Job's Sufficiency and Righteousness

Again I marvel at the multitude of opinions expressed about Job's predicament as exposed in the Book of Job. It continually seems like denominational biases try to sneak their cause into the word of God.  The Word of God will always be the Word of God and it is unbreakable. God has protected it throughout history. We can get answers to our questions about God from God himself.

Job was a man that God actually praised. Job had some catastrophic events occur in his life.  He had endeavored to live like God expected him to live. He respected (good fear, in a reverential sense) God and yet he had another type of fear, (the negative kind of fear) and felt insecure. Fear can at times eclipse the light of God. Mentally, he acknowledged God, yet his heart had some worries that ballooned into a big cloud over him:

25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. 26 I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came. Job 3:25-26 

In response to this, three friends visited Job and sat silently with him for a while and when they started talking they accused Job of having some secret sin that was causing his troubles.  They were joined by a fourth who added fuel to the raging fire that was going on.  It seemed like God was unreachable and yet Job never gave up. Job wanted to talk to God himself.

In the book of Job there is a lot of dialogue devoted to his three friends.  Elihu gets quite a bit of print also. It almost seems like these miserable comforters are trying actually to separate Job from God rather than bring him closer. Is God unapproachable? No? Can one ask God questions? Yes! Job loved God. He wanted answers. Can we get answers? Do we really think God wants us sitting around in the dark? God is relational, not a distant judge as is proved in the final chapters of the book. Job got  his answers!

5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Job 42:5

Job held on to his righteousness throughout the ordeal  and that is an important lesson for all of us especially in the day and time within which we live. We live under the New Testament Covenant. Jesus Christ has made the login to God much easier through the sending of the gift of holy spirit.  To live in righteousness, we believe in the actual 'right' to access to God. God doesn't want us stupid regarding his blessings and all that he is.

The greatest thing one can do for other humans is to encourage them to get to know God and understand that God can become their sufficiency (not us) as the relationship develops.  The results are beyond anything we could imagine! 'Seeing' God at work in another is one of our added riches of life!

17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. Isaiah 32:17

Bloom where you are planted but don’t let any grass grow under your feet!

Speaking the truth in love involves a mature balanced approach to relationships. Ephesians 4:15 enlists God’s wisdom without which we could not flourish. In the Bible speaking the truth is really ‘truthing it’ in the Greek and it involves integrity, commitment  and oftentimes loving courage to carry out. As we lean on God and his magnificent gift of holy spirit we blossom into strong individuals capable of achieving more than we ever expected.

God’s sufficiency is ours for the asking by simply believing what he has made available. Believing is assertive action and is never static. We can never allow ourselves to become passive followers of God.  That condition is for ‘pew potatoes’. As we act by walking out on whatever limb is set in front of us, God supports us all the way. Think about when Jesus beckoned Peter to walk out on the water. As Peter kept his eyes on him he walked on water. He could have been the star of the Cypress Garden Water ski team!  The minute he looked down he went down! Human beings were designed to go towards the way they are looking. Just look at how the eyes are positioned in the human body. It is God’s sufficiency we look to in absolutely every situation  and our feet carry us toward that sufficiency by putting one foot in front of the other.

In Ephesians we are exhorted to walk in love, walk in light and walk circumspectly.

Ephesians 5:16-17(Amplified)Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil. Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is. 

We have the great reassurance of God, who He is and what he has done for us through the written word. We need not waste our time any longer in cringing insufficiency. In this administration we are not only able to walk on water. We are able to handle the ski jumps!