God Is Worthy Of Our Pursuit
BRD REFLECTIONS:
Job 25, 26 and Psalm 123 (NIV)
(Tony Tng – Steward)
READ:
Job 25, 26 (NIV)
OBSERVE:
Job was in distress. He was in pain. The weight of suffering and affliction only he knew. Yet, when 3 of his best friends came to comfort him, they brought more misery than relief. Not only his friends, even his wife asked him to curse God and die (Job 2:9), perhaps out of sympathy? While claiming to know God, these well meaning friends perhaps only had head knowledge of God but didn’t truly understand the heart of God. On the other hand, Job not only knew God but he followed the ways of God just like a true disciple would do (Job 23:11). In Job 25, Bildad merely re-stated what his other 2 friends had done and provided no new insight. Job pointed out that they may not have put their knowledge into practice (Job 26:2-3). Job even questioned the source of their knowledge (Job 26:4). But Job stated very clearly that his complaint wasn’t about God punishing him because of his sins nor was God biased against him because, to Job, God will judge everyone equally with fairness (Job 24). Job’s complaint was that he couldn’t find God to state his innocence (Job 23:3-9). But, Job had absolute confidence that after the testing, he would be refined as pure gold (Job 23:10). Job knew God better than his friends and understood the heart of God. That gave Job the confidence that he had a fair and loving God. Job knew that God is worthy of his pursuit.
APPLY:
Some 16 years ago I was afflicted with a major illness. The only solution was to go under the knife. A major surgery that could change my life especially if it didn’t go well. The fear of the unknown was too overwhelming for me. The week of waiting was tormenting. I had three different people who came to advise me. Fortunately, their messages were not like Job’s friends’. On the contrary, my 3 sources brought me encouragement. The three messages from three different sources came at three different times but they brought only one message. They laid before me Psalm 23 encouraging me that God will walk with me through the darkest valley and like a shepherd will hold me close to Him. I believe that it is not by coincidence that they brought the same message but by divine appointment. By the grace of God, my Shepherd led me out of the darkest valley. God found me and held me close to Him. To this day, Psalm 23 has a special meaning. Like Job, I would choose to pursue the heart of God, understand and cling on to His faithfulness and promise. I had the right friends who pointed me to God’s righteousness.
DO:
Be a man after the heart of God, trust Him.
PRAY:
Heavenly Father, Almighty God who created everything in this universe and set all things in its rightful place. No one can fathom the power of Your might. Your wisdom surpasses all our understanding. Let me trust You more and more. May my heart pursue You more each day. When my days seem dark and nights seem long, let me know that You will always hold me through the night. In the name of Christ, I pray, Amen.
