Job CCXX

 Currently, we know in part. Although there is a purpose for all things, God is not obligated to explain what that purpose is. Rest assured, it is according to His purpose, whether you currently see it or not. He sees it, and that’s what counts. He knows your struggle, your hardship, your pain, and were they in vain, were they purposeless, He would not be the loving God we know Him to be.

We trust in His plan because we know His character. We trust in His plan because we know His heart. We trust in His plan because we know His love and the eternal goal He has for those He loves and those who are His. Whether it requires chastening, so be it. Whether it requires pruning, refinement, testing, or purifying, He is fully aware of what is required, of what is needed, of what we must traverse in order to reach the other side stronger, more sanctified, committed, and focused on the prize.

God will not cheer us on if we’re running in the wrong direction simply for the sake of encouraging us. In His love, He will point out that although we are running, it’s not toward the finish line, but further away from it.

That’s one of the elephants in the room that the contemporary church needs to acknowledge and remedy: too often, we offer encouragement rather than rebuke out of a misplaced desire to show love. If someone is headed toward a cliff at full sprint, it isn’t loving to cheer them on. If someone’s actions, habits, or lifestyle are leading them away from Jesus rather than toward Him, it’s not loving to ignore it or validate their practices for the sake of feigning empathy.

Yes, all are welcome as they are, but the message must be unequivocally clear that they cannot remain that way if they desire to live godly in Christ Jesus. All are broken when they come before Him, but they must be told that He must make them whole if they desire His indwelling presence.

As Jesus told Nicodemus, you must be born again! There is no other way but this. There is no alternative path leading to the same destination; there is but one, without exception, since the moment Jesus said, “It is finished!”

Those who are His, those who belong to Him, those whom He calls sons and daughters, know that He is near, that His eyes are upon them, and that He hears their cry. They are as sure of this truth as they are of anything in life that comes about with the regularity of a rising sun or the changing of the seasons. There is no doubt or shadow of turning. There is no wondering or second-guessing whether He is present, whether He hears, or whether He is invested.

Psalm 34:18-19, “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have contrite spirits. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

If you are His, His presence is enough to chase away fear, His presence is enough to chase away despair, His presence is enough to chase away uncertainty and doubt, and replace them with His peace, love, and joy.

Those who do not belong to God have no such respite. In this, Zophar was on point. Since repetition is the mother of learning, generally speaking, Zophar was not wrong about the wicked and what their inevitable outcome will be; where he erred was in assuming that Job was counted among the wicked.

You can say all the right things, but target them at the wrong individual. You can also say the right thing, to the right person, and do it in the wrong spirit. There are nuances and factors beyond the words we speak, and intentionality and purpose play a big part. Is my intention to comfort or wound? Is my purpose to elevate my own self-righteousness in the eyes of others, or to highlight the righteousness of God in the words that I speak?   

Doing more harm than good, even though that’s not what we set out to do, happens often enough when there is no spiritual guidance and only an intellectual reaction to a particular situation.

But, brother, the Bible tells us to speak the truth. Actually, what the Bible says is to speak the truth in love. Yes, you can speak rebuke, you can speak correction, but if they are tethered in love, you are speaking life rather than death, and hope rather than despair. Zophar was not being led by the Spirit, even though the words he spoke were valid as far as the wicked were concerned. He was accusing an innocent man of things he hadn’t done, not correcting or rebuking him for things he had.   

Job 20:20-24, “Because he knows no quietness in his heart, he will not save anything he desires. Nothing is left for him to eat; Therefore his well-being will not last. In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress; every hand of misery will come against him. When he is about to fill his stomach, God will cast on him the fury of His wrath, and will rain it on him while he is eating. He will flee from the iron weapon; a bronze bow will pierce him through.”

Whether it was projection, jealousy, insecurity, or the whispers of the enemy that led Zophar to continue his litany of accusations, given what occurs later in the book, we know without a doubt that he was in the wrong regarding his accusations against Job. God Himself would declare as much, and when God says something, we don’t have to wonder about its veracity. It’s a practical lesson we should all take to heart, and one that would save many much heartache.

Whatever you hear, whomever you hear it from, your first instinct should be to go to the Word and confirm that the two are in harmony, and complementary of each other. If they are not, reject whatever you hear from the lips of men because the Bible is always right.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.