The Well
The Well |
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Connecting Hope to the Hurting | |
Friday
September 26, 2008
Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:
"Who is this that
questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Brace yourself, because I have
some questions for you, and you must answer them.
"Where were you when I
laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Do you know how
its dimensions were determined and who did the surveying? What supports its
foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and
all the angels shouted for joy?
"Who defined the boundaries of the sea as it
burst from the womb, and as I clothed it with clouds and thick darkness? For I
locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. I said, 'thus far and no
farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!'
"Have you ever
commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? Have
you ever told the daylight to spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end
to the night's wickedness?"
Job 38:1-13
We know the story of Job. God was extremely proud of him, but Satan felt that the only reason Job was so faithful was because God had a hedge of protection around him. So, God gave Satan permission to come against Job – and he did!
We know that Job's friends began planting seeds of doubt and even unbelief into Job's heart. In the beginning Job stood strong and praised the Lord through his pain. Well, if you've read the "rest of the story" (as Paul Harvey says), Job began to plead his innocence instead of God's faithfulness and it was downhill from there!
Anytime we begin looking at ourselves, thinking we are "good enough" to "deserve" God's blessings we miss the mark big time! We can never be good enough, but we can be faithful in trusting His goodness on our behalf.
Again, these words cause me to think of Nicole C. Mullins' song, Redeemer. God is the one! Jesus is our Redeemer! It is their love, their holiness, and their faithfulness to us that makes us able to face all the storms in our lives! We are nothing outside the perimeters of God's love and grace!
God sets boundaries in His world and if we even begin to think that we can cross those boundaries we better take the time to think again! God's grace covers a huge distance in our lives. However, if we make a determination to do things "our" way we will quickly learn where He draws the line!
Job became discouraged because his friends were relentless. This can serve as a reminder to us that we need to keep our eyes on Jesus and recognize that we are nothing without Him!
Father, it is true – without You, without the shed blood of Jesus Christ, we are nothing! I know what I would be had You not graced me with Your love and the salvation provided through the sacrifice of Your Son, my brother, Jesus! Lord, strengthen us with Your love and set those boundary markers in place where we can clearly see them. We simply want to be in the center of Your will! We know where the morning comes from!
