Hearing and Listening (Job 32-37)

“Why do you complain to him that he responds to no one’s words? For God does speak—now one way, now another— though no one perceives it.”

Job 32:13-14

How many times have you wondered why God wasn't speaking to you? A good friend of mine told me once that God hadn't spoken to him in four years. He was frustrated and angry at God's silence, his seeming apathy over my friend's situation. We all experience times when it appears as though God is not speaking, or at least we couldn't hear what God was saying if he was. This is not to say that God is not silent at times, but merely that we, being human, tend to jump to conclusions at the slightest pause. We jump to conclusions at the silence of a spouse or a friend. We jump to conclusions about the silence of a politician or celebrity. 

The silence Job experienced from God caused him to question the justice of a world where the wicked were allowed to prosper while he, being "upright in his own eyes," was allowed suffer. Elihu, a new character in the conversation and younger than the others, breaks his silence to put the older men in there place. his basic argument... "Job, who are you to question God's actions?" Friends of Job, "Why can't you give Job a real answer?" Job and his friends had jumped to conclusions. Job's conclusion was that God himself had cursed him, while his friends had decided that Job was somehow at fault for losing everything. At the end of their banter Elihu says something like... "Stop it, listen to yourselves!" 

When you search the scriptures you find God speaking in all sorts of ways. He walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve. He spoke through a burning bush to Moses. A donkey gave God's warning to Balaam.  He spoke to the young prophet Samuel just as he was falling asleep. He sent Nathan to speak to David and show him his wrong. He sent and angels to Abraham, Mary, and host of others. He met Joseph, the stepfather of Jesus, in a dream, Peter in a vision, and to Paul by knocking him to the ground with a blinding light. There are many more, but my favorite, is one of Gods interactions with Elijah when he was tired, feeling alone, and on the run...

The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

1 Kings 19:11-12

God speaks in all sorts of ways. In my own experience, God usually speaks in ways that I hadn't anticipated, ways that push me in faith and in listening to God. How is he speaking to you today? May we not jump to conclusions about God and his messages to us? May we have the courage and patience to listen and respond.

In Jesus' Name.

Amen

Legacy (Job 29-31)

“If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary, if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless— but from my youth I reared them as a father would, and from my birth I guided the widow— if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or the needy without garments, and their hearts did not bless me for warming them with the fleece from my sheep, if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court, then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint. For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.”

Job 31:16-23

Today I walked into my living room with a freshly prepared PB&J for Gabriel (my three-year-old son) only to find Neriyah (my one-year-old daughter) standing in my shoes which were left side by side next to the table. She had toddled up while I was in the kitchen and carefully balanced herself as she placed each foot into the footstep of her father. As I looked down I couldn't help but laugh as she greeted me with her joyful smile of all of two teeth. something struck me... Where I walk and how I do so is far more important than I could ever realize. For the brief years that my children are excited to put their feet in my shoes I have an opportunity to show them a life well lived, relationships well loved, and priorities well set. It is in my attitudes and actions now that, not only my future relationship with them, but their future relationships with God and others will be formed.

What shoes will our children place their feet into? Not only our children but anyone who follows us, looks up to us, respects us. What example are we living for them right now. Job, in his interactions with his friends kept coming back to the relationship between God's character and his own, which seemed to be at odds with the reality he was living out. In reading this I couldn't help but think of legacy. His name was well respected, and assuming he was truthful in his speech, well deserved. Jesus seems to describe these very actions as the ideal citizen of the kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7.

We live in a world that is all about the immediate, putting trust in poisonous wells. Children suffer because their parents cant seem to "grow up". I know there are times when my own children do. I am convinced that my daily submission to Jesus will have drastic affects on the lives of my children and others whom I influence. May we not put our trust in failing, immediate things, but in God who will shape for us a legacy and a good name. 

In Jesus' Name,

Amen

Examen (Job 24-28)

“Where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? No mortal comprehends its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living. The deep says, “It is not in me”; the sea says, “It is not with me.” It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed out in silver…. God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells,”

Job 28: 12-15; 23

Today I want to offer a tool that I have found helpful in self examination and prayer, the Ignatian Prayer of Examen. 

1. Prayer for insight (wisdom)

    "Make me aware of your presence within me, and all that is around me"

    Q: Where do I see God?

2. Prayer of gratitude for the day

    "I realize that all, even myself, is a gift from you."

    Q: What am I grateful for?

3. Personal examination, ask the Holy Spirit to show you the condition of your heart

    "Show me what has been happening in me and to me."

    Q: What is God asking of me?

4. Acknowledgement of fault and sin

    "I'm sorry..."

    Q: What choices have been poor responses to God's love?

5. Hope for tomorrow

    "I leave the past behind, with hands outstretched to what lies ahead."

    Q: What am I hearing for what lies ahead?

In Jesus' Name,

Amen

Daily Bread (Job 21-23)

"My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread."
Job 23:11-13


Just after Jesus was baptized he was "driven by the Spirit" into the wilderness to be tempted. It was when he was tired and hungry, after forty days of fasting, that the tempter came with his best shot. Temptation always seems to come when we are tired, hungry, lonely, or angry. 


Satan means "adversary," the one who stands against. Think about the times when you have given in to temptation... temptation to give up, or to do something you know isn't right, or not to do something you know is right. I would be willing to bet that most of the time we give in its because we have been worn down in some way and we are not prepared. It is the perfect time for an adversary to come at us.


What defended Jesus? What allowed him to say to the Devil; "It is written, man does not live on bread alone but by every word from the mouth of God" (Matt 4:4)? It was deep well of the scriptures written upon his heart. Jesus replies to each temptation with "It is written" because he was nourished by them. 


Job, in defending his innocence, points to the same kind of lifestyle. One in which the instruction of God is worth more that daily bread.  A life devoted to, in Greek "Zoe" life rather than "Bios" life. The kind of Life that Jesus brings abundantly and is more that just biological. 


What would it look like if we treasured the words from God's mouth more than our daily bread? What could our neighborhoods or workplaces, schools or homes be like if we followed closely in God's footsteps today?


May we have the resources to withstand the temptation to be less than God made us to be by clinging to his every word today.


In Jesus' Name
Amen

Faith (Job 17-20)

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me” 

Job 19:25-27

Faith is a funny thing. Sometimes it is expressed in action, sometimes inaction. It can compel people to blow themselves up taking the lives of others, or it gives another the strength to endure torture or murder without raising a hand in violence. For some it is easy to find while for others it is a strange and mysterious unknown. Faith can compel us to ask for the impossible, dream the unimaginable, and reach beyond our ability to grasp. It all depends upon where you place your faith. In the New Testament Jesus consistently calls for people to have faith in him. The original Greek verb for this faith can be roughly translated; "put your full weight on." What Jesus is saying really, is "let me carry you". 

How far can faith bend before it breaks? I've thought about this a great deal in reading Job, would I give up if I were faced with the circumstances Job faced? Job, even feeling that God had cursed him had faith that a Redeemer was coming, and that though he might be dead, he would see him face to face. For those of us who follow Jesus faith is not solitary. Job was not placing his faith on an idea, principle, or far off notion. He placed his faith on a person.

The closest thing I have ever experienced to this kind of desperation happened five days after my son Gabriel was born. Gabe was born a month early with complications and was in the NICU. Michelle and I were on our way to the NICU for Gabe's afternoon feeding when she began to feel short of breath. I was set into the feeding to be there for our son while Michelle's mother took her to the doctor's office next door to get checked out. The plan was for her to join me after in the NICU. Gabe's feeding did not go well that afternoon and I learned that he had lost more weight than expected. My phone rang... "How far are you from the Emergency Room?" My mother-in-law asked in a controlled but fearful voice. I ran down the hall and entered the room just in time to hear the doctor say to my wife that she was suffering from congestive heart failure and they needed to admit her immediately. Calmly I assured her that all would be well and then stepped outside to "make a couple calls". I snapped... the very real possibility of losing my whole family overwhelmed me. I sobbed on the phone to my friend Tim. I remember thinking then, "how much more can I take?" Our friends, Karen and Dave, came to pray for our family and I leaned on them for support. Every breath was labored, every meal tasteless, and every day seemed like a week.

In the end Gabriel's feedings improved and his weight went up. Michelle's blood pressure went down and the fluid that had surrounded her heart and lungs abated. All was well and we made it. I wonder now; was it my faith that got me through? I'm not so sure... Maybe it was the faith of others, representing Jesus to me, that held up my weight in prayer. Job rested the weight of his crushed soul on a redeemer he trusted would come even though he could not see him at the time. We are not a people of solitary faith, but a faith dependent upon Jesus and supported by one another. May we be faithful in holding people up as Jesus' hands and feet today.

In Jesus' Name.

Amen

  

Mediation (Job14-16)

“Earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry never be laid to rest! Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend.”

Job 16: 18-21

Mediation is a tricky skill. I requires a great deal of patience and tact. One must be able to think clearly and cut to the heart of an issue. But most of all, mediation requires that authority be given over to the mediator. Those coming to the table must give to the mediator trust and relinquish control over the topic of mediation in order for it to work.

Job, feeling trapped and crushed by God, calls out for mediation. For someone that  can step between he and God, pleading for Job. His friends are insufficient for this role as they plead what they think to be God's case to Job. While most of what they say is true about God and men, sin and justice, their presupposition is the same as Job's, that God is angry and has cursed him. None of them are able to see clearly.

I think it is often that way with us. We can be quick to, mentally if not verbally, correct another's problem, or relationship, or theology. Mainly because our nature is to think that we can live someone else's life better than they can. So we "plead God's case" to the other while our own life may be in worse shape in other areas. Maybe thats why Jesus mentioned the speck and the log...

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Matthew 7:1-5

  

What if we took a different approach than Job's friends? What might happen if we plead our friend's case to God rather than vis-versa? Wither it be quietly to God in our prayer room or while standing next to a friend in need. This is especially important when our friend has not yet come to trust Jesus. All to often I find myself trying to plead God's case to the other even in my prayers. The only appeal God has asked us to make is one directing people to Jesus as their mediator...     

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:14-21

A handful of times in the book Job refers to this unknown but needed mediator. That mediator is Jesus. He stands before God for you and for me reconciling us. Then he does an amazing thing, he gives that ministry of reconciliation away to us so that we can bring his message to others.

May we be helpful to our friends, pleading their case before God and bringing the freeing message that they do have a mediator in Jesus.

In Jesus' name,

Amen