Awed to Silence. Job 39-40; Galatians 6

May the mumbling commence!

Awed to silence!  That was the affect of the Lord on Job.  After all those words that tumbled out before, Job was relatively silent in God’s presence.  Read from Job chapter forty:

Then the Lord said to Job, 

"Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?

You are God's critic, but do you have the answers?" 

Then Job replied to the Lord, 

"I am nothing – how could I ever find the answers?

I will put my hand over my mouth in silence. 

I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say." (Verses 1-5)

Argue with God until you’re blue in the face.  Go ahead.  And you will learn the lesson that Job learned.  It is easy to criticize God but hard to make decisions more just.  It is easy to tear down but hard to build. 

What answers do we have for all the questions that God would ask of us?  We soon will realize, along with Job, that we are nothing.  We could look for the answers for our entire lives and never find them.

Too often, we will discover that we've said too much.  Our ignorance is showing.  And we, too, will have nothing left to say.  Awed into silence!

We are of little consequence.  It is a powerful idea that should free us to help other people, because it is not about me.  I am not God, and that’s a good thing.  Read from Galatians chapter six:

Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.  Share each other's troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ.  If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling yourself. You are really a nobody. (Verses 1-3)

You are really a nobody.  Those words can bite bitterly.  But we must also add that God loves you.  Pass that love along to everyone you meet. 

Be gentle and humble in helping others – just one beggar showing another beggar where to get bread.  Be careful to avoid temptations that will bring you down.  Share troubles and problems – their weight will be greatly reduced in community.

And, when we do these things, we are obeying the law of Christ – who made himself nothing so that he might lift us up.

Wow!  Praise the Lord!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out