When God is Silent

One of the problems with the whole human race is that when things are going well, we tend to think we are doing something right and good and we don’t need God in our lives. We don’t talk to Him so much then. But when things are going poorly, we cry out to God to fix them so we can feel comfortable and successful again. I recently heard a young man say, “I don’t believe so much in a God who interacts with me or cares about me on a daily basis, but when I am in crisis, I do still pray!” Many people see prayer to God as a last resort, when nothing else could fix the problem and they don’t know what else to do. Something inside us cries out to God when we fear for our lives or the lives of loved ones.

Hezekiah was a great king in Judah. He is known for his faith in God when the Assyrian army came against Jerusalem. They had just successfully taken over many territories and informed Hezekiah and his people that their God was no different than the many gods they had overcome already. The complete story is in II Kings 18-20 and II Chronicles 29-32. King Hezekiah worked hard to fortify the city and reroute the water so it would not be available to Sennacherib’s army. Then he laid out the written threats and blasphemous words of Sennacherib before the Lord and prayed. And Isaiah prophesied and an angel of the Lord went out that night and killed 185,000 enemy soldiers. And Sennacherib went home in disgrace.

After that great “victory”, surrounding people groups feared King Hezekiah and paid tribute to him and he became very wealthy and respected. And then he had a life-threatening illness, and after praying, God healed him and gave him more years. This is the most dangerous time for leaders as they begin to think they are invincible, they become proud, arrogant, and entitled in their thinking. Hezekiah was no exception. But he is an exception in that when he was confronted by it, he humbled himself and repented.

Ambassadors from Babylon came to see if what they heard about King Hezekiah and Judah was true and II Chronicles 32:31 tells us that “God withdrew from Hezekiah in order to test him and to see what was really in his heart.” Hezekiah failed the test! Without God keeping him in check, Hezekiah’s pride took over again. He saw an opportunity to brag about all his accomplishments and all that he gained in his lifetime instead of an opportunity to give God the credit due Him. And the spies saw exactly what they needed to do to conquer this land.

I wonder what I do when God is silent. Do I still believe that He is the eternal God, the One who helped me get where I am today, the One who is always present with me, the One who will be there loving me no matter what my circumstances are? Or do I see Him as a distant memory? Do I seek His wisdom in all decisions, or do I think, “I got this!” Is my confidence in my own ability or in the ability God has given me and is willing to direct in me? Do I only call out to God when I am in distress? Or do I seek Him in all things? Do I trust and honor God, or believe I can and have to do everything on my own?

Hezekiah was a great king. But in the end, he lost it all for the future generations because of pride and failure to trust only in his God and give Him the glory for all that He did.

Oh God, help me to be faithful in trusting you whether I am successful or in need. Help me to never let pride cloud my vision and keep me from seeing you at work. And when you are silent, help me to trust you even more! Amen.

Here I Stand

Job’s friends were without mercy! The kept telling him God wouldn’t be punishing him if he hadn’t done something wrong. Job is in pain – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He is grieving deeply and doesn’t understand why all this has happened to him, but he does believe he is in God’s hands. Job begins his response to his friends with sarcasm. “You know everything, don’t you?” In his pain Job tries to help his friends see how they are hurting him, not helping him! “People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling.” Job 12:5 NLT.

Job is frustrated with his friends who are speaking from their own wisdom and not God’s wisdom. He would prefer them to remain silent! He asks them, “Are you defending God with lies?” As though God needs to be defended! He tells them their “platitudes are as valuable as ashes,” and their “defense is as fragile as a clay pot.” Job 13:12 NLT This is so full of warning to self-righteousness! Job teaches us what it means to fear God. “Doesn’t His majesty terrify you? Doesn’t your fear of Him overwhelm you?” Job understands that God is powerful and that his friends could be next and not know it! They believe they are protected by their “right living.”

When we speak from a place of self-righteousness, we are believing it is our good works that protect us. Job understands it is God who protects us and allows us to suffer. He is miserable and he wants relief. He wants so badly to talk with God about what he feels is an injustice visited on him that he says, “God might kill me, but I have no other hope.” Job 13:15 NLT Job understands his vulnerability before God – the God who gives breath and knows the number of our days. Job is in a submissive position – like a dog on his back with his belly exposed. He fully trusts God and yet understands God has full authority and power over his very life.

Psalm 14 reminds us that none of us are righteous in our own right. We all need God! Psalm 15 says, “Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?” And then answers … those who speak truth with sincere hearts, refuse to gossip, refuse to harm neighbors, refuse to speak evil of friends… keep promises even when it hurts, lend money without interest, cannot be bribed to lie. While we are busy being self-righteous in our churches, how many of these places do we fail? In the past couple of months, I have seen lies, gossip, harm, and more in our little church alone. How many churches struggle with this? Lord, come and convict us and turn us around! We want to worship you with all our heart and we need to prepare ourselves to do this with repentance!

Self-righteousness is never fruitful. It judges others and harms them without understanding the pain and suffering the other is enduring. It says, “If you live right and make good decisions, no harm will come to you.” And it doesn’t take into account where God is working and that there is an evil force in the world that brings much pain to its victims. Job makes me ask the question, “How can I catch someone who is stumbling rather than push them on down?” What does this look like in our church? In our family? In our neighborhood? Lord, give me eyes to see and wisdom filled with love and mercy to care for those around me and help them get back up!

 

The Battle Rages

If we are not experiencing suffering and loss at the moment, we all know someone who is. What do we do when a friend, neighbor or acquaintance is going through a difficult time? Do we stay away because we don’t know what to say? Or do we babble nonsense because we need to say something? Or do we seek to understand God’s wisdom and heart and encourage them for the journey? As many times as I have read Job, I don’t remember ever distinguishing so clearly between man’s wisdom and God’s wisdom as on this read through.

I wonder how often readers read Bildad’s words, Zophar’s words, or Eliphaz’s words thinking, “They are in the Bible, so any verse here is God’s truth.” After all, they make sense to our impoverished minds as we read them. But, they come totally from human wisdom and not from God’s wisdom. While Job continues to confront them throughout the whole book, we don’t hear from God until the end of the book of Job. After God has dealt with Job, He addresses Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has… My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly.” Job 42:7-8

Keeping that in mind, as I read the book of Job, I know pay better attention to who is speaking and what they are saying. This book now begs me to think about how I speak to those who are suffering – to be careful to not spout off platitudes of my own understanding, but rather to prayerfully and humbly speak to the person who is suffering.

The mistake I see in Job’s friends as they speak is that they look at what is happening and, trying to make sense of it, pronounce judgment on the one suffering. Essentially they are saying, “Why would all this bad happen to you if God were not judging you for something?” And then they proceed to make up the things they believe God is judging Job for. Job must have cheated people, stole from them, disregarded people’s needs, etc. in order for God to be so angry with him as to treat him so badly because they are sure that is how God works.

Job defends himself saying that he has always cared for others. His friends don’t believe him because all the evidence (God’s judgments in their minds) point to the opposite. In the end, God vindicates Job and replaces all he lost with even more and humbles his judging friends saying that He will forgive them when Job prays for them.

“Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18. Chris Tiegreen writes, “At a practical level, that means that hardships you endure today are pointing toward a purpose. They will give Him occasion to demonstrate Himself, and they will give you occasion to demonstrate your faith. Both occasions lead to a glory that far outweighs the pain. In the end, it will all be worth it. The God who endured the Cross gives you His guarantee.” January 21 in ‘Wonder of the Cross Devotional’

My hope and prayer is that I will prayerfully and humbly approach those who are currently suffering and that I will offer them the encouragement of God’s compassion, comfort, and love and together we can watch for God to demonstrate Himself and use this opportunity to grow in faith. That He is to be honored and glorified is not selfishness on God’s part and disregard for our suffering, but rather a demonstration of His caring intimately for us as He continually rescues us, comforts us, and opens our eyes to see Him for who He really is! Our God is worthy of our praise!