choose for me or against me? ... The Wager in the Book of Job called into question the whole human experiment." - Yancey
Do we trust God? It is easy to trust God when we have everything, but what happens when things go wrong? Are we still for Him? Or will we turn against Him in anger and disappointment or in grief or in fear?
Yancey speaks about how in real life, our disappointment in God begins in Job-like circumstances, and may bring on the same questions that Job asked. That is probably why so many people turn to Job to read during down times. However I feel whilst some find their way through it right - claiming double blessings over their lives and finding the strength to continue to hope in Him, others mistakenly use it to affirm that God is a hypocrite - completely not understanding the book of Job and taking it way way WAY out of context. =(
Yancey wisely adds "As we read the Book of Job, we are given a glimpse behind what's happening, but in our own trials, we will not have such insight." Perhaps then, it is important for us to remind ourselves that what we see is just the surface... that there is a bigger picture. Whatever our situation now, it may seem horrendous, but the blessings are in disguise and just around the next bend, we just have to hang on and trust in Him. Jesus take my wheel... Amen!
The battle outside might seem to be real struggle - the outside circumstances... but just like in Job, we begin to realise that the actual and more important struggle takes place within us. Will we trust God or not?God again and again allows his reputation to ride on the response of unpredictable human beings... Like Joyce Meyer says, and I suspect I've repeated a few times to myself, if the inside doesn't change, the outside's not going to change either.
Yancey accurately points out that "Job teaches that at the moment when faith is hardest and least likely, then faith is most needed. "I read it this way - Job teaches us that at the moment when it is hardest and least likely for us to be faithful to God, then God's faithfulness and unconditional love to us is most needed. We need to understand this point even more so in times of trials. That God's forgivness for our sins doesn't depend on us, it depends on Christ.... God's extension of help to us doesn't depend on what we do, who we are but on these- Are we in Christ? Have we accepted Him as our Saviour and repented from our past? Are we walking in Christ in New wineskins or are we still remaining in our old wineskins?
Job also teaches us the "remarkable truth that our choices matter, not just to us and our own destiny, but amazingly, to God Himself and the universe He rules." This fact astounds me. We each have a part to play.
Yancey finally states how Job gives no satisfying answers to the question WHY? but substitutes it instead with the question TO WHAT END?
Our Daddy God trusted us so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to come down to Earth to understand all the sufferings we go through in our lives. Then, He sent Him to the Cross and Christ went willingly to suffer for us, so that we can be redeemed, made whole. No questions. No doubt. As long as you are a sinner, imperfect... He has died for you to qualify you. No gimmicks, just a whole lot of love.
He didn't ask us "WHY?" before He accepted us back into His arms. Like the Prodigal Son's Father, He celebrates over our return with great rejoicing. All that matters is that we are home again, with Him... under His wings. He embraces us and forgets our trespasses in Christ. The past is the past - forgotten.
So...
To what end can we trust in the love of this God?
To what end can we believe that He is for us in the light of all that He has done for us so far?
How can you refuse Him now? Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Comments
Post a Comment