WHY WE NEED TO CALL ON GOD

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“But if I were you, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. He provides rain for the earth; he sends water on the countryside. The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety. He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away. Darkness comes upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night. He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth; he saves them from the clutches of the powerful. So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.”

 

Job 5:8-16

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In Job, Chapter 4 and the first verses of Chapter 5, Oliphaz speaks to Job after he had expressed a desire to not even have been born. You’ll recall that Oliphaz in a way challenged Job’s attitude in a couple of ways.

First, he challenged Job’s attitude against his spiritual strength before his affliction. Oliphaz wondered how a man so deeply devoted to God could lose his faith and hope so easily.

Secondly, Oliphaz shared words given to him by a spirit…words that asked if anyone was greater than God spiritually or physically. Of course, the answer was no. No one was more righteous than God and no one possessed His strength and power. God had no equal.

The bottom line was that Job, although described as blameless and upright, was no less a sinner than any other man. And he was just as prone to God’s judgment as anyone else as he was now discovering.

There could have been any number of ways Job could have responded to his affliction and loss. He chose to resent it, internalizing what was happening to him, and this only bred an attitude of resentment which led Job down the path of despair and depression. It’s an easy path to take. I remember three years of my life when I chose to travel that road. Maybe I needed an Oliphaz to get me pointed in the right direction.

I say this because Job’s friend as we continue to study Chapter 5 gets to the heart of what Job should do. Wallowing in resentment and self pity was not going to get Job out of the ashes and heading toward healing. The only answer was the One Job was wishing would not even care about his very birthday (3:4). The answer was God.

For we read in the scriptures where Oliphaz tells Job what he would do if he were Job. He would “appeal to God” and “lay (his) cause before him.” But Oliphaz doesn’t stop there and this is the beauty of his words to Job…and to us as well. For in a few short verses, Oliphaz tries to remind us of the very nature of God…the very reason why we need to call on Him.

First, God “performs wonders that cannot be fathomed” and “miracles that cannot be counted.” We need to always remember the greatness of God and we can easily do that if we consider the amazing nature of creation to include life beyond earth. God created it all and so vast is His works that we don’t really have a grasp of how large the universe is outside of our planet. This almighty, omnipotent God who made us and brought us into His creation loves us and is for us. There is nothing we can go through that He can’t take care of. And the awesome miracles He has performed through the history of mankind are mindboggling. One thing is certain, God has worked greater miracles than fixing any problem we’re going to go through in life. Job had lost sight of this. We too often do as well in the midst of hardship. No one else can help us like God.

Next, Oliphaz reminds us that God “provides rain for the earth” and “sends water on the countryside.” When my lawn goes without rain for days, it starts to dry out and die off. Water is needed to it to stay alive. The same applies to you and I. No water over a long period of time would lead to us dying off. Oliphaz’s point is that God sustains life, providing what is needed for His creation to survive. Without Him, we would be doomed.

Thirdly, we’re reminded by Oliphaz that God sets the lowly on high and lifts those who mourn to safety. Indeed, when we are most at need, this is when God is most with us. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. He never turns from us. We are the ones who turn from Him and Job has most certainly done that in his present attitude and state.

Fourth, God watches out for us, particularly when people scheme against us. Oliphaz reminds us that He “thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away. Darkness comes upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night.” The Bible is full of examples of how God intervened and ruined evil plots against His people. So often, we tend to overly concern ourselves with those we feel might be working to stab us in the back when we should really be remembering that God has our backs already. What an awesome assurance this should be to us!

And finally, God “saves the needy from the sword in their mouth” and “from the clutches of the powerful…so the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.” God has a heart for those who are underprivileged, those who live in humble circumstances. I’ve been in these circumstances in life and it’s not a fun place to be, especially when it seems that people who are better off than you want to do nothing to help you out. Rather, they would like nothing more than for us to stay poor so that they might remain in a higher status. What Oliphaz wanted Job…and us…to remember is that our value isn’t measured by our bank account or possessions. No, our hope is in the Lord and in the Lord alone, the One who has power beyond anyone in creation.

What awesome words from Oliphaz and he reminds us so much about the God we should always rely on and turn to in faith and trust.

Why should we call on God…and God alone when we are in need?

Because He and He alone is the author of all miracles and wonders.

Because He and He alone provides all we need to be sustained.

Because He and He alone is ever with us at all times but particularly when we are most in need.

Because He and He alone spoils the evil plans of those who would want to do us harm.

And because He and He alone gives us hope, no matter our life’s circumstances.

This is our God…omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent…all powerful, almighty, all loving, all merciful, and all we need.

Why would we ever call on anyone else?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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