God is God

As I was walking from my car to campus, my mind kept turning back to all of the awesome conversations that took place last night. I think Thursdays will definitely end up being my favorite day of the week because of my connect group and Bible study.

At church we are going through Job and discussing crisis, so our connect group discussions stem from what Tim preaches on Sunday. And, in Bible study we are going through the book of Isaiah. I feel like God is already showing me connections between these two groups, regardless of the content that is specifically being studied.

Last night, at connect group, Seth made the comment that it is interesting that the thesis, or main idea, of Job is so counter to what much of the wisdom scripture is like. (Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that they are contradictory or that one invalidates the other.) Psalms and Proverbs are very pragmatic and highlight almost a cause and effect relationship.

For example, the very first verse of Psalms "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked..." (ESV). Aka, if you do not walk in the counsel of the wicked, you will be blessed man. Or in Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge..." So, if you fear the Lord, then you will start to understand/attain true knowledge.

However, Job is a little different. And, honestly, the more I think about it, I think God does it so we do not get too set in the cause and effect type of relationship with Him. For me, I feel like I can see God using Job to remind me that it it is not about what we do, but where are hearts are at. "The Lord says: 'These people come near me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men'" (Isaiah 29:13). Also, I think this cause and effect mindset leaves us thinking we are entitled to certain outcomes based on us, our behavior. It is as if we think we have more control than we really do.

"Praise God that he did not make the illogical more prevalent or us humans would be in a constant state of fear and defeat, never knowing what one action might bring. However, logic can be deceptive as we can sometimes come to believe that God is also under the control of cause and effect. We must remember that it was God, himself, who created logic. Therefore, we must never forget that, ultimately, logic bows down to God. We engage in mindless behavior not so that we might know Him better, but so we can secure for ourselves comfort and blessing. And, thus, we have missed the point. I cannot believe that God ever wanted less than our whole hearts. "

Last night, in connect group, we discussed how one thesis statement of Job might be "God is God and Job is not." It is the story of Job that keeps us on our toes, and reminds us that He is sovereign despite outward appearances or our ability to determine why certain events unfold the way they do. Despite our attempts to control things on earth, it is God who is ultimately in control. And, since His heart is good, what is there to fear?

This made me think of in Bible study we discussed what being steadfast was and what it looked like. I think we all feel like we have a lot of work to do in this area, but I am convinced that all the trials we go through is God's way of presenting opportunities for us to learn (and re-learn) what it looks like to be steadfast in Him. No matter what, though, I think the thing I was most encouraged by was that regardless of our steadfastness, God's steadfastness is not dependent on our steadfastness. (I think Holly said this best last night.) He is always steadfast; He knows not how to waver. Often I think in terms of God reacting to me (my thoughts, behavior etc), but really God is consistently constant. (nice, right?)

I am still working through and piecing all of these thought strands together, but I just needed to get some down before I forgot to remember them. In no way have I figured this out or feel like these thoughts are final. Additionally, it probably just makes sense to me. I have a hard time articulating exactly what I am trying to say and how I got there. It is just where I am right now in terms of processing, and I know God has more to show me in this area.