The end is near, the end is near! Chapter 28 of 30. If you read the 35 in between chapters of Job carefully you will find that they are not filled with grumbling and complaining. They are filled from beginning to end with only one thing. Where is God! Job is crying out to God he's getting no response!
C.S. Lewis wrote these words in the midst of deep grief after his wife's death from cancer. Meanwhile, where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him... you will be - or so it feels - welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become! That's right, C.S.LEWIS!
Human longing for the actual presence of God may rise up anywhere and anytime. So I have learned to be cautious when sharing about the promise of God's intimate presence because they to must take into account the times when He seems to be absent and silent.
Philip shares about a bumper sticker that says, "If you feel far from God, guess who moved?" There is a boat load of false guilt in that bumper sticker. I have not always recognized that in the past. Some of the, what somebody thought were cute sayings, are anything but. Job, Richard, Meg, Philip, Ed all offer up a valid response not symptoms of weak faith. The Bible seems to anticipate our disappointments. Perhaps that's because God Himself understands the cost of sustaining faith.
What will our response be to what seems to be His hiddenness? Many retaliate by ignoring Him. If He won't reveal Himself to me, why should I go to Him? That was Job's wife. Others like Job's friends will try to convince you that you have done something wrong. The choice is clear for them. Believe a man who claims to be just or a God they knew to be just. And then there is Job's response. You demand a meeting with god. Job wavered, contradicted himself, backtracked and sometimes collapsed in despair.
Chapter 28 brings some valuable insights. Job was far from being abandon by God. In fact, Job was getting very direct attention from him. Go back to the beginning and read the first two chapters of Job. Who is Satan talking to? And who mentions Job's name? Who sets the limits as to what can be done to job? Job is pleading for a courtroom trial to present his case and in all actuality he is participating in a universal or cosmic trial. This trial is going to settle an issue much bigger than that of one man. Job could not see it. Pain and suffering narrows our vision. It forces us to think of ourselves and little else.
GUILTY!
No comments:
Post a Comment