THE LORD SPOKE (July 26)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Job 10-13

Can you “talk back” to God? If your answer to that question is “no” then you’ll have to do some explaining to Abraham, Moses, and David. And to Job.

As our children grow older, there comes a point at which we encourage them to talk back to us. Not in rebellion but in mature interaction. Healthy engagement is part of growing up. It may not always be easily definable but there is a red line over which they may not cross. Both they and we can sense when things have gone too far. An outsider (like Zophar in chapter eleven), hearing our conversation might not understand. The words and/or tone might convey the wrong idea.

So it is with Job and his conversations with God in this book. Don’t forget God’s evaluation of Job in the first two chapters (1:8 and 2:3). We’re dealing with a very mature child of God here. We’re being allowed to eavesdrop on an interchange that builds all the way through chapter 37. Then the heavens split open and justice rolls down in Job 38. At times Job gets dangerously close to the red line. Sometimes it even looks like he crosses it but the Heavenly Father lets him keep talking. We learn some things about prayer in the process.

(1) The purpose of prayer is not to change God but to change us. Prayer changes things? Yes! It changes us. We don’t change God’s mind. Though He chooses to listen to us, we don’t change the way He does things. We don’t change the outcome of things. Would we if we could? How presumptuous to even think so. Instead, we want to submit to His will in all matters. Prayer helps us to bow before Him appropriately and acknowledge His sovereignty.

(2) The process of prayer is more important than the words we use. If Job could edit the book written about him, I’m willing to bet he’d take out some things. He’s probably embarrassed by some of his own words and wishes they weren’t flapping in the breeze for everyone to read. I don’t want everyone to hear me when I bare my soul before the Lord. Job shows us that it’s okay to pour our heart out to God. He already knows but He has encouraged us to do it anyway. Sometimes the very articulation of those thoughts to Him helps us see things more clearly.

(3) The power of prayer is evident in the slightest of answers. It’s always hardest when God says “later” rather than giving an immediate yes or no. Job had to wait it out but God was actually answering prayer long before Job felt he got his answer. Even the on-going conversation with his miserable comforters was part of God’s way of answering Job’s prayer. Job was being used of God even as he waited.

It’s like the Murphy’s Law calendar page: “They said, ‘Cheer up, things could be worse.’ So I cheered up and, sure enough, things got worse.” Even when things got way worse, Job didn’t give up. He says, “though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him” (13:15). Prayer can do that for you.


New Testament: Hebrews 3

A few years ago now, Hank Williams, Jr. had a song with an [unintentional] spiritual application:

Your cheatin' heart will tell on you
Your cheatin' heart will make you weep
You'll cry and cry and try to sleep
But sleep won't come the whole night through
Your cheatin' heart will tell on you
When tears come down like falling rain
You'll toss around and call my name
You'll walk the floor the way
I do your cheatin' heart will tell on you

The author of Hebrews speaks of a hardened heart (Heb. 3:7-11). God’s sentence for Israel’s sin was because they provoked God when they:

1. didn’t hear His voice
2. hardened their hearts (c.f. vs. 13 & 15)
3. rebelled
4. tested and tried Him
5. went astray in their own hearts
6. never really knew Him

Or, you might have a straying heart (Heb. 3:10,12-14). You need to protect your heart (vs. 12 - “see to it”). You need to help each other (vs. 13 - “encourage one another daily”). You need to persevere (vs. 14 - “hold firmly till the end”).

What you must especially guard against is an unbelieving heart (Heb. 3:12,16-19). This can be the result of the deceitfulness of sin (vs. 10), the disobedience of rebellion (vs. 8,15,16), or the doubts of unbelief (vs. 12,19), but it must be dealt with. Put the stethoscope of God’s Word to your heart! Has stress and anxiety raised your pressure lately?

Remember this:

1. Faithfulness flows from a clear and healthy view of Jesus. It involves the INTELLECT.
2. Faithfulness involves choosing obedience based on trust in God. It involves the WILL.
3. Faithfulness grows from an encouraging association with the community of faith. It involves EMOTIONS.