Monthly Archives: May 2025

JOHN SAW HIM!

Devotion, ,

Revelation 1:10-18 NIV
[10] “On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, [11] which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” [12] I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, [13] and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. [14] The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. [15] His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. [16] In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. [17] When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. [18] I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

John was in a terrible situation. Like his fellow believers in the Roman Empire, his bold proclamation of Jesus as Lord, landed him in very hot water. To muzzle his witness, he was exiled to a lonely, remote prison island called Patmos, a Greek island in a cluster of islands in the Aegean Sea.

How did he weigh up his current experience against his memories of Jesus? How did his suffering and the suffering of his fellow believers fit into the picture of God’s kingdom he had gleaned from Jesus’ teachings?

Jesus had warned that connection with him would bring persecution, but that seemed a remote threat until it really happened. John had no idea what would be the next step in this lethal collision with Rome. Torture? Wild animals? Fire? The prospect was terrifying, to say the least!

Little did the authorities know that John’s solitary confinement was the perfect place for him to receive the visions that foretold their destruction.

To ward off the fear that could easily overwhelm him, John turned away from his situation to think about Jesus, the rabbi he followed for years. Days of solitude on the island meant hours of fellowship with Jesus, “in the Spirit”. There were no interruptions or distractions to pull him away from contemplation and prayer. Did John use his situation to pen his immortal gospel?

He must have wrestled with the reality of his suffering entwined with the equally real message of the kingdom of God from the lips of Jesus.

In this atmosphere of despair and hope, alone, on a remote island in the middle of nowhere, something truly remarkable happened.

He heard a voice! Someone was there! He turned around… and saw a person! But no ordinary person, and not anywhere near like the person who had left the disciples with the words… “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

He saw the “now” Jesus, the one who was… veiled in human flesh, the one who is… reigning over all the kings of the earth, and the one who is to come… the one who is coming to put everything back in order as it was in the beginning. To be the Jesus who would do all these things, He had to be more glorious, more majestic, more powerful, with more authority than John ever knew Him to be as a human on earth.

John was so overwhelmed that he fell flat on his face before Jesus. Like Job, he was terrified out of his wits, and he had nothing to say. He couldn’t look at the glory he had just glimpsed. The Jesus he saw on the “Mountain of Transfiguration”, together with Peter and his bother, James, as Peter had described it, was only a pale reflection of what he was seeing at that moment.

2 Peter 1:16-18 NIV
[16] “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. [17] He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” [18] We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.”

What did John see? He saw light, a human-like person bathed in light, light so bright that he could not gaze at Him. His fleeting glimpses were sufficient to form a picture so glorious that he could only describe it by comparing it with earthly things within the range of his experience…hair like snow, eyes like fire, feet like burnished bronze, a voice like a thunderous waterfall, and a face brighter than the midday sun. This figure was clothed in white and gold. His words sliced like a sharpened sword and his right hand held seven stars! Seven stars as in…real stars, not symbolic, neat, five-pointed stars cut out of cardboard and sprayed with gold paint!

A vision of such glory, majesty, power, and authority momentarily filled his gaze, and John dropped like a stone to the floor on his face in terror. This person, who identified Himself as Yahweh, the “I Am”, the eternal One, was the same one who had walked on the earth veiled in a human body, who died a real death, and who defeated death forever by rising again.

John felt His touch on his shoulder. He heard His gentle voice, the same voice that had sounded like a thundering waterfall, the crashing waves on a rocky shore, speaking reassuring words, “Don’t be terrified, John. It’s me, Jesus, the one who died and came back to life…that one.”

What was Jesus telling John? “Everything you see, John…hair, face, eyes, mouth, hands, feet, light…are the real me. I am the one who holds everything in my right hand…the hand that has power and authority. When I speak, stuff happens. What I say, goes. I Am, John. Not even death and the grave escape me. I’ve got everything in my hand.”

John’s very real and current situation faded from his consciousness. He could relax. No more fear about what might happen. This Jesus was right there, behind him, in front of him, above and below him. Nothing would ever get past His power or authority that He did not authorise or permit.

Was this only John’s experience, John’s privilege as a chosen Apostle? What about us? Can we claim the same reality even though we don’t see Him. Can we trust the promise that Jesus is with us always, even when the chips are down, even when we are faced with a choice? Life, or death?

1 Peter 1:8-9 NLT
[8] “You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. [9] The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.”

Peter said we can, and so did John, and so did the other apostles who wrote letters… They all testify to the confidence we can have in this Jesus whom John saw…on an island…

Why is that possible?

2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT
[20] “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.”

What can be better than that! Yes! Since God never tells a lie, we can confidently grow this awareness in our hearts that, no matter what, where, or when, He’s there, the same Jesus who both frightened and reassured John, “Don’t be afraid. I AM!”

When Jesus is around, everything will be okay!

THE HEALING POWER OF LIGHT – 2

Testimonies, ,

As we have examined in the previous post, God’s light shining in our hearts has powerful effects on our inner being. The light of His truth has rescued us from the effects of sin and transformed us into a new species, called “children of God”.

However, light also has the power to restore our bodies to efficient functionality. Let me explain.

Humans have known of the power of light for many centuries and used it according to their limited knowledge. Scientists know that light on earth gets its power from the sun in both the plant and the animal world.

For many years, medical science has attempted to harness the power of light to heal and regenerate the body through various methods of phototherapy. As a trained nurse and midwife, I myself have used light therapy to treat babies with neonatal jaundice.

However, as much as light has been used to treat various medical conditions for many years, only in the past 20 years has scientific research been learning to harness the human body’s ability to use its own light to heal itself.

Just as God’s light, His spiritual truth revealed in His Word, has entered our souls to restore the image of Jesus in us…

Romans 12:2 NLT
[2] “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

…so, through this technology, scientists have learned how to harness light emitted by our bodies to reverse the process of aging and restore the body’s cells to improved function again.

Through a thermal camera, we can see the light that comes from a warm-blooded creature’s body. Wild-life photographers use this way to photograph wild animals in the dark. For example, with the use of a thermal camera, the warmest areas of a wild animal show up in the dark as yellow, shading to green and blue where there is less light on the surface of the skin.

Every cell in the body uses light in the form of energy, to function efficiently. Light waves activate the appropriate elements to do their work. As the body ages, under the influence of internal and external factors that degrade its functions, the cells slowly lose their efficiency until the body’s cells eventually can no longer continue to sustain life.

Stem cells produced on the brain are the body’s repair kit. Stem cells are initially neutral, (like one-size-fits-all), but they become whatever and wherever new cells are needed to replace old. We age as our stem cells slowly lose their ability to do their work. I am told that, by the age of sixty, stem cells have lost 60% to 80% of their function.

This recently-discovered technology of which I have learned, has found a way to reflect the light emitted from the skin back into the body to, among other functions, reactivate the body’s own stem cells to repair the body’s wearing-out functions. Malfunctioning vital organs, such as heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas, etc., which result in degenerative conditions, begin to function normally again. Pain, cause by inflammation, is relieved. Normal brain function is restored… even hair loss and colour are affected by this therapy, without medication or invasive procedures.

This sounds like magic, or miraclulous, doesn’t it? Yet, many thousands of people who have put this treatment to the test, are finding it not only true but have begun to live healthier lives again. Through the application of this technology, degenerative conditions are being reversed and even brain malfunctions are being restored to normality.

Now let me explain further. A variety of tiny crystals applied to the skin by the use of patches, causes the skin to reflect specific wavelengths of light back into the body. These “lightwaves” stimulate circulating peptides, groups of amino acids in the blood, to attach to various minerals, (especially copper in the case of the “flagship” patch). These copper peptides, in turn, reactivate the body’s stem cells which have become dormant through aging.

For years, doctors have used stem cells harvested from donors to treat, for example, conditions like leukaemia. However, the treatment is expensive with no money-back guarantee of success. When the body can produce its own stem cells, healing happens… efficiently.

Since God is truth and all wisdom belongs to Him surely, then, this technology must have come from Him…

… so, God has revealed to scientists the way to apply the healing power of light in our bodies to heal our organs from the damaging effects of aging. Through this process, we can, in turn, live out our lifespan with a far better quality of life than most people who are dying from the decay of aging and disease.

The beauty of this technology is that it is relatively cheap, compared with traditional methods of stem cell transplants and other forms of phototherapy, and it is guaranteed to work with a money-back guarantee.

It is not my intent to advertise a product but rather to show you how wonderfully God has both saved our souls and is able to restore our bodies by His light. Although this technology, using light, can never help us cheat death, it can restore our bodies to a measure of healthy living that extends our lifespan and gives us a better quality of life until our bodies die.

The man who discovered this process is a confessing believer in Jesus. He has worked for 20+ years on discovering the code that unlocks the human body’s power to heal itself. He has tried and tested every step of this amazing discovery and has more than 70 US patents to authenticate his work. He has published the details of the process extensively and defended his work from the critics who try to discredit what he is doing. There are hundreds of testimonies from those who use the patches that they work!

After explaining the process of the healing these light crystals initiate, this scientist made this exciting statement, “This is only the beginning!” Imagine if his research would take him into the field of potentially fatal conditions like cancer and HIV-AIDS or brain malfunctions like Alzheimers, or Parkinsons disease! Already, autism, and other mental or emotional conditions, for example, is positively affected by the use of specific patches. Despite the skepticism of critics, the results speak for themselves.

Does this sounds too good to be true? A pipe dream? A fairy story? Without the testimony of many thousands who have used this technology with dramatic effects, it would be only a far-fetched dream but, to God’s glory, it is true!

THE HEALING POWER OF LIGHT – 1

Christian Life,

three words, the Apostle John made a profound statement…

1 John 1:5 NLT
[5] “This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: GOD IS LIGHT, and there is no darkness in him at all.”

GOD IS LIGHT.

These three words have great significance for our understanding of God.

After God had created the heavens and the earth, the earth was initially a shapeless ball – dark, mysterious, creepy, and sinister. The Hebrew words that describe the earth before God prepared it for human habitation, “tohu” meaning formless, desolate, a wasteland; “bohu”, meaning empty, an indistinguishable ruin; and the outcome, “chosek”, meaning darkness, misery, destruction, death… together give us a picture of desolation and ruin.

Is this what God created the earth to be? Rather, this is what the earth became after sinister forces had brought about the earth’s desolation and ruin. Is this perhaps the result of Satan’s fall and subsequent banishment to the earth? It could be.

God is light! To restore the earth, His first action was to bring light into the situation. What is light?

Meta AI has a fascinating explanation of some of the aspects of light. For example, Meta said…

“Light is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that has been studied and debated by scientists and philosophers for centuries. Here’s a brief overview:

What is Light?
Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation, which is a type of energy that can travel through space. It is characterized by its wavelength, frequency, and intensity.

Properties of Light

  1. “Electromagnetic wave”: Light is a wave that consists of oscillating electric and magnetic fields.
  2. “Frequency and wavelength”: Light’s frequency and wavelength determine its color and energy.
  3. “Speed”: Light travels at approximately 299,792,458 meters per second (m/s) in a vacuum.
  4. “Intensity”: Light’s intensity determines its brightness.

Types of Light

  1. “Visible light”: The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye (approximately 380-740 nanometers).
  2. “Invisible light”: Forms of electromagnetic radiation that are not visible to the human eye, such as ultraviolet (UV), infrared (IR), and X-rays.
  3. “Polarized light”: Light that has its electric field oscillating in a specific plane.
  4. “Coherent light”: Light that has a fixed phase relationship between its waves, such as laser light….

Applications of Light

  1. “Vision”: Light enables us to see the world around us.
  2. “Communication”: Light is used in fiber optic communication, allowing for fast and reliable data transfer.
  3. “Energy”: Light is used in solar panels to generate electricity.
  4. “Medicine”: Light is used in medical treatments, such as photodynamic therapy and laser surgery.”

Wow! That’s amazing. Light is much more than something that enables us to see. Light is a power, an energy that does things.

Now let’s apply this brief description of light to God’s first words,

Genesis 1:3 NLT
[3] “Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”

What happened? God didn’t just turned the lights on to light up a messed-up earth. He introduced a powerful energy and function that was of Himself…light, and that dispelled the darkness by acting on the earth.

Now, let’s look at what John recorded about Jesus.

John 1:4, 9 NLT
[4]”The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone…
[9] The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.”

Then… God Himself, in the person of His Son, entered the world. He brought life and healing with His light, the energy that exposed and dispelled the darkness by restoring the earth’s function and even the functions of human bodies

So, Jesus also came to implement the power of God’s light to bring healing and renewal to everyone who received Him, the Light. His light with its energy and power to restore, comes into the spirits of all who believe in Him, to renew what darkness, in the form of dark forces, has destroyed.

John 1:12 NIV
[12] “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—… “

Jesus Himself claimed the role of light…

John 8:12 NLT
[12] “Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

If “darkness” represents the ruin and desolation Satan visits on those who have not been exposed to the life-giving and healing power of God’s light, then “light” is the power that effects healing, restoration, and life to those who receive Him. God is both light and the source of light. His light shines through His Word, His Son, to expose our darkness and reveal the truth about Jesus that saves us from the effects of darkness.

Satan works hard to prevent God’s light from shining in hearts darkened by sin.

2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT
[4] “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”

However, those who believe the message open themselves to the saving and healing power of the light.

2 Corinthians 4:6 NLT
[6]”For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Through God’s Word, all the facets and functions of light work in us to restore His image.

Psalms 119:130 NIV
[130]”The unfolding (entrance) of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”

God’s method of shining His light in us is through His Word.

Psalms 119:105 NIV
[105] “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

So, through God’s light, operating in our hearts, bringing faith in His Word, works healing, restoration and new life inside us. In a process called “sanctification”, we are being made holy, transformed into the image of Jesus, reversing the effects of Adam’s fall from obedience and trust in God which resulted in condemnation and death, to submission and obedience to His will and way.

The principle of the power of light to reverse the process of sin in our hearts has implications for us in our bodies as well as in our spirits which I will explain in the next post.

To be continued…

MOVE THE COMMA!

Apologetics, ,

It’s amazing what a difference it makes when a comma is put in the right place!

Isaiah 59:19 KJV
[19] “So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.”

Isaiah 59:19 NLT
[19] “In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord; in the east, they will glorify him. For he will come like a raging flood tide driven by the breath of the Lord.”

Isaiah 59:19 NIV
[19] “From the west, people will fear the name of the Lord, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory. For he will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the Lord drives along.”

It is unfortunate that many of us who grew up with the King James Version of the Bible, have entrenched in our minds the idea that it is the enemy who comes in like a flood. The translators put the comma in the wrong place!

The other two versions I have quoted seem to have understood that it is God’s Spirit, not the enemy, who comes in, Hebrew “nahar”, meaning “a stream or river”, like a river in flood.

Let’s look at the context of this chapter which begins with…

Isaiah 59:1-2 NLT
[1] “Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. [2] It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen any more.”

The sins of God’s people had cut off His flow of power and grace. The verses that follow are a resume of the people’s sin and its outcome.

Isaiah 59:9, 12, 14-16, 18 NLT
[9] “So, there is no justice among us, and we know nothing about right living. We look for light but find only darkness. We look for bright skies but walk in gloom…
[12] For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we are…
[14] Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed. [15] Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.”

So, God Himself would rise up in response to the terrible situation. Go’s is never neutralised by sin. He is never intimidated by human wickedness. He Himself would rise up and overwhelm the power of evil by His great goodness.

Isaiah 59:15b-16, 18 NLT
[15]”…The Lord looked and was displeased to find there was no justice. [16] He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm, and his justice sustained him…
[18] He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes. He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth.”

And then our Scripture…

Isaiah 59:19-21 NLT
[19] “In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord; in the east, they will glorify him. For he will come like a raging flood tide driven by the breath of the Lord. [20] “The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins,” says the Lord. [21] “And this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

No! No! No! God won’t come in like a raging flood to judge and destroy. It’s His goodness that leads people to repentance. He will come to relieve the oppressed, to lift up the fallen, and the forgive the sin of the repentant.

Can you understand, then, that the KJV has put the comma in the wrong place! It is not the enemy that comes in like a flood. It’s the mercy of God, like a river in flood, moved along by His Spirit, that will come in to rescue those who “have turned from their sins.”

God is not in competition with the enemy. The Hebrew, “tsar”, translated “enemy” in the KJV, in this context implies “distress” or “adversity”. The sin of the people brought on them distress and adversity. Their suffering was of their own doing, but God promised to intervene so that, from east to west, they would know that it was God who came to their aid.

Let’s be true to God’s Word. We need His intervention in our day as Isaiah saw in his day. The situation is no different now, in our country, from what it was then. We read Isaiah’s account of Israel’s sin like today’s newspaper.

Since God is unchanging, we can call on His name to come in, like a raging flood driven by His Spirit, to help us in our distress. His glory will be revealed, from east to west, by His intervention for those who turn from their sin.

Come on! Let’s move the comma. Let’s forget about the enemy. Let’s put our hope in God who will answer our distress call. He will move in power to overturn the works of evil rulers. He will restore the fortunes of His people in our land so that, from east to west, His name will be exalted.

THE MIRACLE OF JOB

Bible Study, ,

Job 23:10 NLT
[10] “But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.”

In the midst of his extreme suffering, Job uttered immortal words that expressed his unshakeable confidence in God. Notice the words I have chosen…extreme suffering… Immortal words…unshakeable confidence!

How was it possible, in circumstances as puzzling as Job’s, for this man who did all in his power to stay within the boundaries of his knowledge and experience of God, to be so strong in his faith when everything had gone haywire? He, a wealthy and blessed man, had lost everything in a heartbeat. He had gone from affluence and influence to abject poverty, contempt, and abandonment. For what reason?

He had done nothing different, in his home and community, from his godly lifestyle and yet…here he was, sitting on a heap of ashes, smelling like a sewer, painfully fingering his festering sores, and groping for an answer!

From the mouth of this man, in the face of terrible suffering and cruel accusations from so-called “friends”, came words of affirmation that have brought comfort and hope to many down the generations.

Let’s examine just three of his statements.

Job 13:15 NIV
[15] “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him…”

Death stared Job in the face. In his day, there was little hope in doctors and no medical science. His physical state was so bad that no one came near him. He was an outcast from home and society. Even his visitors kept their distance, physically and emotionally. Job had only the mercy of God.

It seems that Job didn’t fear death. In fact, death was a pleasant prospect to relieve his suffering and give him peace. So, he made it clear that not even physical death could shatter his faith in God. He would trust Him to his final breath.

Job 19:25-27 NIV
[25] “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.”

These are the words of a man who lived centuries before the coming of Jesus and the New Covenant He came to establish. How did Job know about death, the resurrection, and eternal life? How could he declare with such confidence…

[26] “And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; [27] I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”

Despite the foolish philosophies of unbelieving people centuries later, who believe and hope for annihilation, King Solomon expressed his own commitment to the truth.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV
[11] “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

Both these men expressed their hope in the eternal truth written in their hearts that death is not the end but the transition to a new and better life…

People have tried to dodge accountability to God by devising their own version of eternity, a life of indulging all their fleshy lusts, but, in whatever form it may take, they cannot escape what God had done. He has indelibly inscribed both His law and eternity on our hearts.

As primitive as Job’s faith might have been in his time, he knew that his destiny was entwined with the God he trusted. It was written in his heart before he was born. Despite his ignorance of all God’s ways, of this he was certain. Death would not be the end of his life. Death would be the beginning of something much bigger and better. He would shed his mortal skin and with it, his limitations. In a new and resurrected body, he would “see” God, and how he longed for that moment.

Job’s issue was not about dying. His agony was about not knowing why he was being subjected to such suffering while he was living. He has done all he could, he had ticked all the boxes, and yet, it seemed, God was not satisfied! Why? To crown it all, God was silent. He refused to answer him.

And yet, Job’s trust in God held steady. With the same confidence that expressed hope in the resurrection, he could say…

Job 23:10 NIV
[10] “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”

Did Job finally recognise that all this suffering was a test, not a punishment? Did this notion bring a new perspective to his hope?

Again, Job uttered immortal words. “He knows…” God knows! Didn’t this make all the difference? Did he suffer alone? Did his pain mean nothing to God? Others could criticise and condemn without pity, but not God! He knows…not only the agony of physical suffering but also the mental torture of “Why, God, why?”

The way Job took, the way we take, may be a tortuous journey to discover the meaning of our pain. God knows! We may agonise over our doubts and fears. God knows! We may trespass into bitterness and unbelief. God knows! We may accuse and blame. God knows!

God may never give an explanation but He always has a reason, and a purpose. Testing! God is testing…will our faith hold under fire?

In the end, through all the questioning and arguing, we slowly shed the dross of our misunderstandings and misperceptions, like gold in the crucible of refining. And, like gold, Job knew that he would come out of his fire, refined and pure. And, like gold, we will come out of the fire without dross…if we trust Him.

If faith in God is all that is left after we have exhausted every question, and every reason and argument in our favour, we will have passed the test.

Notice this! Although the devil was the cause, Job never factored him into his catastrophe. God never did, either! This mess was between God and Job. The devil was but a tool to be tossed aside with no mention when the matter was concluded. He may have set the whole process going, but only within God’s permissive will, and only within the boundaries of God’s purpose. He should never get credit or accolades for what he had done. His judgment is already sure.

Despite God’s refusal to answer Job, He did answer him eventually,…with a presentation of His God-ness far higher and greater than Job’s previous notions. After God’s rugged disclosure of His power and glory, with the frightening challenge, “Where were you…?”, Job fell on his face in humility and godly fear, where he belonged… and God lifted him up.

Perhaps the greatest lessons we learn from Job’s story are simply these…

Don’t tangle with God! You’ll never win.
Don’t question God! You may never get an answer.
Don’t stand up to God! He’ll beat you down.
Fall down before God! He will lift you up.

God does not respond to arrogance…or defiance…or rudeness!!! He responds to the humility that bends to His will with gratitude that He is, after all, both light and love. Whatever He does, be it unfathomable or distasteful to us, always meets the criteria of His light and love, and fulfills His two great purposes, our good and His glory.

So dear reader, take comfort from and follow the path of our spiritual ancestor. He blazed a trail of faith we can follow with absolute confidence, for the outcome is as sure as God Himself.