Amazed

Job 13:15
Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.

This verse amazes me. Job is talking about God in the midst of heartbreak. He first recognizes that he is experiencing the pain partly because God is not stopping it. God could stop the pain but he wasn't so Job says, "Though he slay me." That is a hard thing to ponder, that God could do something about our painful circumstances and chooses not to. That choice is what is right, but still hard to think.

He goes on to say that despite this he is not going to stop trusting Him. He goes on to say that he is going to speak honestly before God, but not stop trusting him.

I know what he is feeling. There have been times in my life when I yell out to God. I knew that my God could change things and yet they were not changing. I couldn't understand that, and it left me with a choice...to continue to trust Him, or go my own way.

I refer to this verse a lot. I hope that I will never lose hope to trust in Christ even when my heart is screaming, "Dont trust Him, He's the one that won't change things."

Like Job I desire to trust Him, and I still argue with him occasion.

Belief or a Journey

My heart is heavy these days because of what I see. It seems that the world, not to mention churches, is filled with people who have made the decision to follow Christ, to believe in Him, but why then is the world is not filled, not to mention churches, with people who are growing disciples of Jesus Christ? Why then do we not see churches and the world filled with people who's lives are taking on the character of God?

I think that somewhere along the way we were taught that being a follower of Jesus Christ is about having the right beliefs. That we must "believe in Him," and that is true, Jesus did call us to believe that He is the only God and died for our life. But belief it the starting line, not the destination. Being a Christ follower is more about a on-going journey than a set of beliefs. It is about seeing each day as a day gifted by God to seek Him in all things. It is a journey that has a lot of twists and turns, sunny and rainy days, laughter and crying, but it is a journey most of all to be enjoyed.

I think that we get so distracted in thinking life is about believing the right things about Jesus, and then going and doing life, making a paycheck, establishing a lifestyle, living comfortably, that we end up as people who never grow beyond just having the right beliefs about Jesus.

There is so much more that God has for you today...today, right now. Hold on to your beliefs and then enjoy the journey. Get into scripture, look for Him at work, listen for Him to speak in a conversation with a friend, hear Him speak through the worship at Piedmont. See each day as another leg in this incredible journey that God has created for you called life.

So go...enjoy the journey.