March 17 ~ Job 27:1-5
Job said: I am desperate because God All-Powerful refuses to do what is right. As surely as God lives, and while he gives me breath, I will tell only the truth. Until the day I die, I will refuse to do wrong by saying you are right…
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
As I flipped through my prayer journal this morning, I found several instances where I have made the same requests to God… day after day, week after week. I asked Him many times, “Aren’t you ready for my Mam-ma Polly yet?” because I saw how miserable she was. I asked Him to intervene in other situations, and it seemed things never really got any better. I prayed for healing for a precious friend with breast cancer… and it came all right – when God suddenly called her home to heaven.
I have repeatedly brought the same requests before God, even though it appeared He was refusing to answer me. But the one thing I have not done is to blame God or to give up on believing for an outcome. If anything, I have learned to trust Him more than ever. Even as I would write, “Can’t Mam-ma come Home yet?” I knew he was gently laughing and shaking His head at me in a fatherly way. He was saying, “Oh, sweetie… I hear you… but we’re on MY time – not yours.” So I refused to say (even to myself), “God is so mean for leaving my grandmother here in a failing body without the ability to speak and communicate.” I would not let the devil have the pleasure of knowing that even for one minute I questioned God. Yes, I asked for mercy for her… but I trusted God’s impeccable timing and outcome. And even this week as I looked at how the last days, weeks and hours of my grandmother’s life unfolded, I see God’s hand in the minute details - as well as the big picture.
As I pray for other people and situations, I learn more every day how important it is for me to step aside and let God work. He wants us to bring our petitions before Him. He doesn’t mind that I make the same requests virtually every day for certain persons and circumstances. But God expects me to lift my concerns to Him… then trust Him to handle them. Believe me, on some fronts it would be incredibly easy to throw up my hands and say, “Go ahead, devil! Take this (or them)… I’m done, and it looks like maybe God is, too!” But this is not my call. Throwing in the towel and living as we please because we didn’t exactly get our way with God is not the mark of integrity… or of a faith-filled Christian!
Yes, there are days when we feel a little desperate. But Christians do not abide by the tenet that “desperate times call for desperate measures.” To the contrary, desperate times call for a renewed resolve to trust in God and maintain our faith… and our integrity. If you feel a little desperate today, stop and think about Job and how he was tested. Consider all that Jesus endured on the cross for your sins… and the promise of eternity with Him in heaven. Then ask yourself whether giving up – or giving in – are really viable options.
God is still God. He still sits on the throne and is still very much in charge. Will you recognize this? Will you behave as if it were so? Will others always see in you a person of integrity… at all times and in all situations? Will you allow God complete control of your life and all outcomes? Will you demonstrate to others God’s power in your life to reject the devil’s advances…to refuse to concede defeat? How principled are you? Whose camp are you really in… and is it apparent to others?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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