God Can Handle You
2008-02-02

Psalms for today: 2, 32, 62, 92, 122
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.
You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance.--Psalm 32:5-7




I want to interject something (is that a word??) here that is not included in my devotional book. It has no consequence whatsoever, except that, in my mind, it proves the existence of one of the most fantastical creatures to ever grace the imaginations of man. I'm going to quote Job 41 in its entirety.
"Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord?
Can you put a rope in his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?
Will he make many pleas to you? Will he speak to you with soft words?
Will he make a covenant with you to take him for your servant forever?
Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you put him on a leash for your girls?
Will traders bargain over him? Will they divide him up among the merchants?
Can you fill his skin with harpoons or his head with fishing spears?
Lay your hands on him; remember the battle--you will not do it again!
Behold, the hope of a man is false; he is laid low even at the sight of him.
No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me?
Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
I will not keep silent concerning his limbs, or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.
Who can strip off his outer garment? Who would come near him with a bridle?
Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth is terror.
His back is made of rows of shields, shut up so closely as with a seal.
One is so near to another that no air can come between them.
They are joined one to another; they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
Out of his mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap forth.
Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
His breath kindles coals, and a flame comes forth from his mouth.
In his neck abides strength, and terror dances before him.
The folds of his flesh stick together, firmly cast on him and immovable.
His heart is hard as a stone, hard as the lower millstone.
When he raises himself up the mighty are afraid; at the crashing they are beside themselves.
Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail, nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
He counts iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood.
The arrow cannot make him flee; for him sling stones are turned to stubble.
Clubs are counted as stubble; he laughs at the rattle of javelins.
His underparts are like sharp potsherds; he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire.
He makes the deep boil like a pot; he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
Behind him he leaves a shining wake; one would think the deep to be white-haired.
On earth there is not his like, a creature without fear.
He sees everything that is high; he is king over all the sons of pride."

That, my friends, was a dragon. I am firmly convinced, because of the testimony of Job 41, that dragons did, in fact, exist at one time on the earth.


Day 72

read

Job 42:7-13

God finishes talking to Job, then turns to berate Eliphaz and his two friends. Notice, he doesn't speak to Elihu, who was younger than the other three "friends." God told Eliphaz and the other two that he was angry with them, and told them to go make sacrifice. He would have Job pray for them.
After this was over, God blessed Job with even more than he had had before this trial began.

think

I'm asked how I relate to God as he appears in this passage. I kind of enjoy the way God appears in this passage. I like the way he comes back at Job's "friends." He has allowed them to speak, but at the end, he exposes them for the idiots that they truly are. And so often, people who come across as spiritual "experts" are just that...idiots, who have no more of an understanding of God and his ways than they do of why gravity works. People have made up their own ideas of how God works. More importantly, many "pastors" have done this, and are leading thousands upon thousands of people astray with advice that is so far from Biblical truth that it is tragic. But God shuts up these three guys with just a few words. I would love to see God do this today. And if he had to shut me up in the process, then so be it. I would rather be corrected by God than to go on believing something that is not true.

pray

God affirmed Job as honest. This is quite a relief and an encouragement to me. Because, as I have stated in previous journal entries, I believe that honesty before God will be rewarded. Even if we are honestly wrong, it is better to truthfully tell God what we are feeling and thinking. How can we allow his correction if we aren't honest with him?
I mean, I know we can't hide anything from him, but we can deceive ourselves. If I tell God what I am feeling, he will honor that by affirming me as being honest, just as he did Job. He will correct, though, just as he spent several chapters correcting Job. "Where were you," etc... Essentially, God was saying, "You think you know so much, well, then, explain this!"
Father, I am encouraged by your treatment of Job to always be honest with you and tell you exactly what I am feeling. I trust, also, that you will always correct me where necessary.

live
Here is a great quote from Peter Kreeft, about Job and his three friends.

[Job] is in a true relationship to God, as the three friends are not: a relationship of heart and soul, life-or-death passion...God is infinite love, and the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. Job's love for God is infected with hate, but the three friends' love for God is infected with indifference. Job stays married to God and throws dishes at him; the three friends have a polite nonmarriage, with separate bedrooms and separate vacations. The family that fights together stays together.

God can handle you. God can handle me. He can handle all of us, even our negative emotions. I believe with all my heart that God truly desires this honest intimacy with us. Let's go deeper with him.

Grace and peace.



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