Where Were You?

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?

Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;

When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
                                                                                   (Job 38:1-8 KJV)

Where were we when the Lord did all these things? Were we there advising God? Were we even there to witness it? Of course not! We were not there. He is the creator and we are his creation. Who are we to question his motives? Who are we to consider that we might have more insight; more knowledge; more wisdom than God? Who are we to judge God? Who are we to be making decisions that clearly go against his will for humankind? 

The Lord is our God. He is the only true God, the creator of all of the heavens and earth. Listen to him! 

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Justice For God's Children

O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.

Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.

                                                                              (Isaiah 54:11-15 KJV) 

Here is the word of God that I stand on today for the sake of all of God's children who are oppressed; for the sake of all who desire peace and justice in the face of injustice.

May God grant them justice and peace.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Without Knowledge

Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

 “Who is this that obscures my plans
    with words without knowledge?
Brace yourself like a man;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
    Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
    Who stretched a measuring line across it?"

                                                        Job 38:1-5 NIV

We would like things to be different. We would like things to suit us better and to lift us up. But; sometimes, it is not to be so. Sometimes, God has a better plan for our good in the long run. Sometimes, we will have to go through some pretty dark storms to see the light once again. We often lament that we do not know what God's will; His plan for us is. We do not understand it and we're not completely happy with the way it's go. But, we'd like to know God's will. We want to know what His great plan is and how each and every step of the getting to that end is going to play out. But, like Job and his friends, we simply do not have that knowledge. We try to make sense of it all and in doing so we usually make a mess of it all; hurting ourselves and others even more.   

Sometimes, we just really need to trust that the Lord is with us. He has a plan that we have cannot comprehend. We just need to listen and follow wherever He will lead us.

Listening to and following our Lord may not be a good plan according to the wisdom of the world. But, it is the best route for us to take. Listen to the One who actually laid the foundations of the earth; the One who created all that is. We cannot begin to fathom the ways, the whys, or the hows of God; after all, He is God and we are not.

May Almighty God help us to trust Him God to be with us and to guide us through the storms of our lives.

God's Peace - Pr. J