Job 33:14–18 14For God does speak—now one way, now another— though no one perceives it. 15In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, 16he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, 17to turn them from wrongdoing and keep them from pride, 18to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword.
Children, and especially grandchildren, have the ability to see things from a very different perspective. I remember our son, many years ago, standing at a screen door during a thunderstorm and ask, “Who’s taking pictures?” It was the cutest thing. He was trying to relate what he didn’t know, lightening, to what he did know, flash photography.
As I was digging fence posts this past week, one of the neighbor toddlers came running through his back yard toward me in excitement. His words were, “Where’s PopPop?” He was looking for his grandfather and his dad. They were putting up a fence, and since I was putting up a fence, they must be with me. There wasn’t any other fence in this young boy’s world!
Sometimes we get pigeon holed into one way of thinking and have difficulty seeing any other way. This happens in the political arena all the time. Take a look at those wearing masks. By and large, who is wearing masks, other than the obvious vulnerable people. We are even divided on this issue!
But I am glad that the LORD has a whole variety of ways to speak to us. He uses His Word as the primary guidance system. (Notice the reference to spacecraft takeoffs.) But He is not limited to the ways that He speaks.
In our text, a younger man is rebuking both Job and Job’s three friends. This is quite the breach in protocol. Younger men are not supposed to rebuke their elders. But this man has waited until they have run out of words before he speaks. And some of what he says is true.
The LORD does speak in many different ways. But why does He speak? The reason this young man speaks is born of a stirring within him. He has kept silent, but now it bubbles out. This is not always the best time to talk. Bubbling can produce a lot of froth!
But the LORD speaks in order to get us to repent and be saved. His word is directive. It isn’t random. It pushes and pulls us to be conformed to His image. He wants to shape and mold us. He takes us where we are when we first come to Him, but He doesn’t want us to stay there. He wants us to become holy just like He is holy.
And this push/pull isn’t just for eternity. The text says that wrongdoing and pride are things to be avoided. These are things done right now in this life. The things we do now reflect our standing with the LORD.
We can’t say we are right with the LORD and treat other people any old way. He is always calling us closer, and the closer we get to Him, the more we will act in accordance with His character. If we continue to walk, we must continue to say ‘no’ to our own desires and ‘yes’ to His.
So what ‘yes’ do you need to say to the LORD right now?
The Arnold Journey 