“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there,
and backward, but I do not perceive him;
on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him;
he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.
But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.
My foot has held fast to his steps;
I have kept his way and have not turned aside.
I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.
But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back?
What he desires, that he does.
For he will complete what he appoints for me,
and many such things are in his mind.
Therefore I am terrified at his presence;
when I consider, I am in dread of him.
God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me;
yet I am not silenced because of the darkness,
nor because thick darkness covers my face.” (Job 23:8-17 ESV)

Have you ever been in such a situation in your life, as a follower of Jesus Christ, to where things were so bad that it felt as though God had deserted you? I mean, you know deep down that he is still there, but you cry out to him and you don’t hear his voice speaking to your heart, and so you may even panic at the thought that he might not be there. For he doesn’t seem to be answering your prayers. Have you been there? I have been!

I think there were even times when I asked him to yell at me or do something just so I knew that he was there, for the silence was deadening and scary. For I needed that reassurance that he was still with me. I needed to hear him in the quietness of my mind and heart with that still small voice that says, “I am here with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not fear!” But then I had to rely on what I know, not on what I feel.

For feelings come, and feelings go, and feelings are so uncertain. So we need to put our faith in the word of the Lord for nothing else is worth believing. So we can’t trust our feelings. But we can trust the word of God and what we know of what he has promised to those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose, whose ways are upright, and who are obedient to his commands. We can depend on the Lord.

And when we have searched our own hearts and minds, and we are certain before the Lord that we are on the right track, and that we are not living in disobedience to the Lord, but that we are faithful to the Lord, then we can rest assured that the Lord will get us through these trials and that he will accomplish his purpose for them in our lives to make us more like Jesus and to grow us and to mature us in our walks of faith in him.

This is especially reassuring when the enemy of our souls is on the all-out attack against our minds and hearts, and when other humans are coming against us and are attacking us and are sinning against us. For that was Job’s situation. Not only did Satan kill off his children and his servants and his animals, but he attacked Job’s body with horrible sores. And then Job’s friends began falsely accusing him of sinning against God, with no end to it.

But another part of this that we must also accept is the sovereignty of God over our lives and over our circumstances. For Satan cannot do evil to us unless God allows it, and he allows it for a purpose, usually to try us, and to test us in order to purify our hearts and to humble us and to make us rely upon the Lord and not on ourselves, and to teach us perseverance and steadfastness of faith and obedience even in the face of much hardship.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

And the Lord will complete what he appoints for us, for all of this is ultimately for our good to make us more like Jesus and to keep us humble and to keep us trusting in the Lord and not in our own flesh. And all this should teach us even more the fear (awe, respect, honor, obedience) of/to the Lord. And this should make us even more determined to remain steadfast in our faith in him without wavering until the very end.

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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