Today I heard about someone in the Bible that I had not previously known about. In the book of Philemon, which is a letter from Paul to Philemon, Paul mentions that he is sending back a servant of Philemon's named Onesimus, who ran away from Philemon. However, he changed his ways once he encountered Jesus, and after spending some time with Paul, he went back to his master. In his letter, Paul pleaded on Onesimus' behalf, saying that he was once unprofitable to Philemon, but is now profitable to both Paul and Philemon.
The parallel here is unavoidable. Like Onesimus, we have all invariably turned away from God at one time or another in our lives, but God is always willing to take us back and use us for His glory. Then we can be of profit to God! What could be better than that?
Today's Scripture passage was Job 40-42. This is the end of the book, where God speaks directly to Job after his friends have given their "advice." I have a bit of trouble understanding precisely what is going on here, but it appears that God is pointing out to Job that he has no right to accuse God of causing him suffering. God proves the feebleness of man by speaking of two mighty creatures, the behemoth and the leviathan, which men cannot hope to overtake in battle, but which God could easily overcome. Job apologizes, saying, "Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know." God then speaks to Eliphaz, one of the three friends of Job, saying that the counsel of all three of them was not correct and that they must present burnt offerings to God, in addition to Job's prayer on their behalf. They do so, and God accepts it. In the end, Job becomes more blessed than he was before.
My favorite part in this passage has to be Job 42:1-6. Job acknowledges that he cannot comprehend God's ways. Even though all that Job can see is suffering and despair, he admits that God is all-knowing, and there are plans at work here that Job cannot see. Now, thousands of years later, we see the fruit of Job's suffering. His story has provided a testimony for us to lean upon when times are difficult in our own lives!
We all go through trials in our lives, but we must never give up hope in God, and we must never stop praising Him, difficult as it is. God never takes pleasure in watching us suffer, but pain is often necessary for a greater good to come forth. I certainly take comfort in knowing that God is in control, and that as long as I walk with Him, He will lead me down the best path for my life.
No comments:
Post a Comment