Job CCCXXXVI

 In all the questions God asked Job, He was also attempting to show him the depth and breadth of the chasm between the wisdom of man and the wisdom of God. Job was humble enough to acknowledge what he did not know, but God made clear the breadth of it by pointing out just how many there were. Everyone acknowledges that they don’t know everything, at least anyone who isn’t delusional, but the realization of just how much they don’t know is often jarring and discombobulating.  

We are predisposed to being wise in our own eyes, and those who see it as their defining trait tend to surround themselves with fools simply so they could highlight their own understanding. Every ship of fools must have a captain, and in the land of the blind, the man with one eye is king. When God steps into the picture, however, no matter how highly a man might think of himself, it is for naught, for God isn’t simply wise; He is wisdom personified. Elihu learned as much when God dismissed him as speaking words without knowledge, even though he’d spent a considerable amount of time trying to convince Job and his three friends otherwise.

Accusations aren’t evidence; assumptions aren’t facts, and even the wisest among us understands in part. Knowing this, the best course of action, without fail, is to defer to God, because whether we defer to Him or not, submit to His wisdom or don’t, He will have the final word, and His judgments will be absolute and irrevocable. It’s akin to a grain of sand disagreeing with the crashing waves, or a pebble disagreeing with the rushing river. God will do as He wills, and no created thing, whether man or beast, can stand in His way or hinder His plan from coming to fruition.

We choose to submit ourselves to God and abide by His Word, or attempt to twist it or altogether circumvent it because the desire of our heart is not to be pleasing in the sight of the Lord, but to do as we will and still have the hope of squeaking by and somehow making it into heaven. It doesn’t even have to be something egregious, just small changes here and there that attempt to change the intended meaning of what the gospel says.

Take, for example, one of the most often-heard claims within Christendom over the past few decades: that God has a wonderful plan for your life. It is indisputable that God has a plan for your life, but the Bible never says it’s wonderful, at least not as long as we are in these husks of flesh, making our way to eternity. One word changes both the implied expectations and the meaning of the entire phrase. The wonderful, glorious part comes after, when we stand before God and hear “Well done.” Jesus Himself said that in this world we would have tribulation, yet the expectation of many nominal believers is the wonderful life the smiling snake-oil merchant spoke of, and when tribulation comes, their entire world gets turned on its ear because of one word added to the truth of Scripture.  

The dichotomy between how Job’s friends reacted to his claim of being blameless, having found nothing in his heart of wickedness or evil, and how God reacted, knowing Job was, in truth, all that he claimed to be, is unnerving. On the one hand, Elihu and Job’s three friends could not believe that one could attain such a level of blamelessness, while God, knowing Job was blameless, saw him as one in need of grace and mercy.

Any other man or woman during Job’s generation would have fallen short of his blamelessness and uprightness, but when compared to the righteousness of God, Job himself fell short. Lest anyone be tempted to boast of their righteousness, remember this and be humbled anew.   

Both the presence of God, the voice of God, and the wisdom of God humble man. There can be no other response. Anyone walking away from an encounter with God feeling proud, puffed up, accomplished, and validated hasn’t had an encounter with the one true God. God is not in the cheerleading business. He doesn’t have to cheer every time you finish your peas and carrots because He does not see you as an infant but as a soldier. He doesn’t see you as a toddler but as a warrior.

We sing songs about being in the Lord’s army but act nothing like the soldiers we claim to be. If we are in the Lord’s army, He commands, and we obey, and if, perchance, something requires improvement, whether in the wielding of our weapons or the carrying out of our duties, He lets us know.

Yes, there was a time when you were a lost sheep and the good Shepherd left the ninety-nine and went after the one, but you are a lost sheep no longer. You have been found, you have been saved, you have been sanctified, and you cannot remain in the same spiritual condition as you were when your spiritual eyes were opened. It’s past time that those expecting God to rummage through His pockets for a hanky to wipe their noses learn to put on their armor and stand because they’ve been in a state of spiritual infancy for as long as they’ve been alive.

Stop expecting God to be a mother hen and gravitating toward people who infantilize you to the point of thinking you are incapable of studying the Word of God for yourself. There’s a difference between being babied and being trained, between being pandered to and being discipled. Given that itching ears are all the rage, it’s no surprise the contemporary church is in the deplorable spiritual condition it’s in.

The purpose of a preacher, a teacher, a pastor, a bishop, or an evangelist isn’t to make you dependent on them, but to point the way to Jesus. Anyone who claims to be any of these things and does otherwise has the ulterior motive of controlling you rather than showing you the way by which you can be made free.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.