Wednesday, April 7

WE OFTEN JUST DON'T GET GOD!

Some of the deepest wisdom issues forth from the most dire of circumstances. Who'd doubt this with regard to Job? In chapter 26, Bildad briefly defends God's awesome dominion, of such magnitude that none can answer Him--especially Job! To this Job responds in kind (27), listing his take on God's endless immensity (thus defending himself against the wrongful assumption that he doesn't really understand God's magnificence, for if he did, he would not complain so.) So Job resorts to a sort of "one-up-man-ship," giving more and deeper info about God than Bildad. God is over the dead, over death itself, the vast universe, the weather, lunar movements, times and seasons. He stills the seas and controls even the sea monsters. Oh, my! He goes on (and here's the verse I'd point out) . . . and on top of all this,
BEHOLD, THESE ARE BUT THE OUTSKIRTS OF HIS WAYS, AND HOW SMALL A WHISPER DO WE HEAR OF HIM! BUT THE THUNDER OF HIS POWER WHO CAN UNDERSTAND?
Do you see what I mean? These universe sized issues all under his awesome dominion . . . and these are but the "tip of the iceberg"!! They're nothing to God! And our understanding of God is really quite tiny. And forget comparison to the Almighty! No one can understand. NO ONE! But we try. We must. And with time, if we seek God humbly, we grow in our knowledge and wisdom and . . . and we worship accordingly. Check out this from the puritan, John Flavel:
In the studying of Christ it is as in the planting of a newly discovered country. At first, men sit down by the seaside, upon the skirts and borders of the land, and there they dwell; but by degrees they search farther and farther into the heart of the country. Ah, the best of us are yet but upon the border of this vast continent!
At best, dear Christian, not to discourage you, we have (none of us) tapped anything close to the depths of subject of our Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, his ways are past finding out. 
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2 comments:

Phyllis said...

Our son has often quoted the verse, "My people are destroyed by lack of knowledge" from Hosea.

When I searched into this, I realized it was speaking of the very thing you are referring to in this post.

Israel thought they "knew" God, even in their sin, they thought they were OK. Are we any different today?

Are we resting in our own estimation of our spirituality rather than God's?

1 John 2:28, 28 "And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him."

David R. Nelson said...

It is quite easy to think well of ourselves as long as we don't compare with God's Word. In this sense, ignorance truly is bliss, but it is ignorance just the same.