Dr. Rick Mandl - September 22, 2020
Never Let What You Don't Understand About God Blind You To What You Do
Devotional Manuscript: Never Let What You Don't Understand About God Blind You To What You Do
By Dr. Rick Mandl, Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Most of us love a good rags-to-riches story. You know the kind. A story about how a guy or gal works hard and goes from poverty to great wealth. Sadly, the story of Job is the exact opposite: Job goes from riches to rags.
One of the strangest things about the story is that Job was a good guy. Actually that’s an understatement. Job was the most righteous man of his day and yet the bottom dropped out of his life: he lost everything - his health, his wealth, and his ten kids. Job’s story reminds us that our relationship with God does not mean we will have an easy life. Yet in the midst of Job's suffering, he made several incredible statements of faith.
The first statement I see is in chapter 1, we read that he "arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.' Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God" (vv. 20-22). Job grieved, but then he worshiped. He didn't allow his pain to drive him away from God, but toward Him.
The second statement I see is in chapter 13, Job said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" (v. 15). In other words, "I'm going to follow God whether my life is marked by blessing or suffering. Even if it costs me my life, I'm still going to trust Him."
The third statement I see is in Job 23 where Job lamented about how he couldn't see God, or his purpose in what he was going through, then said, "But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold" (v. 10). At the end of the story "the Lord restored Job's losses" (Job 42:10).
There are a lot of things about Job’s story that are difficult to understand. But one takeaway that all of us should cling to is to never let what you don't understand about God and the way He is working blind us to what we do understand. I pray that we would be able to rest in the fact that those things that are hidden from us are not hidden from God and that he promises that. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
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