Devoted to Christ

One day Moses, the man of God, said to God, “Show me your glory.” God said, “No. I can’t do that for you.” Why? Because God knew that no one could see Him and live.

But there will be a day when WE will see God. Jesus says so himself on the sermon on the mount. He said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). In a burst of faith, right in the midst of his grief, Job (which by the way, was a man who lost many things. His family, his children, and health) said, “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and He will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body is decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see Him for myself. Yes, I will see Him in my own eyes. – Job 19:25-26.

We can understand non-believers asking about what does God look like? Even for Christians may wonder that too. Believer or non-believer, we wonder questions such as why did this happen in life? Why did you allow this to happen? How did Jonah survive being eaten by a whale? How about we ask God when we’re in heaven? After all the bible says look for things above and not of this world. For your place (which God is preparing for you when you commit your life to Him) is in heaven. How will it be when we get to physically see God, King David, Jonah, Peter, Moses, and Jesus? These are just a few random names I picked up.

C.S. Lewis calls quality, “Leaders with Chests.” Lewis likened the properly ordered soul to the human body: the head (reason) must rule the belly (the sensual appetites) through the chest (character and spirit). Without a strong, “chest,” men would succumb to excuses, relativism, and compromise. Lewis called those with no character or integrity, “men without chests.”

So from Job 6 what enabled Job to possess such integrity as a leader?

1. Strong Security: He felt emotionally secure enough to take criticism.
2. Clear Conscience: He kept a clear and sensitive conscience regarding sin.
3. Pure Motives: He refused to entertain self indulgent motives.
4. Solid Character: He was committed to doing the right thing at any cost.

I haven’t really gotten a chance to really thank God (at least publicly through this site) for what significance he’s played a part in my life since the beginning of this year. Specifically starting January. Was it a new year’s thing? I think it was something more than that. From then on, the maturity and growth for me in God’s word has significantly taken a dramatic increase of my spiritual faith and love in our Lord. And over the summer, I experienced struggles. After completing my MBA in June, I became sort of unemployed. For many you can still get funds from unemployment. But I couldn’t. I was stuck with obtaining nothing. Just searching for a job. But I also searched God. I think that’s what kept me going. For months and weeks I kept struggling and kept fighting the good fight. And I kept my faith and testimonies and shared them to others that now matter how rejected you are in this world, (from employers saying “no” to you) you keep going at it. There will be times of disappointment and that’s normal, but you have to get up on your feet and face the world again. With your bible in one hand and faith in your heart. I really really thank God for having me experience this, it’s what has gotten me closer to God. I fasted over the summer a couple times and it’s even gotten me closer to His relationship. I have a desire in my heart to preach the gospel in public. Pray for me. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

A few notes I took last night during my attendance at Greg Laurie’s bible study:

• Whatever comes in to your life has been created or allowed by God
• Read James 5:11 – We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.NLT
• Even satan plays a part in God’s plan
• Job was ridiculed with judgement from Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Job 2
• Job like many of us asks God, “WHY?”
• Job didn’t need an explanation/answer but needed an encounter with God! So during hard times or suffering what we need to do as children of God is WORSHIP THE LORD!

“The Greater the obstacle, the greater the Glory!”