August 29
Job 31:1-33:33 | PS 43:1-5 | Prov 22:8-9 | 2 Cor 3:1-18
Our walk with God is a long one. Like any relationship it is not always steady. There will be highs and lows. God called us into our present relationship, though we all too often forget this. We tend to point to that moment, that individual, that situation which caused us to repent and acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Our God is sovereign. He is the one who sent that individual, that situation, etc. But we tend to forget that. When we are at a low point in our walk, or perhaps just find ourselves drifting, the tendency is to point horizontally at things: problems with our family, our jobs, or even good things like new babies, houses, etc. The answer to a stale walk is not self-reflection, as much as it is God reflection. We read David's words in Psalm 139:23-24, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting." That is a great starting point to invigorating our walk with God.
When we reflect on all that Job had lost, your heart naturally breaks for him. He doesn't understand (in fairness he had no knowledge of the interaction between God and Satan in heaven concerning him (Job 1-2)), his friends have shed no light, and have only condemned and discouraged him. We see Job put forth a number of "if I" statements for God to search him and for resolution and restitution of his relationship with God. We read in Job 31:5, "“If I have walked with falsehood, Or if my foot has hastened to deceit,", in 31:7, "If my step has turned from the way, Or my heart walked after my eyes, Or if any spot adheres to my hands,", in 31:9, "“If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,", in 31:13, "“If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant When they complained against me,"...in 31:24, "“If I have made gold my hope, Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’;", in 31:29, "“If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, Or lifted myself up when evil found him", and in 31:33-34, "If I have covered my transgressions as Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom, Because I feared the great multitude, And dreaded the contempt of families, So that I kept silence And did not go out of the door—". This list is by no means exhaustive, but it is an excellent starting point for any of us who find ourselves wandering aimlessly.
The truth is our relationship with God begins with Him, is sustained by Him and will continue through Him. Our problem is when there is too much of "I and me" in our relationship with God. Paul had a strong walk and was used mightily. It was not because of his past accomplishments or even his present ones. He saw himself rightly in this relationship with God. We read in 2 Corinthians 3:4-6, "And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." With this in mind Paul explained the freeing and transforming process for us in 3:17-18, "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." All praise to the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. With open arms He never shuns us, never leaves us, never separates Himself from us, as His Spirit resides within us. The answer to a strained relationship is less of us and more of Him.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: