“But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him. But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” Job 23:8-10
Last week, as I was sitting in ‘my’ spot at Our Redeemer Lutheran, listening to our guest Pastor Fritzer listing the numerous sins that I was guilty of doing recently, the above passages from Job came to mind. Job kept asking God; ‘where are you?’ He knows where I am and where I’ve been.
That was way, way, back in the day; Old Testament times when everything was black and white. Fast forward, the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Hebrews and in chapter 13 verse 5 he wrote to them, and us; “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” God has not promised that we will always ‘feel’ His presence. When I don’t feel His presence, it’s because I have seemingly run miles from him in places that I knew were bad and then came my question ‘where were You’?
Looking at the morning headlines here in the USA and also Haiti and it seems like most of our world has separated ourselves from our Triune God. We live in a sinful world. Our disobedience is a normal part of the testing and maturing of our relationship with God. Every Christian goes through it at least once. It is painful and confusing, but it is absolutely vital for the development of your faith.
Pastor Fritzer said that we are all guilty, even the man at the lectern. We, like Job, the Apostle Paul and these Haitian kids stray like sheep run from their shepherd and find ourselves not feeling our Creators presence. But God often removes feelings so you won’t depend on them. Instead, He wants to draw you into a deeper relationship with Him. He will never leave you.
Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you…Jay