A Sincere Request
Job made a very sincere request of God while he was suffering and not knowing what was going on in his life.(Job 13:20,21) He asked for God not to do two things, not to withdraw His hand far from him and not to let the dread of Him make him afraid. I believe we should all make this sincere request of God.
We can do nothing without the Lord.(John 15:5) Therefore, if God withdraws His hand from us, we are destined for a meaningless life. Job was confused by his suffering, because he knew that it was not caused by his personal sin. His request from God was important, because he realized that something had changed in a dramatic way in his life, but he could not conceive of continuing without God's hand upon him. When the Lord is with us, we can go through anything and still have peace knowing He is there.
Then, Job asked God not to allow the fear of the Lord to make him afraid of God. Yes, we should have a healthy fear of God, as I have said many times. However, it becomes an unhealthy fear of the Lord when we are afraid to talk with Him or approach Him for fear of what He will do. God will not destroy us for saying the wrong thing to Him with a sincere heart that is seeking His will. He sees our hearts. He knows why we are calling out. If we are afraid of God, and we quit praying because of that fear, we will not have a personal relationship with Him that is meaningful. Job knew that. He wanted to talk to God about what was going on, and he knew that would not happen well, if he was afraid.
None of us have experienced the pain of Job, but we all have trials continuously. We need the assurance of God's hand with us, and we need to be free from being afraid of God to face those trials and stay close to the Lord all of the way.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 16-18.
We can do nothing without the Lord.(John 15:5) Therefore, if God withdraws His hand from us, we are destined for a meaningless life. Job was confused by his suffering, because he knew that it was not caused by his personal sin. His request from God was important, because he realized that something had changed in a dramatic way in his life, but he could not conceive of continuing without God's hand upon him. When the Lord is with us, we can go through anything and still have peace knowing He is there.
Then, Job asked God not to allow the fear of the Lord to make him afraid of God. Yes, we should have a healthy fear of God, as I have said many times. However, it becomes an unhealthy fear of the Lord when we are afraid to talk with Him or approach Him for fear of what He will do. God will not destroy us for saying the wrong thing to Him with a sincere heart that is seeking His will. He sees our hearts. He knows why we are calling out. If we are afraid of God, and we quit praying because of that fear, we will not have a personal relationship with Him that is meaningful. Job knew that. He wanted to talk to God about what was going on, and he knew that would not happen well, if he was afraid.
None of us have experienced the pain of Job, but we all have trials continuously. We need the assurance of God's hand with us, and we need to be free from being afraid of God to face those trials and stay close to the Lord all of the way.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 16-18.