Job XLIX

 Often, it’s what’s staring us in the face that we seem not to notice or appreciate until it’s gone, whether it’s snatched away suddenly or slips through our fingers incrementally until it is no more. Perhaps it’s because we’re used to it, or take it for granted, or because we feel as though we are entitled to whatever it may be to a certain extent. I wake up in the morning, come downstairs, brew some coffee, and get to work, only aware of how I’m feeling, if something is off, or if my joints are achy because it’s been raining all night. I don’t wake up and consciously appreciate it when I’m feeling fine, and nothing is clicking or popping like someone was snapping celery by hand.

While during the days of Job, there was no church or household of faith as a support system during his time of hardship, we have the grace of brothers and sisters in Christ, members of His body, who will come alongside us in prayer when we need them most. At least, that’s the way it should be.

There are a multitude of reasons we were exhorted not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, and allowing for the rest of the body to be there for us when we are weak, wounded, or on the brink of despair is one of them. A fractured body is a weakened body, and a weakened body is easy prey for the enemy who prowls and seeks to devour.

Because most of us have gone through seasons of hardship and can appreciate the importance of having someone to lean on, we reciprocate in kind when another within the body is being buffeted and are quick to be a comfort and a means of encouragement to them as well. It doesn’t matter what body part is hurting, whether the toe you stubbed on a side table because your kids moved it just a smidge and your muscle memory told you the way was clear or your head because one of those occasional migraines you get decided to pay you a visit. Pain in one area ripples throughout your body and affects it in its entirety.

I am well aware that it’s challenging to find a church body that preaches the Word, feeds the soul, and lives out the gospel as it should nowadays. I’m not ignorant of this reality, but just because something is difficult, it doesn’t make it impossible, and rather than give up, stop looking, and resign ourselves to going at it alone, we must be diligent in making the quest of finding people to fellowship with a priority in our lives.

You’re never going to find a perfect church full of perfect people. If such a church existed, I’d likely be the odd man out because I am far from perfect, as is everyone else. The problem, as I see it, is that many people have a laundry list of expectations of what a church should offer before they get to biblical teaching. It has to have a good children’s program, a modern building, comfortable seats, pizza nights, stirring praise and worship, an affable, well-groomed pastor, service under forty-five minutes, and multiple services, so if I miss the first and the second one, the third is still an option, no more than five minutes from my house, an overall positive vibe, and the list goes on.

All these things must be secondary concerns, paling in comparison to the primary concern, which is whether or not the Word is being rightly divided, the Bible is being taught, and the focus is on Christ and the cross. Well, yes, I found a church that preaches the whole counsel of God, but it’s small, and the seats are uncomfortable. Then your purpose wasn’t the truth in and of itself, but rather your comfort or the need to attach yourself to something the world deems a success. We place more value on the things that don’t matter than on the one thing that does because if the teaching isn’t biblical, then nothing else that particular church might have on offer is beneficial to your spiritual man.

When we compare and contrast the time of Job with our current generation and see the many blessings and graces we have as opposed to them, we come to realize that there is no excuse or justification for our lukewarm state or our unwillingness to pursue righteousness with all the gusto of a starving man seeing a banquet laid out before him. We have the Word, which Job did not have; we have the body of Christ, which Job did not have; we have the freedom to worship God in spirit and truth, which others throughout the world today do not enjoy, yet we are indifferent to it all, focusing on the things of this earth and the baseless promises sleazy snake oil salesmen continue to make to the gullible when all evidence is pointing to the contrary.

When we fix our eyes upon the Lord and make Him the desire of our heart, when His truth is established therein, our focus and energy are spent on building up the spiritual man rather than earthly kingdoms, and the things men covet and seek after will be as dull baubles, used and broken toys left in a box gathering dust with no inherent value.

It is Satan’s good pleasure to draw our attention away from knowing Jesus, denying ourselves, and picking up our crosses, and he is quick to point to the worthless, insisting that they are the priceless treasures we seek. The reason he keeps at it is because it works. A myriad of souls stumble in their walk, get distracted, and go off chasing fool’s gold, believing that it will satisfy their soul when nothing but the presence of God can.

Those who have tasted the goodness of the Lord know that nothing compares to it. Those who have known the transformative power of His presence in their lives understand that He is sufficient no matter their current circumstance or lot in life. Seek Him, and you will find Him. Pursue Him, and your pursuit will not be in vain, for if you open the door of your heart, He will come in, and your life, beyond this life, will be forever changed.

Revelation 3:20-21, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.