January 28
Job 32:1-34:37
People frequently question, "Where is God?" This question often comes from the position that we have requested God's assistance in carrying out our plans and He failed to jump to attention at our call. Many want God to be their "Yes Man". Many prefer to lead rather than be led. We find ourselves late for an appointment though we calculated the timing of our drive just right, we were detoured, we got a flat tire, we had traffic which could not have been predicted, and in the process we get angry. Do we ever consider that God might be intervening on our part to prevent us from some danger that might have occurred if we remained on that course on time? Many of us have had near death experiences. Especially as a resident working ridiculously long hours (some weeks over 140 hours due to moonlighting for extra money), I truly don't know how I made it home alive in my car. My eyes would be heavy, my car would be swerving, yet I am convinced that God intervened on my behalf to preserve me. When I was younger how many times was I driven home by a drunk driver whose judgments were completely wrong, yet God preserved me. Especially for those of us who had these experiences prior to coming into a relationship with Jesus as Lord and Savior, our lives were saved from the Pit so that one day we could experience eternity with Him.
We read in Job 33:14-18, "For God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night,...In order to turn man from his deed, And conceal pride from man, He keeps back his soul from the Pit, And his life from perishing by the sword." Realizing this, our delays and interruptions can be seen as a blessing rather than an annoyance. God is working behind the scenes for our good. We find the explanation for why these delays and near death experiences are so important in 33:23-28, "If there is a messenger for him, A mediator, one among a thousand, to show man His uprightness, Then He is gracious to him, and says, 'Deliver him from going down to the Pit; I have found a ransom';...He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him, He shall see His face with joy, For He restores to man His righteousness. Then he looks at men and says, 'I have sinned, and perverted what is right, And it did not profit me'. He will redeem his soul from going down to the Pit, And his life shall see the light." Here is the gospel message hidden in the middle of Elihu's argument. For as he said there is One who has delivered us from the Pit, who has redeemed us by paying our ransom, and His name is Jesus Christ. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:17, 21, :"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new...For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
Our entire life should be seen in two sections: our lives before coming to Christ and our lives after coming to Christ. Before Christ whenever we survived those near death experiences, He graciously preserved us until that time in which we made a decision to become His children. Our death before this would have meant eternal condemnation and separation in Hell. After coming to Christ, we should see our lives as one large opportunity before we one day get to live with Him throughout eternity. Delays should not be seen as irritations but as redirected opportunities. Seeing life through this lens will enable us to experience God's continuous stream of blessings, realizing His plans are always better than our plans. We read in Isaiah 55:8-9, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts,"'
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: