Sept 9/10 - Job 9:4

God is wise in heart,

and mighty in strength—

who has resisted him,

and ___________?

Job 9:4

Fill in the blank. 

But first, let's walk through it ...

"God is wise ..." If God is the creator, isn't that almost a redundant statement? He knows everything. He knows the ways that things are supposed to be. And yet, wisdom is more than mere knowledge, isn't it? It's knowing why and what's best. Wisdom brings fairness, compassion, and blessing to every situation. And in that sense, only God himself is truly wise.

 

Therefore, Job adds another word: "God is wise in heart." What does this mean? To me, wisdom is of the mind. It's more than that, of course, but these words from Job want to remind us that God is not just wise in thinking, but was in love, heart, and compassion.

"Mighty in strength"? Again, if God is the creator – and he is! - then he is mighty, Mighty, MIGHTY in strength.

 

Next, "Who has resisted him…?" declares the passage. And the sobering answer is: Everyone. We all do. Every day. We do things our way. We continually fail to consult the God of wisdom and love. Kings fail to consult the God of Truth ... and continually go to war. Husbands and wives fail to consult the God of Peace, and they regularly go to "war" (against each other) too. Our children resist God too, by rebelling against their parents. It is all an epidemic of tragic proportions.

 

So what is the word that fills the blank? "Who has resisted God, and _________?" 

 

"Succeeded"!

 

We all sin. We all rebel. We all do things our own way. And sometimes it seems like we get away with it. We lie to ourselves, thinking, "Only the big rebellions have consequences." That is definitely not true. Every rebellion – big or small – fractures relationships with God and with one another. 

 

"Do not be deceived," says Galatians 6:7, "God cannot be mocked." We can resist God, we can lie to ourselves, we can triumph in "victories" that are utterly temporary, but we cannot succeed when we lie, cheat, and steal. Only one way works in this broken world: it is The Way, The Truth, and The Life. 

 

In Christ's Love,

A guy who wants to succeed

(Guess I better do things His way)