If Only

Read Job 22-24
 
Job 23:3-7 “If only I knew where to find God, I would go to his court. 4 I would lay out my case and present my arguments. 5 Then I would listen to his reply and understand what he says to me. 6 Would he use his great power to argue with me? No, he would give me a fair hearing. 7 Honest people can reason with him, so I would be forever acquitted by my judge.”
 
JOB is certain that if he had a face-to-face conversation with God, he would convince the LORD that he is a good man. “Honest people can reason with him.” indicates that Job believes he is without blame. The man seems to assume God doesn’t know about him. Job believes it will help to bring evidence of his innocence to God’s courtroom to say, “This suffering is not fair! I’m not at fault here!”
   Do you ever tell God, “I don’t deserve this!” You can’t understand why you deal with so much “junk” in life. How quickly we can say, “This isn’t what I want!” Surely, if you could have a sit-down conversation with God, he would see what a good person you are. In a moment the LORD God of all creation would make life right for you, wouldn’t he?
   But we learn in the Bible that God does not keep suffering from the good. We have seen the many challenges in the lives of such faithful men as Joseph, Moses, David, Elijah and Jeremiah. We also know of the apostles’ trials and sufferings as the church began. In each way, God has called his chosen servants to take up a cross that can even be suffering of prison, persecution, poverty, disease and/or martyrdom. Suffering is not a sure mark of God’s judgment. It is a sure consequence of sin in the world.
   What else do we learn from these servants’ sufferings? We know that God is merciful to those who trust his Word. He has used each person to fulfill his will on earth. Now they live in eternity. We must keep in mind that suffering is a possibility as we pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10) God’s Word clearly tells you it is God’s will that forms and shapes events. God will use suffering to awaken his people to his mercy. God is good. He promises he will one day remove all suffering as he establishes the eternal Kingdom.
   Job wanted to speak to God and hear from God. You can do that through those great conversation tools of praise songs, hymns, psalms, prayer, meditation, Bible reading and worship. There are many times God will not answer them, “Why, LORD?” question. His will is for you to wait and trust him. His will is for you to know he has an eternal place of joy awaiting you.