Staying the Course…Job 23

 

8 “Look, I go forward, but He is not there,

And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;

9 When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him;

When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.

10 But He knows the way that I take;

When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

11 My foot has held fast to His steps;

I have kept His way and not turned aside.

12 I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;

I have treasured the words of His mouth

More than my necessary food.

13 “But He is unique, and who can make Him change?

And whatever His soul desires, that He does.

14 For He performs what is appointed for me,

And many such things are with Him.—Job 23:8-14

Such beautiful truth in these verses to speak over your life when things are not looking or going as you “think” they ought.   Job is at a loss here to know what “way” God might be taking in his life, but Job rightly does not trust his feelings.  His eyes and his heart focus instead on the eternal...on what can’t be seen.  Even though he couldn’t sense God’s Presence or understand what He was doing, Job chose to believe God WAS with Him and that He was working in his life to fulfill His purposes. Job would stay the course.  He would continue to trust and obey God.  He would remain steadfast and walk in truth. What an attractive, long-standing witness Job has been to countless believers over the centuries of God’s grace, mercy and keeping power in the lives of those who have surrendered themselves into His care.  

Praying ahead of time for this kind of commitment and resolve in my own heart and life when things don’t go as “planned”.  Praying that by His grace I remain steadfast, treasuring His word more than my necessary food. 

“Look, I go forward, but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him; When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him; When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him. But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.--Job 23:8-10

The Remedy for the Downcast and Disquieted Soul...Psalm 43

 

Vindicate me O God.  And plead my cause against an ungodly nation.  Deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.  For You are the God of my strength; Why do You cast me off?  Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?--Psalm 43:1-2

To My Sweet Daughters in Him…

David is being accused unjustly, maligned and slandered and has been forced into exile.  He asks God here to be his divine judge as well as his defense attorney. Literally it says, Judge me O God, and argue my case. What a difference it makes when we commit ourselves to Him who judges righteously.  What a difference it makes when we know that the God of the Universe is on our side! What a difference it makes when we realize that He is our defender.

He is the God of our righteousness.  When we are attacked or maligned by evil men, it is not our righteousness at stake..It is God's.  His righteousness is imputed to us when we believe.  He will defend it.   The ungodly and unconverted cannot be expected to deal rightly with us.  They hate God and therefore will hate His people.   

God is our deliver always. We are no match for the ungodly, the deceitful and the unjust.  When you are being slandered or misrepresented...when your good is spoken of as evil...when the people of the world persecute you because you name the name of Christ--Know this...He is on your side.  The battle is His.  The Lord will fight for you and wants you to hold your peace.  He wants you to be still and know that He is God.  (literally hands off)  Don't get in His way.  Wait on Him  for strength and vindication.  Don't fret...trust Him.  The Bible says He delivers us because He delights in us!  He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.  

Now we may feel cast off for a time especially when we take our eyes off God and put them on people and circumstances.  God, however, does not cast off His people.  He who keeps you does not slumber, He will not allow your foot to be moved.  We may feel oppressed and overwhelmed by what we are facing.  It may seem that everyone and everything is against us.  It may even at times cause us to doubt and lose hope. Often we will not understand why the unjust and deceitful seem to prevail, but God is the author of the trials we face.  Go to Him...seek His wisdom...His explanation.  Wait on Him and allow Him to be your strength.   Know this also...God is working in your heart even in your darkest hour...especially in your darkest hour...for your good and His glory.  Cling to His word and His promises.  Psalm 42 verse 8 says this:

The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me— A prayer to the God of my life. 

He will command it.  His lovingkindness will be with you daily and His song at night.  Curl up and rest in Him...you may feel cast off but feelings are irrelevant.  God will never leave you or forsake you.  Psalm 94:14 says:

For the LORD will not cast off His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance. 

I love these next few verses.   

"Oh, send out Your light and Your truth!  Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill.  And to your tabernacle.  Then I will go to the altar of God.  To God my exceeding joy; And on the harp I will praise You, oh God, my God." 

Where do I go when I feel this way...When the darkness begins to surround me...I go to the One in whom is no darkness at all.  I cry out for Him to lead me by His light and His truth.  I pray that His goodness and mercy also will follow me. Where do I want them to bring me?  First, to His holy hill...and then to the tabernacle...and then to the altar of God and finally to Him...to God Himself.  Nothing else will do...nothing will satisfy me but to be in His presence.

The last verse says it all...

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.  

Why do we feel cast down???  Why are our souls disquieted within us??? Here is why?  We, like David, lose sight of God.  Seeing Him and feeling the light of His countenance reminds us of what we have in Him.  Whatever is happening now we can get through because He is with us.  We see the end of the ungodly that are slandering us and persecuting us and our heart is grieved for them! They walk the narrow edge of a precipice. When their end comes, it is without remedy and beyond hope.

We forget that even in the face of the darkness we must shine our light for Him.  We must not react like the world reacts when  attacked. The people around us should see Jesus in our times of trial not us!  Show them  the One who was wounded for our transgressions and was bruised for our iniquity. Show them the One upon whom is the chastisement for our peace.  Can we expect less than what He faced.  Are we greater than our master???  Jesus washed the feet of His betrayer.  He humbled Himself for those who were unworthy and unthankful...you and I...and died in our stead for our sins.  Talking about these truths in your Christian life is great, but facing them and actually walking as Jesus walked is where the blessing lies.  Truly, the sufferings we face in this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us...to the glory of an eternity in His presence.  Downcast...no way!  See all your suffering and sorrow and persecution as an opportunity from Him to shine His light and live for Him. 

 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake."

Strength During Adversity…

 

Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. 9 Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house." 10 Moreover He said to me: "Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. 11 And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' whether they hear, or whether they refuse."—Ezekiel 3:8-11

Ezekiel, was a priest and a prophet who ministered during the Babylonian exile. He was carried away captive before the final assault on Jerusalem.  The Hebrew name Yehezke’l means “God Strengthens” or “Strengthened by God.”  Ezekiel was indeed strengthened by God for the ministry to which he is called. 

That thought brought comfort to my heart. My God strengthens me for the work He has called me to do.  I don’t need to be afraid in the face of opposition or dismayed when my circumstances are dark and bleak.  My eyes can behold the light of glory of God in even the darkest of days. I can get through them in triumph because He carries me through them. His Spirit is not only with me but in me both to will and to do for His good pleasure. 

I will love You, O LORD, my strength.

2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;

My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;

My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;

So shall I be saved from my enemies.—Psalm 18:1-3

Fear not, for I am with you;

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

Yes, I will help you,

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'—Isaiah 41:10

7 "For the Lord GOD will help Me;

Therefore I will not be disgraced;

Therefore I have set My face like a flint,

And I know that I will not be ashamed.—Isaiah 50:7

18 For behold, I have made you this day

A fortified city and an iron pillar,

And bronze walls against the whole land—

Against the kings of Judah,

Against its princes,

Against its priests,

And against the people of the land.

19 They will fight against you,

But they shall not prevail against you.

For I am with you," says the LORD, "to deliver you."—Jeremiah 1:18-19

8 But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD,

And of justice and might,

To declare to Jacob his transgression

And to Israel his sin.—Micah 3:8

When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"

57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.—Acts 7:54-60

By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.—Hebrews 11:27

The Hidden Ones…

 

14 “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,

In the secret places of the cliff,

Let me see your face,

Let me hear your voice;

For your voice is sweet,

And your face is lovely.”—Solomon 2:14

Beloved, as a believer in Jesus, we are the hidden ones…We are hidden in the secret place of His Presence.  Tucked away in the cleft of the Rock that is Christ, we are protected and safe. Nothing can separate us from His love. When our Father in Heaven sees us, He sees His Son, Jesus. We are in our own eyes, dark and filled with sin, but in His eyes, covered with the righteousness that comes through our faith in Christ, we are fair. 

15 Behold, you are fair, my love!

Behold, you are fair!

You have dove’s eyes.—Song of Solomon 1:15

As we surrender to the love of Christ poured out in our hearts, the Holy Spirit shines through the eyes of our soul.  The indwelling presence of our Lord makes us beautiful. When we look to Him we are radiant, our faces unashamed.

18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.—2 Corinthians 3:18

6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.—2 Corinthians 4:6

I don’t know about you, but I need to take hold of this beautiful truth each and every day and lift up my face and my voice to Him in prayer. The ugliness that is inherent in me and the ugliness that is of the world can keep me from crying out to the One who is ready and willing to listen and to help. He wants to see my face. He wants me to turn my countenance toward Him and come boldly to His throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in my time of need. To Him we can speak freely, without doubts, shame, hesitation or fear.  He will never…no not ever…cast us out.

Let me see your face,

Let me hear your voice;

For your voice is sweet,

And your face is lovely

1 Give ear to my words, O LORD,

Consider my meditation.

2 Give heed to the voice of my cry,

My King and my God,

For to You I will pray.

3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD;

In the morning I will direct it to You,

And I will look up.—Psalm 5:1-3

Beloved…He bids me us come…He desires to be our shadow from the heat, and our refuge from the storm. He wants us to find our satisfaction and our rest in Him and in Him alone. Lift your voice to the One who desires to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think.

3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods,

So is my beloved among the sons.

I sat down in his shade with great delight,

And his fruit was sweet to my taste.—Song of Solomon 2:3