First of all, I would apologize for the extremely long gap in between posts. I had some big papers/assignments due and then the Holidays the week after. I'm sure all of you know how busy life can get. This week let's talk about trust/faith, and my post will be somewhat general. I think it best to get a wide array of perspectives here, for it is something that most have gone through. Our brother Ryan voiced some struggles with being prescribed the remedy phrases of "Just trust in God, and everything will be better," and/or "Let go and let God." There would be very few to disagree with those words of wisdom.
However, trust and having faith in God is an easy thing for an objective, third-party to prescribe. It is not quite so easy to be on the other side, though. Everything seems to be up in the air, and nothing ever seems to actualize. I mean, ya, I hear the prescription, "Let go and let God," or "Just trust in God, and everything will be better." I know that is what I am supposed to do, but what does it mean? How do I really do...that?
My first response would be to take a look at the Biblical character Job. To those unaware of his story, it goes something like this. Job was "blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1.1). "He was the greatest man among all the people of the East," (1.3). Job was a man of God and was wealthy in both money and family; that's how Job rolled. Satan, however, thought that Job is only blameless because God has blessed him so richly. It was Satan's priority then to take everything away from Job (flocks, servants, health, and family) to get him to turn away from his faith and curse God. Yet, Job, one of the best examples we can aspire to, had faith in God. In spite of his current and horrific afflictions (Satan had given him sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head that were so bad they actually disfigured him to a point of being unrecognizable--that would flat out hurt), we come to a tucked away gem, in chapter 13.15, Job says to his friends:
"Though he slay me, yet will I hope in Him..."
The Hebrew word translated as hope is "yahal." In some translations it is interpreted "trust." It carries with it a sense of hopeful expectation rooted in God. It is hard for us today to sometimes imagine trusting God in periods of uncertainty or silence. Yet, Job was...well...Job. I think 13.15 cuts through any preconception and says all that needs to be said. "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in Him..."
I think or hope that Job can inform us when we ponder on trust/faith. Just because we "trust in God" doesn't mean that "everything will be better" immediately. Our trust/faith in God doesn't evoke some sort of positive or magical product in the ways we think that it should. Job throughout the book wants out of the wretchedness of his situation; yet he still says, "Though he slay me, I will hope in Him..." In my opinion, that is what it means to "let go and let God." We get to a level where we will still trust in God, even when everything violently rips us away. We separate ourselves from circumstances and outcomes, in order to be at peace with where we currently are. [To be clear, I am not advocating some sort of Christianized Stoicism either.]
Secondly, I would say that things aren't as black and white as we would often like them to be. Like our brother Ryan, I too will be searching for a ministry assignment and home come May (Lydia I know you can do it!). I have no clear vision or answer as to what or where I am to go. It seems, in my experience, that if one is sensitive to the leading of the Spirit, the decision will become evident in time. I would encourage everyone not to underestimate the spiritual discipline of prayer. It is no exaggeration for me to say that I have prayed for the last two years to have the sensitivity to the Spirit in order to know where I am to go when it comes time to accept a position of ministry. This decision has scared me ever since my second year at Olivet. I still have no clear vision two years after praying that first prayer, but still I will trust. I don't think there is any one-line phrase-remedies for deciphering God's leading in major choices (where to go to school, who to date, what ministry position to accept, or etc.).
I do believe, however, that God will make it evident. I can't say when that will be. Yet, the book of Job shows us that God will do so. He has done so in my own life. Even though the time is coming when a decision will need to be made that affects not only myself but my beautiful bride, still "I will hope in Him." I cannot give the answer as to how to make decisions or how to trust/have faith. Those are questions I think that need to be answered on one's own. It isn't as comforting to hear there isn't an absolute sure way (like some sort of quadratic equation), but you will sure know the answer when it is there. It is like when I was asked how did I know when I was truly in love; I just knew. When you know, you just know. It is no one particular thing; yet, it was a bunch of particular things. I know that this was not an intellectually superior logical apology of trust/faith and making decisions. At the same time, it does a disservice to the beauty of our faith when we reduce it to simply reason and logic. There is certainly an important place for intellectual reason and logic (of which no one appreciates more than I), but our faith cannot be defined or bounded solely by it.
This has been written on the fly. Help me out.
If the Lord tarries, let's have some conversation!
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Ahhh yes, the age old questions that have haunted all of us at some point in time! Where should we go to school? What career should we pursue? Who should we marry? I have been talking with one of our youth group girls who is a senior in high school this year and is freaking out about making the wrong decision about college next year. Why is simply trusting in God so hard? If we are walking in a right relationship with Him can we make a "wrong" decision, or will He, as so many have said before "close doors that need to be closed and open doors that need to be opened?" I don't know, but it seems that the closer I get to God and the more time I spend with Him, the less anxious I become about the decisions I am making. If God's promises are true (and of course they are), we have the ability to think with the mind of Christ which would lead me to believe that thinking with His mind would not lend itself to making a wrong decision...any thoughts? I know recently my father was put in a situation where he had to quit his job because of a heart condition. After several trips to the ER, he finally made the difficult (well, difficult for him-we didn’t have to think twice about it!), decision to quit. Seeing how hard it was for him to let go of his job and trust in God, even though his life was at stake, really caused me to look at my own life and the things I hold onto so tightly. I never want my fists to be clenched around something so tightly I cannot receive what God would have for me. Praise His name, my father took that step of faith, quit his job, and says he feels closer to God now than ever before. Sometimes I think it is only by “letting go and letting God” that we are able to enter into a deeper relationship with Him.
ReplyDeleteWell I'm glad that I'm not alone in this (I knew I wouldn't be!). I have always had trouble listening to God's voice calling me to follow Him where He leads me. I guess you could say I struggle with being "sensitive to the leading of the Spirit" as you called it. I think that is why my big decisions have always been hard to make, and my future is still unclear -- about grad school, job, relationships, where I'm going to live, etc.
ReplyDeleteI realized today that there are so many things in my life that are keeping me from God, this semester especially. Whenever I feel like I need to pray or read my Bible or simply get close to God, it seems like everything else suddenly becomes more important. I'll clean my room twice, straighten up my bookshelves, compulsively check Facebook (which is what I do worst), instead of doing what I NEED to do. I realized that it's all these little things that are keeping me from getting close to God. When rmroll said that "it seems that the closer I get to God and the more time I spend with Him, the less anxious I become about the decisions I am making," I felt that the reason I am so anxious is because I am not close at all. So I killed the one thing that takes up all of my time -- Facebook. I gave my password to one of my friends so he can change it. He said that he won't give it back until my relationship with God has improved. And no matter when I say it happens, he won't give it back until at least January 1. I told him to make it two months, because I want my Christmas break to be a time of Jesus instead of Facebook. So, all this to say, pray for me as I work on being with God again. I feel so far away right now, and that is why I don't have any trust or faith. I am taking everything you guys have said into consideration, and I have already started reading the Bible and praying again. Wish me luck!
It seems like you are sensitive to the Spirit. By knowing some steps to take (like dropping facebook for a while), you evidence sensitivity. And I can sense optimism in your post, which brings joy to my heart (and to yours I'm sure!). I trust that as you spend more time with the Lord, that He will make those decisions more clear and less stressful. As Rachel said, "it seems the closer I get to God and the more time I spend with Him, the Less anxious I become about the decisions I am making."
ReplyDeleteMy heart is brighter for reading your post, Ryan. I know that others are as well. And thanks to Rachel for helping all of us out. All your posts are uplifting and insightful.
Hey, I'm pulling for all of ya. We're all in this together.
Let's keep this going!, if the Lord tarries. (Are we still expecting His Second Coming? Enjoy Advent!)
I have been there, and will be there again I’m sure. I struggled with this recently when trying to find a job that was more conducive to a healthy family, and where God is leading Young Life. It was different from any of the other struggles that I have had with the whole, "let go, and let God." The entire time I was turning in Resumes and internal job bid forms, (which Mrs. Roll can vouch that there was not a short supply of bids from me!!) I just kept praying that God would have his will in this adventure, and I trusted that He would allow what He wanted me to do. I also believed that God wanted me to keep knocking on doors, and He would open the one He wanted me to go thru. I typically don’t do things that way; I would rather wait and let God move instead of me taking an action of some sort.
ReplyDeleteI believe that as I go thru tests of faith, hard times, or whatever it may be; God keeps proving his worthiness to me more and it is easier to rely on Him. I know that this is logical. For me though, I have to make a conscience decision to do something. When I get to that decision point in anything I am usually successful in achieving what it is I make an effort to do. Plus I have screwed up enough stuff to know that it is just much easier to give it to God than to mess it all up and then let Him have it. Now I just like to skip the step where I mess it all up!! It is not a big surprise to those who know me that I had a tendency to learn things the hard way. There is this song I love by “the Waiting.” It is called, “Hands in the Air.” Check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU7fGZMFRcM&feature=related This song describes, very well, my struggle with letting go, and letting God. The hardest thing for me to do is not be in control. I still struggle with this idea, but not like I have historically.
I wish I had some insight into Job’s life before this all happened. What was he like before the struggle? How did he carry himself? How much did he praise God when things were good? Some insight into Job’s life when he was working to get the things he had. Did he struggle with knowing God’s will before He had faith in God, or was he always this way? Was there something in his past that the devil knew about that made him an easy target for the devil? Had he failed before? Just some thoughts.
George,
ReplyDeleteLet me preface what I am about to say about Job--I am no Job nor OT scholar. So, I offer only what I know, which really is just how the author of the book describes him.
1--1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.
Later, v. 8--Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
It is the intent of the author in the first quoted section (vs. 1-3) to portray Job as a very pious and blameless man as well as a blessed man. This can be seen in the method of presentation. There are four descriptions of Job in v. 1: (1) blameless, (2) upright, (3) feared God, and (4) shunned evil. By using four, the author here suggests completeness or perfection. The number four, was used by Jewish authors, to represent completeness. As can be seen in, "the four corners of the earth," (Revelation 7.1). Thus, Job was a man of complete righteousness and perfection. So, this is what Job was like before going through the rest of the episode.
Additionally, the OT perception of religion was at times "self-serving." One could know where they stood in relation to God, if they were being blessed (with family, wealth, and a long life). There are many references throughout the OT of being blessed with these things. Evidence of those things in life was essentially seen as God's approval of your life. The author, by explaining that Job was wealthy and the greatest among the people of the East, was again explaining- on another level-that Job was completely righteous.
Now, in reference to the Devil, the problem seems to be in the translations that we have in English. The Hebrew in the verse is actually the ha-satan. At this point in literature, the Hebrew "satan" is not been used yet to refer to what we know of as the Devil. Here, it more than likely was a member of the heavenly court who--in trying to protect the honor of God--would accuse mankind of their wrongdoings and sin. In this story, however, the account proceeds a little differently. God posits the name of a righteous man above reproach (Job) before the accuser "satan" could bring a name before the Lord. It is from there that the accuser then posits that Job wouldn't be righteous if he were not so blessed. This is what initiated the story of Job.
This is probably far more wordy than you were looking for, but hopefully it will help.
(Most ideas were taken from New Interpreter's Bible Commentary)
Sorry, a minor clarification. Any reference to Satan as the devil prior to this account in Job would more than likely be the same translation of the same Hebrew word, or an interpolation of a later editor. Another factor to take into account is the date of writing (of both Job and the book comparing it to).
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