"Why must it take losing everything to realize that it's time for a change" -Sanctus Real
One of the toughest stories in the bible for me to digest is that of Job. Just as a free commercial...did you know that Job is the oldest book in the bible? Tis true
Saucy does know something afterall
Anyways, Job isn't hard to digest because it's about a man who looses everything. And when I say looses everything, I mean it. He seems to be standard barrier for pain. I know so many people who look at the things gone wrong in their lives and say, "well, I can be thankful it's not as bad as what Job went through."
I mean this guy truly suffered and I don't think there's a single person on the face of the planet who's had it worse than that dude. He lost his whole family, riches, power, health and got to the point that he was cursing his own existence.
But what's hard to take about this story is God's reaction to the whole thing. You see, like everyone else who's thrown into a painful situation, Job was complaining about it and he questioned God. God, why did you do this to me? God, why?
And His answer? It's stupid, it truly is. At least, to the world it is. God told Job to stand up like a man and proceeded to ask him sixty questions. You should read all that God asks Job, but turns the table on him and asks "where were you when I set the foundations of the earth? Where were you Job? Did you have any hand in creating tis or tat? Really Job, who are you to question me?"
You see, this isn't a view of the "christian" God we all think we know. God is the same yesterday, today and forever so God isn't the one who has changed. I'm sure there was a time in life when people didn't question God's decisions, but in our day in age, God's answer is just plain stupid. It's the typical "because I said so" answer we all dread. It says to us, "will you just shut-up and trust me?" But we can't shut-up and trust Him, can we? NO! We have to have all the answers. We MUST know why! Not only that, but we blame God for everything as if we truly know what's going on!
Yesterday someone came into the CB obviously upset about something that happened earlier in the day. This person asked, "Why does God make people suffer?" This person lost their job and it was a painful experience for them. The part I didn't get was why they were blaming God for it. Not just blaming Him, but implying that God purposely got him or her fired JUST for the purposes of making the person suffer.
Honestly, do you really think God hates you? He's leaving you to rot away? He has forsaken you? Is it God's fault that you got fired or your own? Typical worldly excuse: BLAME EVERYONE ELSE FOR YOUR PROBLEMS! I know, I got fired once. It was the manager's fault. He didn't like me. The coworkers conspired to get me fired. While all of those reasons seemed likely at the time, the true answer is that my work wasn't up to snuff. I just didn't care about my job and it was time to move on.
Want to know what Job did after God spoke to Him? He shut-up. He actually listened to God and felt so stupid for complaining. Because do we really know who our God is? Look at what He's created! Do you really think the problems in your life are obsticles to God?
The stupid answer. The frustrating answer. The stinging answer. God told Job: Shut-up, stand up like a man and who are you to question Me?
I did a lot of blaming after my dad died. I asked a lot of "why, God?" And you know what, I never got an answer. I spent two years asking why it happened and blaming God for the events in my life. Finally, two days ago I went for a walk. Just me and God. And I said to God, "I don't know why. I may never know why it had to happen, but I trust You. You are the Lord over my life and somehow it's just 'better' this way. Things wouldn't be the same if it didn't happen." Can you imagine having that conversation with God? You lose someone close to you and you're telling God "it's okay, I trust you." It was years in the making. But God takes all things done in evil and makes them good. If you also remember, it was the devil who wrecked havoc in Job's life and it was God who eventually restored all back to Him many fold.
Rather than blaming God, asking why, maybe you should look at trying to thank Him and trust that He knows what He's doing better than we do.
One of the toughest stories in the bible for me to digest is that of Job. Just as a free commercial...did you know that Job is the oldest book in the bible? Tis true
Saucy does know something afterall Anyways, Job isn't hard to digest because it's about a man who looses everything. And when I say looses everything, I mean it. He seems to be standard barrier for pain. I know so many people who look at the things gone wrong in their lives and say, "well, I can be thankful it's not as bad as what Job went through."
I mean this guy truly suffered and I don't think there's a single person on the face of the planet who's had it worse than that dude. He lost his whole family, riches, power, health and got to the point that he was cursing his own existence.
But what's hard to take about this story is God's reaction to the whole thing. You see, like everyone else who's thrown into a painful situation, Job was complaining about it and he questioned God. God, why did you do this to me? God, why?
And His answer? It's stupid, it truly is. At least, to the world it is. God told Job to stand up like a man and proceeded to ask him sixty questions. You should read all that God asks Job, but turns the table on him and asks "where were you when I set the foundations of the earth? Where were you Job? Did you have any hand in creating tis or tat? Really Job, who are you to question me?"
You see, this isn't a view of the "christian" God we all think we know. God is the same yesterday, today and forever so God isn't the one who has changed. I'm sure there was a time in life when people didn't question God's decisions, but in our day in age, God's answer is just plain stupid. It's the typical "because I said so" answer we all dread. It says to us, "will you just shut-up and trust me?" But we can't shut-up and trust Him, can we? NO! We have to have all the answers. We MUST know why! Not only that, but we blame God for everything as if we truly know what's going on!
Yesterday someone came into the CB obviously upset about something that happened earlier in the day. This person asked, "Why does God make people suffer?" This person lost their job and it was a painful experience for them. The part I didn't get was why they were blaming God for it. Not just blaming Him, but implying that God purposely got him or her fired JUST for the purposes of making the person suffer.
Honestly, do you really think God hates you? He's leaving you to rot away? He has forsaken you? Is it God's fault that you got fired or your own? Typical worldly excuse: BLAME EVERYONE ELSE FOR YOUR PROBLEMS! I know, I got fired once. It was the manager's fault. He didn't like me. The coworkers conspired to get me fired. While all of those reasons seemed likely at the time, the true answer is that my work wasn't up to snuff. I just didn't care about my job and it was time to move on.
Want to know what Job did after God spoke to Him? He shut-up. He actually listened to God and felt so stupid for complaining. Because do we really know who our God is? Look at what He's created! Do you really think the problems in your life are obsticles to God?
The stupid answer. The frustrating answer. The stinging answer. God told Job: Shut-up, stand up like a man and who are you to question Me?
I did a lot of blaming after my dad died. I asked a lot of "why, God?" And you know what, I never got an answer. I spent two years asking why it happened and blaming God for the events in my life. Finally, two days ago I went for a walk. Just me and God. And I said to God, "I don't know why. I may never know why it had to happen, but I trust You. You are the Lord over my life and somehow it's just 'better' this way. Things wouldn't be the same if it didn't happen." Can you imagine having that conversation with God? You lose someone close to you and you're telling God "it's okay, I trust you." It was years in the making. But God takes all things done in evil and makes them good. If you also remember, it was the devil who wrecked havoc in Job's life and it was God who eventually restored all back to Him many fold.
Rather than blaming God, asking why, maybe you should look at trying to thank Him and trust that He knows what He's doing better than we do.
