Job CCCXXX

 Job 39:13-18, “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, but are her wings and pinions like the kindly stork’s? For she leaves her eggs on the ground, and warms them in the dust; she forgets that a foot may crush them, or that a wild beast may break them. She treats her young harshly, as though they were not hers; her labor is in vain, without concern, because God deprived her of wisdom, and did not endow her with understanding. When she lifts herself on high, she scorns the horse and its rider.”

If you ever run across a Swiss timepiece, an Italian suit, or a German car, your rightful expectation is that they are impeccably crafted, made of the best materials, and as such highly sought after and coveted. When you drill down even further, you have the premier specialists in a general field that are sought after even more, especially when it comes to art, whether watercolor, oil paints, acrylics, or everything in between.

One’s reaction is different if they chance upon a long-lost Picasso than if they discovered a Roberto original, even though they were of the same generation, applied themselves, and put brush to canvas. Who’s Roberto? Exactly! No clue. I’m sure there was a guy named Roberto in the 1900s who tried just as hard as Pablo Picasso to create masterpieces on canvas, but while one succeeded, the other is long forgotten, with little to no value placed on his creations.

Who the artist is matters more than anything. There have been hand-etched pencil drawings on napkins that fetched more than all of the imaginary Roberto’s works put together, just because a specific artist signed them.

Everything we behold with our eyes and can touch with our fingers, whether the grass, the trees, or the ostrich, was created by the Master Craftsman, the Master Artist, and His signature is on it all, including mankind.

Granted, I wouldn’t go around trying to pet an ostrich; they tend to spit at people, but countless other animals lend themselves to being petted, if you are so inclined.

It’s not subtle. It’s not vague. God did not hide His fingerprints, nor was He working from the shadows. There is no uncertainty as to who created all that exists, because the Word makes it clear that it was God. Even the little things we can’t notice, the things that are not readily perceived, like the difference between how an ostrich and a stork flap their wings, were meticulously taken into account.

What we have in this monologue, which spans two chapters in the book of Job, is nothing less than the Artist explaining His work, His intention behind it, and the subtle brushstrokes that would have gone unnoticed by a cursory or superficial glance. We can either take God at His word and see creation through His eyes, as He explains it, or take the word of self-appointed critics who had no hand in creating the masterpiece that is the world that surrounds us, as they try to blunder their way through attempting to convince us that it was all serendipity, a happy accident that brought everything together and knitted it perfectly.

If you’ve ever seen a critic try to explain a work of art, then later chance upon an interview with the artist explaining his motivation and what his art means, you’ve likely concluded that critics are full of hot air, unanimously self-important and self-aggrandizing, and most often less intelligent than they think themselves to be.

While the critic can go on for an hour explaining how the painting of a man sitting in a rowboat adrift on a lake has profound undercurrents of desperation, and speaks to the soul’s endless search for meaning, when asked what the piece means to him, the artist will likely say that he was walking by a lake one day, saw a man sitting in a boat, and thought it would make for a good painting.

Perhaps there is no deeper meaning as to why the ostrich and the stork flap their wings differently than that God spoke them both into existence, and saw that it was good.

Yes, there are mysteries; there are things worthy of contemplation and deep reflection, but not all things are mysteries. Why we tend to focus on the non-essentials and take the words of men regarding God over God’s words regarding Himself as viable and true is one of those issues that warrants consideration and contemplation.

God doesn’t stutter, nor does He attempt to shroud ignorance in a multitude of words. He is clear, direct, and has made His will known in His Word. No man living or dead can honestly say they don’t know what God wants of them after they’ve read His Word. They cannot plead ignorance or cast the blame at God’s feet for not being clear and forthright enough about His expectations of those who are His.

Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Ephesians 4:20-24, “But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

That’s all well and good, but Aunt Midge insists I have to burn incense, stand on one foot, and repeat a secret prayer only she is privy to in order to be pleasing in the sight of the Lord. It seems as though God made the way straight and clear, but what if that is a red herring to deceive those unwilling to listen to Aunt Midge?

Stop overcomplicating your walk because someone insists you should. Worship God in spirit and in truth, put off the old man, present your body a living sacrifice, and know what it is to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, walking humbly with your God, and feeling His presence in your life. He has shown you, O man, what is good; you just have to be willing to see it and follow through with action.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Job CCCXXIX

 Job 39:5-12, “Who set the wild donkey free? Who loosed the bonds of the onager, whose home I have made in the wilderness, and the barren land his dwelling? He scorns the tumult of the city; he does not heed the shouts of the driver. The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searches after every green thing. Will the wild ox be willing to serve you? Will he bed by your manger? Can you bind the wild ox in the furrow with ropes? Or will he plow the valleys behind you? Will you trust him because his strength is great? Or will you leave your labor to him? Will you trust him to bring home your grain, and gather it to your threshing floor?”

There is one God. There is one King on the throne, and all the rest are pretenders to it. Men might aspire to the title of little gods, but once we get a glimpse into what God can do, what He has done, who He is, the detail that went into the creation of something as insignificant as the wild donkey, or the wild ox, we soon realize that though they might claim to be deities, they fall short of the definition, and vastly so.

Even so, self-delusion is a powerful aphrodisiac, and there have been those throughout history who insisted that they could readily replace the God of the universe, and in their hubris insisted they could do a better job of it. When pressed on the issue and asked what they would have done differently, it’s always some vague, opaque thing about healing the world, or making men live in brotherhood, not understanding the underlying implications of either.

As far as the world goes, God created a perfect world, harmonious and wondrous. It’s not God who systematically went on a rampage to destroy His wondrous creation; it was man. It’s akin to my wife baking a cake, perfect in every way, then having one of the neighbor kids come by and crush it into an oddly shaped amalgam of frosting, unrecognizable in its current form from what it was intended to be, then blaming my wife for making such an unappetizing dessert. What she made was glorious, and she is not to blame for its destruction because it wasn’t her hands that crushed it and mangled it, but the hands of another.

As far as the brotherhood of man is concerned, if free will does not exist, then all we would end up being are automatons, robots in flesh suits going about doing the bidding of another without agency or choice. Compulsion isn’t love. Love is not compulsory. We choose to love. We choose to submit. We choose to worship. We choose to honor. We choose to obey. God’s desire is that we choose Him and reciprocate the love He has shown, rather than force us into fealty like some medieval overlord who sacked a neighboring village and now rules over the peasants with an iron fist.

Yes, God reveals Himself; God entreats; God beckons; God calls, but we must heed the call, answer His entreaties, and choose to humble ourselves at the foot of the cross and follow after Him.

When Joshua stood before the people and declared, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve”, it means they had a choice! As for him and his house, the choice had already been made. They would serve the Lord in sincerity and truth.

You can’t serve two masters; you must choose one. The choice is yours, as are the consequences. I can’t drag you into heaven; I can’t browbeat you into serving God in sincerity and truth; I can’t force you to take your walk seriously and circumspectly, putting away the things you know are hindering your spiritual growth. All I can do is tell you what the Book says, and reaffirm the truth that there are no exemptions or carveouts for anyone. I’m not special, and neither are you. What God demands of the least He demands of the greatest.

Whosoever means whosoever. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. Belief isn’t something that can be projected onto another, nor is it something that can be forced upon someone. It is inherent and inborn to the individual and something they must come to discover and acquire.

You can tell me you were teleported to heaven and played hopscotch with the Almighty until you’re blue in the face; you may even believe it, but I don’t. See how that works? I believe that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, the only means by which man might be reconciled to the Father, that He lived, died, and rose again and ascended into heaven, not because someone told me I should believe it, but because to the deepest recesses of my soul, to the marrow of my bones, I do.

The reality of Jesus must be experienced on a personal and intimate level. It can’t be a second- or third-hand retelling of how another was saved and born again, but something you must experience for yourself. What good does it do a blind man if someone tells them they’ve seen a Monet in person? They have no frame of reference; they don’t know what a Monet is, and the most vivid description of one won’t come close to the reality of seeing it.

I once was blind, but now I see. I once was lost, but now am found. I once had no hope, but now He is my hope. I once had no purpose, but now He is my purpose. All these are true, but fall short of describing what it is to be born again, to be transformed, to be made new, and to be reconciled to God.

Another aspect that stood out in God’s description of His attributes is that none of them have anything to do with destruction or chaos. Every one is about order, creation, and the painstaking detail that went into speaking the world we take for granted into being. There is a reason Jesus said He is the light of the world, and not the darkness thereof.

John 8:12, “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’”

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Job CCCXXVIII

 Job 39:1-4, “Do you know the time when the wild mountain goats bear young? Or can you mark when the deer gives birth? Can you number the months that they fulfill? Or do you know the time when they bear young? They bow down, they bring forth their young, they deliver their offspring. Their young ones are healthy, they grow strong with grain; they depart and do not return to them.”

We tend not to notice when everything is going right. We turn on the faucet, and there’s running water; we flip a switch, and the lights come on; we turn a key, and the car starts; and for the most part it occurs so regularly that we take it for granted. Then something goes awry, and instead of running water there’s a gurgling sound, like the rumbling of one’s stomach too long without food, instead of light, darkness remains even though we’ve flicked the switch on and off three or four times to make sure, and instead of the rumbling of an engine, there’s the dreaded chirp or chime informing us we’re not going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

Man downplays the complexity of God’s creation because it is so finely tuned, a billion, billion moving pieces all working in perfect synchronicity, that there’s never a glitch, there’s never something that goes awry, and we come to assume that it’s no great feat.

God picks a couple of His creations at random and compels Job to ponder all the detail that went into something as common as when the mountain goats bear their young, or when the deer gives birth. To us, absent pondering on the subject for longer than it takes to read the verse, it may seem like no great thing, yet when you drill down and realize there is a specified and distinct timetable for when these things must occur if the offspring have a chance at survival, that one month earlier or later would mean the eradication of the entire species, the vast web of necessary events to occur at specific times, is something our frail minds can’t readily grasp.

Some years ago I saw an art display where someone had built a miniature scale of the Vatican out of toothpicks. All told, it was about six feet wide, four feet deep, and a good five feet in height. The tag on the front said it took over 800 hours to build, and included some horrendous amount of toothpicks, well into the tens of thousands. One could either roll their eyes, shrug their shoulders, and move on, or take a breath to contemplate the dedication, the attention to detail, and the effort it took to put it all together.

Compared to God’s creation, that art exhibit is akin to stacking three building blocks atop each other. Not at all impressive, or worthy of mention, because what it takes to keep various organisms, animals, birds of the air, fish of the sea, plant life, trees, ecosystems, and all the other countless things going, viable, and alive, is unfathomable.

Just because God makes it look easy, it doesn’t mean that it is.

If you happen to have children, you know that consistency is key. It has become my wife’s de facto motto, and she keeps to the rigid schedule of a specific bedtime, among other things. Although you can’t make children sleep longer than they need, even if they wake up, they can’t get out of bed until seven, no matter how much they might want to. By the time they come downstairs, breakfast is started, if not ready, and their list of chores is already up on the fridge, held in place by a happy face magnet.

Sure, there’s grumbling from time to time; they are kids after all, and being the sassier of the two, the young one rolls her eyes and whispers some variation of I wonder if prison is this bad to her sister when they see that they have to fold clothes, vacuum, do dishes, or whatever else is on the list for that day. Even so, they do what they’re supposed to, and once the chores get done, then they have free time, which usually consists of playing their instruments, drawing, painting, or making copious amounts of bracelets for no one in particular.

Then the day came that Mom had to go away on business for a couple of days, and Dad was left in charge. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not as strict as my wife. Perhaps it’s because I’m a girl dad, or because the puppy eyes still have an effect on me, but I tend to let things slide a bit more than my wife ever would, and wouldn’t you know it, the girls caught on to that particular weakness since they were in diapers.

The first night my wife was away, they asked if they could stay up late to read, and since I saw no harm in it, I said yes. Since they’d gotten to bed a couple of hours past their bedtime, they woke up a couple of hours later than they normally would have, fully expecting to have a hot and ready breakfast waiting for them. They were both hungry, and after asking what was for breakfast, I offered them buttered toast and warm milk.

“But mom makes us omelets and smoothies, pancakes and waffles in the morning,” the little one chimed in, disappointed by my meager offering, to which I answered, “That’s why you should appreciate mom more for everything she does for you, because all I’ve got is toast and milk.”

We ended up settling on hard-boiled eggs and sliced cheese, but the point remains valid: there is a myriad of things we take for granted on any given day, from our health to the roof over our heads, to the birds chirping in the trees and the sun shining on our faces. The unregenerate, those without knowledge or understanding of God, assume all these things are naturally occurring, something they’re entitled to, without sparing a thought to the reality that there is an unseen hand keeping it all together, making it work, and maintaining it. As those who are His, who belong to Him, who know Him as Lord, King, Master, and Father, His praise should be on our lips every day, grateful and thankful for all that He is and all that He does.  

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CCCXXVII

 Job 38:31-41, “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the belt of Orion? Can you bring out Mazzaroth in its season? Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth? Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that an abundance of water may cover you? Can you send out lightnings, that they may go, and say to you, ‘Here we are!’? Who has put wisdom in the mind? Or who has given understanding to the heart? Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven, when the dust hardens in clumps, and the clods cling together? Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, when they crouch in their dens, or lurk in their lairs to lie in wait? Who provides food for the raven, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food?”

Given that you live in 2026 with access to vast quantities of information at your fingertips, you may not be as amazed and astounded at the mention of the Pleiades cluster, Orion’s belt, Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear, Ursa Minor, or the Little Bear, or as God called it the Great Bear’s cubs. However, when taking into account that these words were spoken before we had telescopes, planetariums, or branches of science dedicated to the study of the cosmos, even before the time of Moses and the patriarchs, and these named constellations are still referred to today by the same name, you’ll soon realize how mind-boggling the mention of these constellations is.

God even speaks of things that science has confirmed, but that went by another name altogether, such as bringing Mazzaroth out in its season. Literally translated, Mazzaroth means a garland of crowns, and it has been proffered that bringing Mazzaroth out in its season refers to the twelve constellations of the Zodiac, a theory supported by the first chapter of Genesis wherein God said, “let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs and seasons and for days and years.”

God was not vague about what He spoke into being, nor had He forgotten any of the intricate details that went into His creation, whether referring to the cosmos or closer to home, at least as mankind is concerned. He begins with a panoramic view of the stars and constellations, zooms in to the ordinances of the heavens and earth itself, then zooms in even further to man himself, asking who has put wisdom in the mind, or given understanding to the heart? All these things God has done, and it is indisputable.

When David asked, “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?”, it was within the context and with the full awareness of all that God had created, who He is, and how far His power extends.

God doesn’t have blind spots. He has not forgotten about you, just as He had not forgotten about Job. He has every detail well in hand, and He multi-tasks like none other. He wasn’t trying to belittle Job, or insist he was ignorant of all that He had done, for Job had known God for long enough to understand the power, majesty, and all-encompassing sovereignty He possesses.

You are not less precious than the lions who hunt for prey, or the cubs who seek to satisfy their appetite, but exponentially more so, because it was not for the lion or the ravens that God sent His only begotten Son, but for you and I.

If He is aware of and provides for the birds of the air or the beasts of the field, does He not have you well in hand? Is He not aware of your prayers, of your supplications? God knows your hurt, He knows your pain, He knows your joy, your sorrow, your loss, and everything else in between. He knows the betrayal you’ve suffered at the hands of those you once considered friends, as well as the comfort you received from those you once thought indifferent to your plight. He knows all things, and for all things there is a well-defined purpose. You may not see it, I may not see it, but we nevertheless trust that God does, and He will lead us to green pastures.

It’s never easy being in the thick of it. Anyone who says testing isn’t arduous, draining, and exhaustive has never truly been tested. Even so, once the season of testing passes, once we hear the voice of God anew, and He confirms what we’ve always known, that He’s been there all along, not afar off, or indifferent, but engaged and present, we conclude as Paul once did that the suffering of this present time is not worthy to be compared with the glory that is revealed in us.

The contemporary church has been fed the lie that coming to Jesus means you’ll nevermore shed another tear, feel pain, loss, or sadness for so long, that it’s convinced itself it’s true. Even though Jesus Himself said that we should count the cost of following after Him, understanding that it will include being hated for His name’s sake, despised by the world, and treated with scorn, we have so ignored His words that when it does occur, it surprises us and shocks us as though it was never meant to be this way.

Our expectation of the way things ought to be must be in harmony with what the Word of God says we should expect so that we are not shaken, disheartened, or discombobulated. In the world you will have tribulation. It’s a certainty, and Jesus presented it as such, but He did go on to say something that those possessing wisdom and understanding have clung to throughout the centuries: But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world!

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Job CCCXXVI

 Job 38:19-30, “Where is the way of the dwelling light? And darkness, where is its place, that you may take it to its territory, that you may know the paths to its home? Do you know it, because you were born then, or because the number of your days is great? Have you entered the treasury of snow, or have you seen the treasury of hail, which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war? By what way is light diffused, or the east wind scattered over the earth? Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, or a path for the thunderbolt, to cause it to rain on a land where there is no one, a wilderness in which there is no man; to testify the desolate waste, and cause to spring for the growth of tender grass? Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew? From whose womb comes the ice? And the frost of heaven, who gives it birth? The waters harden like stone, and the surface of the deep is frozen.”

There are individuals roaming about today who believe they are perfectly within their rights to argue, question, disagree, debate with, and go toe-to-toe with God on a variety of topics He has already made clear where He stands in His word. I have come to believe that such individuals do not fully understand who they are dealing with, whom they are attempting to debate and disagree with, for if they did, if they understood that they’re trying to get smart with the One who divided a channel for the overflowing waters and a path for the thunderbolt, they would be more reticent to do so.

The angels, the elders, the living creatures all bow down, fall on their faces, cry out holy, holy, holy, but man regularly decides to square up to God and insist that He change for their sake rather than they for His sake, because it would be easier for them in the long run. Anyone who chooses the way of rebellion isn’t fooling anyone but themselves, especially not God, who refuses to deal with you as with a toddler, because you aren’t one.

False shepherds have infantilized the sheep to the point that they remain in a perpetual state of spiritual lethargy, because one who is barely alive, barely animated, is far easier to control and manipulate than one who stands in the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit, fully armored and ready for battle.

What’s worse is that some get resentful when another’s zeal exposes their own apathy. Rather than encourage the sheep to press in, seek out, grow, and mature, they grow combative and begin a campaign of undermining them and ever so slowly shun them as though they were the problem.

If you’ve found a church with a shepherd that insists it is your duty and obligation to study the Word, to spend time in prayer, to build up your most holy faith, to press in, and desire more of God with each passing day, be thankful. No, he’s not giving you homework to add something new to your already burgeoning workload; he is genuinely interested in your spiritual well-being.

But isn’t he paid to feed me? No, he’s not. His duty is to rightly divide the Word and present it to you. It’s your job to feed yourself. It’s your obligation to take the truth of God’s Word and allow it to nourish you, take root in your heart, and transform you.

If an adult enjoys the act of spoon-feeding another adult, it’s not because they’re being gracious and charitable; it’s because they like the implied control that being in charge of what another consumes, and how much of it they consume, brings them. There are no gatekeepers to the Word of God. At any time during any given day, you can pick up your Bible, sit down somewhere quiet, and begin to consume it for yourself.

Yes, there is a place for pastors, teachers, evangelists, and preachers, but their duty isn’t to baby you into the kingdom; it’s to provide the necessary tools to make you a warrior for the kingdom.

The more God reveals His attributes to Job, the more in awe of Him we should be. Whether His omnipotence, sovereignty, or power, upon reading the things God says about Himself, we cannot remain indifferent or unchanged.

God is not a one-hit wonder. He didn’t chance upon a hum-worthy tune in the 90s and has since been living off the royalties. Man may be the crowning jewel of God’s creation, the only created being to be made in His image and after His likeness, but the rest of creation is no less than staggering in both size and scope once we begin to line item all the things He references.

God speaks of things only He would know, such as the treasury of snow and hail, which to someone living in the desert would have been as mysterious and unfathomable as autonomous self-driving vehicles to someone living in the 16oos.

Given the region Job lived in, it is unlikely he’d ever seen snow for himself. You don’t get a lot of blizzards in the desert. Sandstorms? Sure, there are plenty of those, but as far as snow is concerned, that would have been as impossible to fathom for Job as rain had been to Noah.

Sometimes God says things the mind of man cannot perceive or understand. That does not make it any less true, real, or viable. Just because I’ve never seen something or grasped how it could possibly function does not invalidate it or mean that it cannot exist.

Through it all, Job never attempted to interrupt. He never raised his hand and asked what snow was, or what the springs of the seas were, or how the water can harden like stone and the surface of the deep freeze. He sat and listened, in awe of the God he served, relieved and refreshed that He was speaking to him once more.

Yes, God is a good Father, but that’s not all He is. If we reduce Him down to that one attribute, great and noble as that one thing might be, we will never see Him in all His majesty and grandeur. There is thought and intent put into the smallest detail, including a path for the thunderbolt. Yes, to you and me it may seem random, but God says it isn’t. Even something as commonplace as a thunderbolt has a predetermined path, one that God took into account and willed for His own purpose. That is the God we serve. If you are in awe of Him, it is a well-deserved awe.         

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CCCXXV

 Job 38:12-18, “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? It takes on form like clay under a seal, and stands out like a garment. From the wicked their light is withheld, and the upraised arm is broken. Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths? Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death? Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.”

Had there been any pride left in Job, had his ego still had a say in the decision-making process or sway over his actions, with every question God posed, they would have shrunk a little more. Some men think highly of themselves. Whether deservedly or otherwise, the arrogance on display in certain situations is jarring, and you can quickly surmise that how they view themselves and what they believe their influence to be far exceeds the reality of their station.

If your self-worth derives from having the biggest house in Louisiana, so much so that you have to boast about it on national television while grinning that Cheshire cat grin, you may be great in your own eyes, but a minnow in a shark tank when it comes to wielding true power beyond your regional ecosystem.

God wasn’t boasting as He asked Job His series of questions. He wasn’t trying to impress Job or his friends because there was no need or purpose in doing so. He wasn’t even trying to establish dominance, because that went without saying. He was stating facts in the form of questions, not to prove Himself, but rather to reveal Himself in the fullness of who He is.

If you go to a specialist and he introduces himself as a cardio thoracic surgeon, he isn’t boasting; he is informing you of why he is qualified to crack your chest open and fiddle around with your beating heart. Your response shouldn’t be, “Good for you, I bet your mom’s really proud,” because it was not his intention to impress you or make you feel inferior, but to make you understand that he had the knowledge, qualifications, and ability to perform a complicated procedure that you may require. Unless one is wholly unaware of the specialties in the medical field, one would likely be less at ease if the man had introduced himself as a proctologist and then gone on to explain what open-heart surgery entails.   

This is who I am: I commanded the morning since days began, and caused the dawn to know its place that it may take hold of the ends of the earth. I have entered the springs of the sea and walked in search of the depths. I have seen the doors of the shadow of death, and comprehended the breadth of the earth. These are just some of My qualifications, not exhaustive or complete by any means, but we’re just getting started.

The only word in the English lexicon that comes close to describing God in all His wonder is majesty, and even that seems paltry and insufficient when considering this chapter in the book of Job.

Perhaps the only chapter in the entirety of the Bible that surpasses Job in describing the sheer awe, majesty, and grandeur of the God we serve is the fourth chapter of Revelation. While in Job we see God detailing His attributes, in Revelation we bear witness to how John saw and perceived the throne room of heaven, as well as He who sat upon the throne, and it is no less than humbling.

How can we not fall on our faces before such a One? How can we not be humbled into the dust as we read of the twenty-four elders falling down before Him, worshipping Him who lives forever and ever, and casting their crowns before the throne?

Whenever anyone tries to project an image of God as some lowly, lonely, grandfatherly type endlessly toying with His beard, having nothing to do but whittle away the hours, so desperate for a little company that He randomly teleports people to heaven just to have someone to talk to, reacquaint yourself with the fourth chapter of Revelation and see how utterly absurd those claims are in comparison to the reality taking place in heaven.

God isn’t lonely; He isn’t isolated; He isn’t desperate for company of any kind because He is tired of hearing the echo of His footsteps in the empty halls of heaven. Contrary to some modern-day teaching, God didn’t send Jesus because He grew bored with the four living creatures of the twenty-four elders who cry, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power,” but because He loved His creation and wanted to see it reconciled to Him. It is love that guided God’s decision, not loneliness.

God wasn’t trying to make Job feel small, just like someone who tells you they can bench four plates on each side isn’t trying to make you feel small for barely pushing the bar off the rack. God is who He is and will not diminish His attributes, power, or authority because declaring who He is would make someone feel inferior. You will never be God, and neither will I. This is a well-established truth that some have tried to circumvent, and in their quest to elevate themselves, given that they cannot ascend or attain godhood, they make it their life’s mission to diminish, minimize, and shrink the attributes and sovereignty of God.

If I stand before one of the pyramids at Giza, shrug my shoulders, and insist I’m not at all impressed by either their size or structure, it does not diminish the pyramid itself in any way. The problem lies with me for not acknowledging its ingenuity, size, or scope. The same goes for God. Just because some men insist He is less than what He is, it does not diminish Him in any form or fashion.

He commands the morning, and causes the dawn to know its place. He spoke every living thing into existence by the power of His word. All things exist and were created by His will, but sure, Aunt Mildred, you sat on His throne and even beat Him at a game of rock, paper, scissors. Perhaps He was distracted in the moment, for surely the God who knows the end from the beginning would have seen you would play rock to His scissors.      

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CCCXXIV

 Job 38:4-11, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut the sea with doors, when it burst forth and issued from the womb; when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band; when I fixed My limit for it, and set bars and doors; when I said, ‘This far you may come, but no farther, and here your proud waves must stop!’”

It takes an almost limitless amount of intellectual dishonesty, coupled with a dangerously myopic view of everything that surrounds us, to conclude that everything was a happy accident, serendipity at its finest, working in perfect synchronicity and interdependence by happenstance or luck.

Sometimes we need to be reminded just how complex the world that surrounds us is, all the wonders it holds, and all the finite little things that have to work together perfectly, with no slippage or deterioration, for us to continue to exist. We’ve become used to all that surrounds us to the point that we take it for granted, refusing to acknowledge the One that put it all together and keeps it from falling apart, spinning out of control, or getting too close to the sun to the point that we all become crispy critters.

It’s like getting on an airplane and never considering the man-hours that went into making all the parts, putting them together, and making sure that the engines don’t give out halfway over the Atlantic. That’s all fine and dandy, but where are my complimentary bag of peanuts and my free can of soda?

It’s mind-boggling to consider that God, our Father, and the One who created all that our senses perceive as reality, couldn’t have an off day, couldn’t get it almost right, but had to get it perfect, one hundred percent of the time, without fail, just so we could enjoy a sunrise without having our retina burned away, or to be able to inhale and exhale without passing out, or looking like a fish out of water gasping for breath when none is to be had.

A few years back, there was a former president who went viral for saying that no matter how successful your business, no matter how much sweat equity you put into it, no matter how much you sacrificed, or how many sleepless nights you had to endure, in the end, you didn’t build that! Those who sit on the sidelines and watch the world go by agreed wholeheartedly, cheering him on for putting the boss men in their place, but those who, by sheer tenacity and work ethic, built something out of nothing were taken aback and voiced their objections to the blanket statement that they hadn’t done a thing, they hadn’t built anything, and somehow it came together for them as if by magic.

Men can say God didn’t build that until they’re blue in the face, but as long as God declares that He did, from the very foundations of the earth, then the claims of men are just that, the rantings of bitter souls unwilling to humble themselves and acknowledge His mighty works.

God begins to ask Job a series of questions that are rhetorical in nature. By that I mean God already knows the answers to the questions He is asking, but just so there’s no misunderstanding as to who built it, who laid earth’s cornerstone, or who shut the sea with doors when it burst forth and issued from the womb, God proffers a multitude of questions which are individually worthy of contemplation if one is ever inclined to get a glimpse of the vastness of the majesty and omnipotence of the God we serve.

Psalm 19:1-2, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.”

Men refuse to acknowledge God not because His handiwork is difficult to perceive, but because in their wicked hearts they resent Him for who He is, and harbor the desire to be as little gods in their own right. If God exists, if the heavens declare His glory and the firmament shows His handiwork, then they can never claim godhood for themselves, and that’s something their hubris cannot allow.

No matter how altruistic some of these men might sound, in the end it’s all about defiance and rebellion. We can do a better job than the One who laid the foundations of the earth. We know better. So send some rockets into space to cover the atmosphere in dust, cut down all the forests, seed some clouds, attempt to do what only God can, and that way we can pretend to be gods ourselves. Once we become gods, then we answer to no one but ourselves, and do as we will without the nagging reminder that one day we too will stand before the judgment throne.

Men can pretend God doesn’t exist, but they are not doing so because they believe it to be so. They do it as a coping mechanism to drown out their conscience, and that ever-present reality that one day lived is one day closer to the grave, no matter how much they would want it to be otherwise.

The need to dismiss the reality of God is so great that they have to contrive existential crises which they can later claim to have a fix for so they can validate their hubris.

The oceans are rising; the oceans are rising! That’s the claim we’ve been hearing for thirty years now, and those who do not believe that God said, this far you may come, but no farther, and here you proud waves must stop, fell for it to the point of selling their beachfront homes and moving inland.

If the oceans do rise, it is by His will, and there is nothing man can do to stop it. If the oceans recede, it is likewise by His will, and once again, there is nothing man can do to stop it. God is in control and has been since before He laid the foundations of the earth.      

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.