GOD'S "EXHIBIT A" IN THE COURTROOM OF WORLD OPINION -- Devotional for May 26, from "Good Seeds"

(Note: this entry has replaced what I posted yesterday, as it was too long -- to fit on one page in the upcoming book. Check out May 27 for the expansion of this theme).

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Through all this Job did not sin, nor did he blame God. (Job 1:21-22)

Every infirmity you or I will ever experience is allowed by God for one of – or any combination of – these three reasons: 1) The discipline for sin; 2) The deadline of life; 3) The display of God’s glory. In the story of Job we see that his suffering was neither because of his sin nor did it prove to be the pathway to his impending death. Rather, it was for this mysterious thing called “the glory of God” (see May 22). Satan had mocked God, saying, “Do you think Job serves you for nothing? Look how You bless him – no wonder he worships You! Turn off the bounty and I guarantee he’ll mutiny, with curses worse than any sailor!” (see Job 1:9-11). So God took up the Evil One’s challenge and gave him a free hand to torment Job. He went right to work, stripping Job of everything but his wife and his life. But the only curse Job would utter was upon those who taunted him to curse God, and tempted him to mistrust God – a curse, by the way, that was unknowingly aimed right back at Satan, his true enemy: “Even if God goes to the nth degree and kills me, I still will never deny Him. I may not know what He’s doing, but He does, and I trust Him – no matter what you say!” In this powerful statement of faith God was glorified more than by any other thing any man could ever say or do! Job’s dauntless faith gave God a great victory over Satan. The demonstration of extreme faith brings the manifestation of great glory. Job was indeed God’s “Exhibit A” in the courtroom of world opinion, an exhibition of what God can accomplish in a life totally sold out to Him. Now, what about you and me? Could we even come close to exhibiting such faith, such trust? That’s a question that can only be answered moment by moment, as we entrust to God everything we have and everything we are. One of our songs says, “Lord, I give You my heart, I give You my soul; I live for You alone. Every breath that I take, every moment I’m awake, Lord have Your way in me.” When we can say this – and mean it – God has us right where He wants us. When we desperately hang on to our possessions, our investments, our relationships, our reputation, it is our own glory we are seeking. God will give it to us, but get none from us. But when we learn to hold loosely, with an open hand, all that is not eternal, God can confidently put us on display before a watching world – like He did with Job – as an exhibition of the extreme goodness of a man whose only concern is the greater glory of His God.