"O that I knew where I might find him!" — Job 23:3

"O that I knew where I might find him!" — Job 23:3

In Job’s uttermost extremity he cried after the Lord. The longing desire of an afflicted child of God is once more to see his Father’s face. His first prayer is not “O that I might be healed of the disease which now festers in every part of my body!” nor even “O that I might see my children restored from the jaws of the grave, and my property once more brought from the hand of the spoiler!” but the first and uppermost cry is, “O that I knew where I might find HIM, who is my God! that I might come even to His seat!” God’s children run home when the storm comes on. It is the heaven‐born instinct of a gracious soul to seek shelter from all ills beneath the wings of Jehovah. “He that hath made his refuge God,” might serve as the title of a true believer. A hypocrite, when afflicted by God, resents the infliction, and, like a slave, would run from the Master who has scourged him; but not so the true heir of heaven, he kisses the hand which smote him, and seeks shelter from the rod in the bosom of the God who frowned upon him. Job’s desire to commune with God was intensified by the failure of all other sources of consolation. The patriarch turned away from his sorry friends, and looked up to the celestial throne, just as a traveller turns from his empty skin bottle, and betakes himself with all speed to the well. He bids farewell to earth‐born hopes, and cries, “O that I knew where I might find my God!” Nothing teaches us so much the preciousness of the Creator, as when we learn the emptiness of all besides. Turning away with bitter scorn from earth’s hives, where we find no honey, but many sharp stings, we rejoice in Him whose faithful word is sweeter than honey or the honeycomb. In every trouble we should first seek to realize God’s presence with us. Only let us enjoy His smile, and we can bear our daily cross with a willing heart for His dear sake.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 1834 - 1892

If My People

A friend of mine shared this with me, and I just had to pass it along for the rest of the world.  This is so cool!

If My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

If

"Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart…" Psalm 95:7-8
"Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble." Proverbs 28:14
"But, because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed." Romans 2:5
"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." Hebrews 3:13
"For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they've closed their eyes…" Acts 28:27

My people

"Now if you obey Me fully and keep My covenant, then out of all nations you will be My treasured possession. Although the whole earth is Mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation…" Exodus 19:5-6
"For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth the Lord has chosen you to be His treasured possession." Deuteronomy 14:2
"Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture." Psalm 100:3
"I'll put My Laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be My people." Hebrews 8:10

Who are called by My Name

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." 1 Peter 2:9
"…our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good."  Titus 2:13-14

Will humble themselves

"The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." Psalm 51:17
"Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:4
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Matthew 5:4
"He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Mica 6:8
"I live…with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the spirit of the contrite." Isaiah 57:15
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time." 1 Peter 5:6
"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up." James 4:10

And pray

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. To everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8
"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Matthew 26:41
"…the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16
"If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you." John 15:7
"Pray continually." 1 Thessalonians 5:17

And seek My face

"You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13
"But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul." Deuteronomy 4:29
"Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always." Psalm 105:4
"Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near" Isaiah 55:6
"... break up your unploughed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord…" Hosea 10:12
"Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always." 1 Chronicles 16:11
"Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands you sinners, and purify your hearts you who are double-minded." James 4:8

And turn from their wicked ways

"…but now God commands all people everywhere to repent." Acts 17:30
"Repent then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, and times of refreshing may come from the Lord." Acts 3:19
"…unless you repent, you too will all perish." Luke 13:3
"Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him and to our God, for He will freely pardon." Isaiah 55:7
"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret." 2 Corinthians 7:10
"Return to Me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning." Joel 2:12

Then will I hear from heaven

"Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord…because you tore your robes and wept in My presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord." 2 Kings 22:19
"So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He answered our prayer."  Ezra 8:23
"After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly." Acts 4:31

And will forgive their sin

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God's grace." Ephesians 1:7
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
"He forgives all my sins…" Psalm 103:3
"But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared." Psalm 130:4
"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." Matthew 6:14
"And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." Matthew 11:25
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:32
"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13

And will heal their land

"How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished." Jeremiah 12:4
"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people." Proverbs 14:34
"For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; it is He Who will save us." Isaiah 33:22
"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Habakkuk 2:14

Isaiah 55:1-2

If you are thirsty, come and drink water! If you don't have any money, come, eat what you want! Drink wine and milk without paying a cent. Why waste your money on what really isn't food? Why work hard for something that doesn't satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and you will enjoy the very best foods.

Blueprint for Life

Sitting in the cab of a dump truck can give one a lot of time for reflection.  Something that crossed my feeble mind this morning is how like driving a dump truck can be like my life.

We are moving dirt (today) from what will become a settling pond to what is now a low spot that has to be raised.  We dump the dirt, just plain brown subsoil with rocks ranging up to about 1.5 feet in diameter, and then drive over it.  Occasionally, a big dozer then runs over it, evens it out a bit, then a compactor goes over it.  But most of the time it is a VERY bumpy ride, and you have to go very slowly and hang onto the steering wheel.

The thing is, I don't know the exact extent of the area that needs to be raised, nor how high.  I just dump the dirt where they tell me.  I could go look at the blueprints.  I grew up around construction, and I know just enough to be dangerous, so I might be able to figure the prints out.  Then again, I might read them wrong.  So, I keep my eyes on the foreman when I'm bringing a load in.  If he doesn't direct me, I use my best judgment and place the load where I think it goes.  If he directs me, I place the load where he wants it.

The point?  The Bible is our blueprint, and God is the foreman.  God appoints others to act in His place to give us direction (a couple of times I have relayed messages from the foreman to the other volunteer drivers) or He may give us explicit directions, or He may expect us to use our best judgment based on our understanding of the plans.  But we do need to look at the plans, and we do need to keep our eyes on the Foreman so that He can direct us.  And we seldom have a view of the overall plan.  I keep wishing that the dozer operator would come over and smooth us out a road, but that is not in the plans, and the dozer has other things to do that are in the plans.

I have to accept that the foreman knows what he is doing.  I have to accept that God knows what He is doing.  I have to understand that I do not have the full set of blueprints, just the part of them that is important for me to know.  And I need to work at understanding the ones I have, and rely on God to direct me in the parts where I don't have or understand the plan.  And sometimes that means I will be driving over a VERY bumpy road, and the steering wheel might kick back sometimes, and my head might bounce off the ceiling and my butt off the floor.

But God has the plans.  THAT is the important part.

Update, a few days later:

I did go read the plans, and actually spent some time with the excavator operator measuring and marking.  I learned that after the foot or so that we had already raised we still needed another 1-1/2 feet of fill.  And that's exactly what we need to do, spend some time with someone who is willing to teach us, and be teachable, and learn what the Bible means.  And then go follow the directions!!!

He Is

something I've been thinking about a lot:  Who is God?  What is He like?

Part of this comes from my incarceration.  Most of my fellow inmates don't have any idea who or what He is, they have never been to Sunday School or Church; a lot of them never made it to High School.

If you ask a typical Christian or Bible Student who or what God is, you often get some of the standard list of the attributes of God:

Wisdom
Infinitude
Holiness
Sovereignty
Trinity
Omniscience
Faithfulness
Omnipotence
Self-existence
Self-sufficient
Justice
Immutability
Mercy
Eternal
Goodness
Omnipresence

But if you ask them to explain this in terms that my new acquaintances would understand they can't give an answer.  I think that too many self professed Christians, when they are talking about their God or their religion really do not understand what they are saying; and I think that too many of us have made Christianity into a "Mystery" religion, one where everything is full of mystery and ritual, where only the "initiated" or "chosen" can understand what is really happening.

And this is wrong.  Yes, Moses was raised and trained to be a Prince of Egypt, Daniel was evidently a member of the upper class, and Matthew had some mathematical ability and political acumen as a tax collector, but many of God's chosen people were nobody special.  Peter, James, John, and Andrew were simple fisherman, most likely illiterate, with no education beyond what was needed for mending nets and finding and selling fish.

So, for the last couple of months I've been making note of some of the things that mean "God" to me.  And the first thing I noticed was that when I try to do this for a person, I might say that a particular person is pretty or handsome or smart or a good mechanic, but I generally do not particularly note more than a handful of things that stand out.  As I get to know a person better, I will take note of more things.  And so it is with God, the better I get to know Him the more I notice.

My Avenger Deut. 32:35
My Father Matt. 6:9
My Rest Matt. 11:28
My Comforter Jer. 8:18
My Shepherd Psa. 23; John 10:1-18
My Bread John 6:35
My Light John 8:12
My Life John 14:6
My Vine John 15
My Water John 7:37-38
My Teacher John 14:23-24
My Peace John 14:27
My Counselor John 14:15-17; Psa. 32:8
My Glory John 17:22
My Healer Mark 6:56
My Help Psa 63:7
My Lover Psa. 13:5
My Strength Psa. 118:14
My Song Psa 118:14
My Defender Prov. 23:11
My Creator Isa. 43:15
My Salvation Isa. 43:3
The Still Small Voice in the silence
The Calmer of the Storm
My Foundation
The Word that created this world and will create the world that is to come
The Filler of My Heart
The breath of life
The Sacrificial Lamb
The High Priest
The fire by night
The law giver
Kinsman-redeemer
King
Rebuilder of broken walls and lives
Morning song
Wisdom's cry
Lover's dream
Prince of peace
Stranger in the fire
Forever faithful
The Arms that carry me
Strength
Shield
Fire from heaven
Glorious treasure
Healer of the sick

Psalm 38

O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!
For Your arrows pierce me deeply, and Your hand presses me down.
There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin.
For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness.
I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
For my loins are full of inflammation, and there is no soundness in my flesh.
I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.
Lord, all my desire is before You; and my sighing is not hidden from You.
My heart pants, my strength fails me; as for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.
My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague, and my relatives stand afar off.
Those also who seek my life lay snares for me; those who seek my hurt speak of destruction, and plan deception all the day long.
But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; and I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.
Thus I am like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth is no response.
For in You, O LORD, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God.
For I said, "Hear me, lest they rejoice over me, lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me."
For I am ready to fall, and my sorrow is continually before me.
For I will declare my iniquity; I will be in anguish over my sin.
But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong; and those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.
Those also who render evil for good, they are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.
Do not forsake me, O LORD; O my God, be not far from me!  Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!

(Psa 38 NKJV)