MAGNIFY ~ Day 38

~ Day Thirty-Eight ~

MAGNIFY

No Other Name

The Book of Job ~ Chapter Thirty-Eight

"Then the LORD answered Job

out of the whirlwind, and said:

"Who is this who darkens counsel

by words without knowledge?

Now prepare yourself like a man;

I will question you,

and you shall answer Me."

(Job 38:1-3)

MORNING MEDITATION

Omnipotence

Elihu's long message prepared Job for the appearance of God, who would come in a display of "golden splendor" and "awesome majesty" (Job 37:22), and speak from out of the storm. Job had been demanding an audience with God all along. He desperately wanted the Lord to answer him. "Oh, that the Almighty would answer me" (Job 31:35b). He wanted an explanation from God for his suffering. His friends had spent enough time giving their interpretations and explanations of his troubles, but the Lord knew what his servant really needed. He had something far greater in mind to capture Job's attention and open his heart to a world of greater understanding and silence all his fears and concerns. The Almighty God dispensed with explanations and provided his servant with a divine revelation of His omnipotence and wisdom!

"Jesus looked at them and said to them,

"With men this is impossible,

but with God all things are possible."

(Matthew 19:26)

The Lord takes no delight in the sufferings of His people. He has purposed that one day we will be free from all heartbreak and on that day He has promised to wipe away every tear from our eyes; "...there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4). He knows that trials cause the hearts of His children to doubt and despair and also become depressed, and so He has provided the Comforter, His Holy Spirit, to dwell within, so that we will not be troubled in heart. As He gave His disciples His farewell address, He told them not to be fearful and troubled, because there was a greater work He would be doing beyond the grave, and while He was gone they would do even greater things in preparation for His return. "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:1, 2). [Feast upon: John 14:1-7] "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (v. 3). In the midst of His own sorrows and suffering our Lord tended to the tears of His disciples and stored them up in vials; for He is concerned about all of our pain (Psalm 56:8). He was preparing them for the darkest hour that would fall upon the earth, and called them not to fear but rather to "believe in God, believe also in Me!" He would have them confirmed in their faith and not rest in the arm of flesh, for a world of opposition was coming their way. For them, and the multitudes who are being saved, the Cross is the power of God, but for those who are perishing it is foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18). For generations to come people would pass by the Cross as if it were nothing and be swallowed up in their ignorance of the majesty of His redemptive work and their own impotence in saving themselves. His disciples trembled at His words of departure, and feared how they would carry on His work if His presence were not with them. It's been two thousand years since He ascended into the clouds, and we long for the dawning of the day of His return. His remedy for our fear and impatience is still the same today as it was then, "You believe in God, believe also in Me!" Just as the Lord's voice thundered from the skies to remind Job to trust the God who displays His power in His creation, though he does not see the invisible Hand working in and sustaining all things, the Lord Jesus called His disciples to believe in the absent and invisible Christ, who remains just as powerful within them as He did when He was walking on the waves in the midst of the storm and healing all who came to Him. Now He is walking in the midst of the heavens preparing our home to be with Him there, and this should be our comfort in these days of trial and grief: there are indeed "many mansions" that are being readied to be filled with the multitude of sojourners who will be harvested from the earth. This should silence our troubled hearts and rather stir us to greater fervency to be about our Father's business, gathering up the pilgrims all around us who will make their eternal residence with Him. Let us join the multitude of voices that surround the throne and sing praise to the Lord God Omnipotent who lives and reigns within our hearts today as we joyfully prepare for His return! "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever! Amen" (Revelation 5:13b)! "Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together" (Psalm 34:3).

"And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude,

as the sound of many waters

and as the sound of mighty thunders, saying,

"Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!

Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory,

for the marriage of the Lamb has come,

and His wife has made herself ready."

(Revelation 19:6, 7)

AFTERNOON DEVOTION

Read: Job Chapter Thirty-Eight

"Where were you when I laid

the foundations of the earth?

Tell Me, if you have understanding."

(Job 38:4)

Job's life came crashing down in an instant. In a single day, the storm clouds rolled in and with one violent episode after another his whole life was reduced to ashes. He had expected to receive comforting words from his friends, but instead their counsel was as cruel as the crashing waves that had pummeled him and swept everything away. How he longed for an audience with God, hoping his true Friend would speak tender words of assurance from heaven; however, when God finally broke the silence, He "answered Job out of the whirlwind" (v. 1). He didn't speak with a gentle whisper or in a still small voice; God's voice is "like the sound of many waters and like the voice of loud thunder" (Revelation 1:15; 19:6a). The God of heaven thundered and rolled in with power, to chastise His servant and remind him who is really in charge. "Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me" (vv. 2, 3). And question him He did! God asked Job a series of seventy-seven questions. The Almighty God did not coddle His servant and explain the reason for His silence; nor did He offer tender words of comfort, or provide an answer to Job's questions. He went straight to the heart of the matter to align Job's heart with His. He didn't waste a moment on peripheral things, He wanted His servant to know above everything else that He is the Almighty Omnipotent God! "Where where you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its' measurements? surely you know!" (v. 5a). As the Lord's line of questioning moved from the foundations of the earth to the starry hosts in the skies and then on into the depths of the sea, Job began to realize he was in way over his head. "Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths?" (v. 16) "Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this" (v. 18). "Do you know it, because you were born then, or because the number of your days is great?" (v. 21) Surely Job's head was spinning by now, realizing he had spoken completely out of turn as he was faced with the truth of how truly little he knew. The Lord was just getting started. He then pulled out the telescope and asked Job to look and see exactly where he fit in the grand scope of all the universe. "Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loose the belt of Orion?" (v. 31) "Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth?" (v. 33). Job was beginning to understand his own insignificance, and how little he truly comprehended of the greatness of God. By now he probably forgot what his original question was that he had asked. With each flash of lightning from His mouth the Lord struck the chords of Job's heart with the realization of his own impotence and humbled him with the truth of his own ignorance, to clear the pathway to true wisdom. "Who has put wisdom in the mind? Or who has given understanding to the heart?" (v. 36). May the powerful words of the Almighty omnipotent God penetrate our hearts this week and bring us to that place of much needed humility in order to pray with wisdom for His perfect will to be accomplished in this nation and on this earth. May we be willing to admit with Job that there is so much we do not know or comprehend about the administration of God's government, as we humbly submit and trust Him to do what He has planned and purposed in the world, and as we pray: Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). "Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together" (Psalm 34:3).

"In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God."

(John 1:1, 2)