Abide with God. Job 22-23; Second Corinthians 13

May the mumbling commence!

If you fight against God, you will lose.  That’s a fight you can never win.  That’s the message that Eliphaz is trying to get through to Job.  Read from Job chapter twenty-two:

"Stop quarreling with God!

If you agree with him, you will have peace at last,

and things will go well for you. 

Listen to his instructions, and store them in your heart. 

If you return to the Almighty and clean up your life,

you will be restored. 

Give up your lust for money,

and throw your precious gold into the river. 

Then the Almighty himself will be your treasure.

He will be your precious silver!” (Verses 21-25)

What’s the best way to get the last word in an argument?  Agree.  Peace will come – especially when you agree with your Maker.  It is a decision of the heart… meaning that it’s a decision of attitude.

What’s my attitude?  What’s yours?  Is there anything or anyone in our lives that we put before God?  Let it go.  The Lord will be your treasure.

There’s nothing wrong with this little piece of wisdom… except that it makes an assumption of guilt without any basis in reality.  And we all know where that gets us – ASS…U…ME.  Read part of Job’s response in chapter twenty-three:

"For I have stayed in God's paths;

I have followed his ways and not turned aside. 

I have not departed from his commands

but have treasured his word in my heart. 

Nevertheless, his mind concerning me remains unchanged,

and who can turn him from his purposes?

Whatever he wants to do, he does. 

So he will do for me all he has planned.

He controls my destiny.” (Verses 11-14)

Job can think of no way that he has wandered from the Way of the Lord.  God’s commands are the treasure of his heart.  It’s for this reason that Job struggles with his time of trial.  There seems to be no reason for it.  And he feels powerless… knowing that God is in control of his destiny.  Why do bad things happen to good people while the wicked live a carefree life?  I DON’T KNOW.

I am weak before the Lord.  May I become weak to make other people strong.  That is the path that Christ is calling all of us to.  Read from the last chapter (13) of Second Corinthians:

We pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. We pray this, not to show that our ministry to you has been successful, but because we want you to do right even if we ourselves seem to have failed.  Our responsibility is never to oppose the truth, but to stand for the truth at all times.  We are glad to be weak, if you are really strong. What we pray for is your restoration to maturity. (Verses 7-9)

Our lives are dedicated to our children… whether those children are our biological children or children in our family of faith.  We make ourselves vulnerable so that the young in faith can mature and maintain that maturity.  

Youth are the future of our church.  We pray that they may follow Christ even more faithfully than we have done, because, at times, it seems that we have failed.

Enough mumbling for now…  

Peace Out