{"id":7902,"date":"2020-02-27T20:00:42","date_gmt":"2020-02-28T03:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=7902"},"modified":"2020-02-27T21:25:10","modified_gmt":"2020-02-28T04:25:10","slug":"job35_1-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/job35_1-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Surrender to God"},"content":{"rendered":"

Job 35:1-8 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Job 35:1-8.\u00a0 \u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Job 35:1-8 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Elihu said:
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I will be cleared by God.’
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Yet you ask him, ‘What profit is it to me, and what do I gain by not sinning?’
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“I would like to reply to you and to your friends with you.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If you sin, how does that affect him? If your sins are many, what does that do to him?
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If you are righteous, what do you give to him, or what does he receive from your hand?
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself, and your righteousness only the sons of men.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-8: \u00a0Elihu is reminding Job that God is way above us (v5). \u00a0God is not worse off because we sin against Him or better off because we obey Him (v6-7). \u00a0Rather it is we who are worse off when we sin against Him and we who are better off when we obey (v8). \u00a0For God did not give us His commands for\u00a0His<\/em>\u00a0benefit, as if God\u2019s well-being depends on whether we are disobedient or obedient to Him. \u00a0Rather, God gave us His commands for our benefit, because He loves us.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>As we like to say at Thrive, God\u2019s commands are not prison bars to limit your happiness; rather God\u2019s commands are guard rails on a highway to protect you from falling into the pit. \u00a0When we respect those guard rails, we are the ones who benefit.\u00a0 When we disregard those guard rails, we are the ones who lose out.<\/p>\n

So don\u2019t think that God\u2019s happiness or personal well being hinges on whether we obey Him or not. \u00a0God is way too big for that.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0If God is ever affected by our sin, it\u2019s because as a loving Father, He hates to see His children make foolish choices that cause them to suffer.<\/p>\n

Job 35:9-16 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Men cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night,
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0who teaches more to us than to the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?’
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He does not answer when men cry out because of the arrogance of the wicked.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea; the Almighty pays no attention to it.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0How much less, then, will he listen when you say that you do not see him, that your case is before him and you must wait for him,
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and further, that his anger never punishes and he does not take the least notice of wickedness.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So Job opens his mouth with empty talk; without knowledge he multiplies words.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 9-16: \u00a0\u00a0What is Elihu saying here? \u00a0In verses 9-13 Elihu describes the situation where someone comes to God only when they are in trouble (v9), and when they do come to God, they do not do so with a humble, reverent attitude, but rather with pride in their heart (v10-11). \u00a0As a result, God does not listen to them (v12-13).\u00a0 For God opposes the proud (James 4:6).<\/p>\n

In verses 14 to 15 Elihu says that Job has gone one step further than that. \u00a0For Job is now accusing God of not being present, of not punishing evildoers and not taking notice of wickedness. \u00a0If that is the case, how much less should God listen to Job, Elihu says.\u00a0 Elihu concludes that by complaining about how God does not see him, Job is speaking empty words that will not get him anywhere with God (v16).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from all this? \u00a0How much you hear from God and experience Him depends greatly on your attitude toward Him.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0If you are largely indifferent to God most of the time, but then in your moment of trouble you cry out to God with a prideful, complaining, angry heart, then don\u2019t be surprised when you don\u2019t get much of a response. \u00a0You won\u2019t hear from God if you keep saying, \u201cI don\u2019t see Him.\u00a0 He\u2019s not there.\u00a0 He\u2019s not listening.\u00a0 I\u2019m just waiting but nothing\u2019s happening.\u00a0 God\u2019s not doing anything.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t care.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t notice.\u201d<\/p>\n

But if you come to God with a humble heart that is surrendered, available, hungry for Him and joyfully waiting on Him, that\u2019s when you give God room to speak into your life.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, thank You that You oppose the proud but give grace to the humble. \u00a0As I fast and pray, I\u2019m reminded that You don\u2019t owe me anything.\u00a0 You are God and so high above me. \u00a0And yet thank You that You love me and care for me too.\u00a0 So I surrender to You.\u00a0 Please help me to wait on You, delight in You and hope in You alone. \u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Job 35:1-8.\u00a0 \u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Job 35:1-8 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Then Elihu said:
\n2\u00a0\u00a0“Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I will be cleared by God.’
\n3\u00a0\u00a0Yet you ask him, ‘What profit is it to me, and what do I gain by not sinning?’
\n4\u00a0\u00a0“I would like to reply to you and to your friends with you.
\n5\u00a0\u00a0Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you……..<\/p>\n

On verses 1-8: \u00a0Elihu is reminding Job that God is way above us (v5). \u00a0God is not worse off because we sin against Him or better off because we obey Him (v6-7). \u00a0Rather it is we who are worse off when we sin against Him and we who are better off when we obey (v8). \u00a0For God did not give us His commands for\u00a0His\u00a0benefit, as if God\u2019s well-being depends on whether we are disobedient or obedient to Him. \u00a0Rather, God gave us His commands for our benefit, because He loves us.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7902"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7905,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7902\/revisions\/7905"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}