Job XXXIX

 Although I will not set out to answer such impossible questions as to which came first, the chicken or the egg, there is something that stood out in the life of Job that is an indispensable lesson for every believer and something that should quell the back and forth between the camps that have formed within the church, who tragically spend more time at each other’s throats than preaching a risen, glorified Christ.

Job’s goal and purpose were never to be an upright and blameless man. The desire of Job’s heart was to serve God, worship Him, and walk in the fear of the Lord. Blamelessness and uprightness are naturally occurring virtues in the lives and hearts of those who seek to know God and worship Him. The beginning of every journey must have a destination in mind. Otherwise, we are but vagabonds going to and fro on the highways and byways of life without purpose or vision.

When we begin our journey of faith, our goal isn’t a better version of the old man but a reborn, transformed, new creation that naturally gravitates toward the good, the noble, and the light. It’s not the old thing, prettied up and made to look like a new thing; it’s actually a whole new thing. Because our minds have been renewed, and our old desires have been replaced with the new, we don’t have to force ourselves to spend time in God’s presence, read His word, serve Him, or glorify Him. These things are not looked upon as chores or tasks we would rather someone else perform in our stead but as the pinnacle of our day and the one thing we’re most excited to do upon waking. The best part of waking up isn’t Folgers in your cup; it’s getting to spend time with Jesus and have fellowship with Him.

Easy for you to say you’ve got the extra time. As I type these words, it is 3:17 AM, and I’ve been up for a solid hour already, just spending time with God and reading a few verses out of Romans. Is my point that I’m more spiritual than you? Hardly. My point is that every morning, I forfeit a couple of hours of extra sleep just to have the quiet time with God because I prioritize that experience over a bit of extra slumber. If you can’t seem to find time for God on a given day, you’re not trying hard enough. Either that or He isn’t as high on your list of priorities as you might think.

Because we want to instill values, morals, a solid work ethic, and personal accountability in our daughters, my wife and I have come up with a list of family contributions for which every member of the family is responsible. Whether it’s emptying the dishwasher, setting the table, vacuuming, taking out the trash, doing laundry, or folding clothes, each of us has a daily task that needs to be completed. To see my daughters’ faces when it comes time to do their family contribution, one would think they’re starting their twelve-hour shift at the iPhone factory and not taking two minutes to put some plates away. Many believers have the same attitude when it comes to spending time with God, in His presence, or in His word.

If we use every excuse under the sun not to spend time with God and worship Him, if we find ever more inventive reasons not to take the time to read and meditate on His word, then I think it’s fair to ask whether we are aware that the heaven we’re so eager to go to is God’s habitation, and He will be there in perpetuity.

If you set out to be a ‘good person’ rather than know God, you’ve lived a wasted life, and your goodness, however noble in the eyes of your contemporaries, will be as filthy rags when you stand before the Creator of all that is.

If, however, you set out to be wholly committed to the way and cling to God and His grace no matter what may be going on around you, the transformation into a blameless and upright man will occur without you having to force it, dwell on it, or squint your eyes and hold your breath until it occurs.

The presence of God compels transformation. Some men are quick to denounce it as works salvation, but it’s God transforming you, not you transforming yourself. The only thing incumbent upon you as an individual is to not resist the potter as he molds the clay that is you. It’s hard for us to wrap our minds around the fact that we don’t get to choose the shape we’re molded into, nor do we get to choose what we are filled with once the molding and firing is complete.

The notion that we can make demands of God both in terms of what we want to end up as and what gifting we want to receive from His hand is a fairy tale opportunists tell gullible people to try and get them to buy their course on unlocking their prophetic superpowers.

Yes, we are to desire spiritual gifts, especially that we prophesy but it doesn’t mean that we’ll get what we want. We get what God deems as necessary for the body, whether that’s prophesy, wisdom, healing, knowledge, tongues, discernment, or interpretation of tongues.

I did not choose the area of ministry I would serve in; I just chose to serve. I would have been just as happy rubbing Pine-Sol into the pews of an old country church if I knew I was where God wanted me to be. When your singular purpose and desire is to serve God, when He is firmly established on the throne of your heart, then everything else comes into focus. All the baggage, all the aspirations, all the plans and planning fall by the wayside, and the only thing that remains in perpetuity is daily following after Him.

For those who are still trying to build a ministry, a church, or a reputation on their own, the most liberating feeling you will ever experience is surrendering it to God, leaving it in His care, and putting your hand to the plow wherever He puts you in His harvest field.

There were no underhanded schemes, feigned worship to achieve some goal down the line, or lip service as far as Job’s commitment to God and His sovereignty are concerned. He was authentically worshipful and desirous of the presence of God in his life and prioritized these things above all else.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.