Have you ever felt like you had put your foot in your mouth because of words you had spoken? You had rather just tape your mouth and never speak again because you knew you had said the wrong thing? More than likely, we have all done the foot in mouth thing. I know I have and Job must have felt that way when he realized God’s greatness and his own humanness. He even said from his own mouth, “I’m ready to shut up and listen” (Job 40:3-5 MSG).
Drawing near to God requires a silence on our part in order to see and hear Him. It is vital that we quiet ourselves as we repent and pray in humility before our God. No one can take those steps for you or me; no one can live my relationship with the Lord except me. And, no one can live your relationship with God except you. Here are some suggestions to listen as you sit in silence:
- Sit in silence to realize God’s greatness and your humanness: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 ESV).
- Repent: Job changed his thinking after he realized the greatness of God and his own smallness. He repented. To repent means “to turn or to change your thinking.”
- Offer a sacrifice: We no longer need to offer the type of sacrifices Job and his friends offered to approach our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ, through His death on the cross became our once, only, and for all sacrifice. For us, to offer a sacrifice means to “draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands…and purify your hearts” (James 4:8 ESV). We may offer to God the sacrifice of ourselves: “Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, working throughout the day, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.
- Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, Godbrings the best out of you and develops well-informed maturity in you” (Romans 12:1-2 MSG).
Jesus in Me: Lord, there is none like You. No greatness matches Your greatness and splendor. You are God. I am nothing without you. I draw near to you and offer you my life and everything about it today. Change me from the inside out and mature me into the image of Christ.
Today’s Tasting: Job 40-42– The Lord answered Job with many more questions and reminders of His greatness.
- Job, stunned to silence, decided that he had nothing else to say or do. He had seen and heard the Lord’s greatness for himself.
- Job repented. He realized that the Lord is God and that he was nothing without God in his life.
- Job offered a sacrifice with his friends. Offering a sacrifice meant that they drew near to God.
- Job prayed after the sacrifice, and the Lord blessed him.
Job replied, “I’m speechless, in awe—words fail me. I should have never opened my mouth! I’ve talked too much, way too much. I’m ready to shut up and listen” (Job 40:3-5). Job realized that he had heard about God, but now he saw and heard God for himself. Job repented and asked God to forgive him.
The Lord told Job’s friends to go to Job and offer a sacrifice to Him, which they did. Then, Job prayed for his friends and the Lord heard his prayer. His worship had returned. After that, the Lord restored to Job twice the possessions he had before. The Lord also restored Job’s relationships and his family.
Tomorrow’s Delight: Genesis 12-15
Carolyn Marlowe, CCLC
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