Out of the Storm

Posted on March 27, 2015 by wamplerp

Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:   “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?   Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.   “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.   Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?   On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—   while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?   “Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,   when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,   when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,   when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’? – Job 38:1-11

Yeah! God showed up…out of the storm! I have been looking forward to arriving at this “bend in the river” for weeks. Both Job and I are relieved…Elihu and Job’s three friends not so much.  “Brace yourself like a man” God says, presumably to Elihu…who has shown particular insensitivity toward Job.  God Calls Elihu out on is hubris and lack of humility…calling on him to explain himself and his misguided self-confidence.  I suspect Elihu was sweating a bit and may have needed to get a change of clothes after this encounter.

God continues to explain the way things really are to Elihu and the others in attendance, including Job.  God makes it clear that He has built the foundations of the world and has provided the cornerstone on which all is supported (Jesus, the One to bring us together).  “Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb? God asks in an interesting echo of the story in Genesis 1:9-10 when God brings forth water for life.

I like the water imagery when God describes making the clouds a garment for the sea.  What an amazing description of the process of evaporation and formation of clouds from the seas which is an essential part of the hydrologic cycle…perhaps God is a hydrologist too.  God set limits on the sea and directed the “proud” waves to go no further.

How can a wave be proud?  What an intriguing way to describe the energetic and dramatic place where land meets the sea.  It is almost as if God is referring to something more than sea and sand.  Maybe it is a stretch, but what if there is a spiritual meaning here.  In a previous post I mused about the spiritual meaning of beaches and how, in a spiritual sense we look out upon the vast ocean of God’s kingdom and the spiritual realm from the “spiritual land” where our soul dwells — our bodies.

Elihu, and to a lesser extent Job’s three friends,  have been behaving like “proud waves” trying to push the limits of what we can know about God and what He knows about us.  They, especially Elihu, are proudly crashing against the tired and troubled Job trying to convince him that they know God and what He desires.  I am thankful that God arrives here to set things straight.

Prayer: God forgive us for behaving like “proud waves”, pushing the boundaries of what we know rather than letting Your love wash over us.

Posted in Covenant, Discernment, Faith, Following God, Genesis, God's Love for Us, Heaven, Job, Nature, Obedience, reconciliation, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Frozen

Posted on March 26, 2015 by wamplerp

IMGP6418At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place.   Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.   He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven and sends it to the ends of the earth.   After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back.   God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding.   He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’   So that everyone he has made may know his work, he stops all people from their labor.    The animals take cover; they remain in their dens.   The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds.   The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen.   He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them.   At his direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever he commands them.   He brings the clouds to punish people, or to water his earth and show his love. Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders. Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? Do you know how the clouds are poised, those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge? You who swelter in your clothes when the land lies hushed under the south wind, can you join him in spreading out the skies, hard as a mirror of cast bronze? Job 37:1-18

Elihu continues his “instruction” of Job in this passage.  I have to admit as insensitive as Elihu seems to be to Job’s position and predicament his descriptions of the nature of God are insightful.  Elihu’s view of God is somewhat skewed toward the Mad Max side of God’s nature. I find comfort in this facet of God’s nature because I know God has my back, but I also find great comfort in the Lamb of God who sees us and carries us like a son or daughter.

This passage is one of the most explicit in the description of frozen water, or ice, that I can recall so far in my walk on water.  Interestingly, water that is frozen is actually something one can walk upon, but is not always stable of safe.  When ice accumulates into glaciers it can sculpt the land into some of the most beautiful landscapes on earth.

It seems like ice gets a negative wrap.  It seems to always be cast in the role of evil — the evil snow miser; the White Witch that rules a frozen Narnia, The Snow Queen.  Why is cold and ice associated with evil?  Perhaps is it because ice by itself is not much use to us humans…it needs to be melted (in the liquid form) for us to be able to use it.

Perhaps this is like the spiritual realm and earth.  What if material Things of this earth are “frozen” versions of things that exist in “liquid form” in the spiritual realm. Following this analogy, our bodies would be “spirit-cicles” — only when they melt, i.e. when our body dies, can our spirit join that of the Great Cistern, God.

Can our souls or spirits become frozen, fixed, and immovable within our earthly vessels? I think the answer is yes if we disconnect ourselves from “heat source”, God. Jesus described this glazing over of our souls as having a “hardened heart” or a “calloused heart”:

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ – Matthew 13:14-15

What is the opposite of a frozen heart? A burning heart, as A.W. Tozer put it, when he described Christ followers as “children of the burning heart”. We are to pursue God with such passion that our souls never become “frozen”.

Prayer: God I want to be a child of the burning heart. Help me to cultivate a spirit that is on fire rather than frozen.

Posted in Christian Community, Christian Leadership, Christianity, Covenant, Death and Dying, Discernment, Discipleship, Faith, Following God, Heaven, Job, Nature, Obedience, Redemption, religion, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Showers Fall on Mankind

Posted on March 25, 2015 by wamplerp

IMGP4561How great is God—beyond our understanding!  The number of his years is past finding out.He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams ;   the clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind.   Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds, how he thunders from his pavilion?   See how he scatters his lightning about him, bathing the depths of the sea.   This is the way he governs the nations and provides food in abundance.   He fills his hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark.   His thunder announces the coming storm; even the cattle make known its approach. – Job 36:26-33

In the beginning of this passage Elihu acknowledges the awesomeness of God and His power, yet he is not sure that God can be anything but a cloud high above.

Elihu appears to have some hidden talents as a keen observer of natural events and earth around him…a born hydrologist.  The description of drawing up drops of water and distilling them to streams is a great description of the hydrologic cycle. The process of evaporation and condensation is one of the reasons we have safe, fresh, water to drink.

As I am writing this it occurs to me that there is an interesting spiritual parallel here.  God “condenses” part of His spirit so that we can experience Him on earth as the living water provided by Jesus.  We take in this living water and He lives in us.  God’s spirit distilled into us streams….kind of humbling.

Part of the hydrologic cycle is rains that fall to earth….the clouds that “pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind”.  The rain from heaven can arrive in a devastating form as God’s rain, or as a gentle rain on tender plants.  The spectrum of water that God provides is what makes our journey here on earth interesting, and sometimes challenging when we pass through dusty dry times as Job is experiencing.

Prayer: God You are the great condenser that distills Your spirit into our being.  Thank You for sharing your spirit with us. 

 

Posted in Christian Community, Christian Leadership, Christianity, Discernment, Discipleship, Faith, Following God, Heaven, Job, Obedience, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm, Trusting God, Wisdom | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Clouds so High Above You

Posted on March 24, 2015 by wamplerp

IMGP4927Then Elihu said: “Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am in the right, not God.’  Yet you ask him, ‘What profit is it to me, and what do I gain by not sinning?’  I would like to reply to you and to your friends with you.   Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the clouds so high above you.   If you sin, how does that affect him? If your sins are many, what does that do to him?   If you are righteous, what do you give to him, or what does he receive from your hand?   Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself, and your righteousness only other people. – Job 35:1-8

Ah Elihu…what a sensitive young man ready to comfort his elder Job in his time of trouble…not so much.  “Gaze at the clouds so high above you”…this is a telling clue to the posture and perspective of Elihu.  He clearly sees God as a distant cloud that could not be with us…let alone carry us like a son or daughter.  He feels the need to set Job straight in his “misunderstanding” of the way things are with God.

Elihu concludes that our sins do not affect God and neither does our righteousness.  I am not sure how Elihu knows this with such certainty, especially at his tender young age — but I guess thinking back on my college days I was pretty cocky and confident as a young man too. Why do the young tend toward idealism and overconfidence about how much they know? Perhaps the same hormones that drive us to high school dances impart this sense of self assurance. Whatever the reason I think Elihu is mistaken.

I think God cares very much about our sins and our righteousness. Not in a school headmaster sort of way, but rather as a parent cares for the proper feeding and clothing of their child…because they love them.

God does not want us to go about our lives wandering and hungry — sleeping in dry stream beds. He wants us to sink our roots deep into the one river, so that our spirits can grow and thrive.  In order to do this God must tend to our sins and righteousness.

God has done this through the “cloud” that came down to earth — His son Jesus.  We need not gaze at him “so high above us”.  He is Emmanuel, God with us.  He wants to be invited into our hearts and souls.  We need but ask and He will fill our souls with His spirit just like the cloud filled the temple of the Israelites.

Prayer: Thank You God for caring about our sins and righteousness, and sending Your son Jesus to show us the way.

Posted in Christian Community, Christian Leadership, Christianity, Covenant, Discernment, Discipleship, Faith, Following God, Forgiveness, Free Will, God's Love for Us, Job, Love for the Lost, Obedience, reconciliation, Redemption, religion, The Nature of God, Trusting God, Wisdom | Tagged , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Furrows Wet with Tears

Posted on March 23, 2015 by wamplerp

And now those young men mock me in song; I have become a byword among them.   They detest me and keep their distance; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.   Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they throw off restraint in my presence.   On my right the tribe attacks; they lay snares for my feet, they build their siege ramps against me.   They break up my road; they succeed in destroying me. ‘No one can help him,’ they say.   They advance as through a gaping breach; amid the ruins they come rolling in.   Terrors overwhelm me; my dignity is driven away as by the wind, my safety vanishes like a cloud….if my land cries out against me and all its furrows are wet with tears,   if I have devoured its yield without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants,   then let briers come up instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended. – Job 30:9-15 & 31:38-40

“these young men mock me in song”….this brings to mind a very odd juxtaposition of images of baggy pants rappers singing in Job’s face…probably did not look like that but it would have been an odd scene you must admit.

Young men spitting in his face and singing songs of derision while Job wallows in the dust scraping the sores off his body.  This does not sound like a good time.  It brings Job’s misery to a whole new level.  He is not only a mockery to his friends, which would be bad enough, now he is mockery to those who are cultural supposed to revere and respect him.  Kind of reminds me of a young man from Nazareth named Jesus.  He was mocked and spit upon by those who should have been giving Him respect too.

Job’s safety, and self-esteem I suspect, have vanished like a cloud.  They have dissipated in the intense heat of public humiliation.  Job will have one last indignity to endure as one of these young man, Elihu, will soon attempt to tear him apart with accusations and condemnation.

In the end Job appeals to the very land that he owns to bear witness to the legacy he will leave.  He compares the fruit of his land to the fruit of his soul.  If the land and it’s tenants bear witness to mistreatment then Job agrees that his land (soul) will produce weeds instead of fruit.

The words of Job are ended.  It is in God’s hands now (as it has been from the beginning).  In a way Job is saying what Jesus said in the end…”not thy will but yours be done”.  I have a lot to learn from Job.  I hope that when I am called upon to weather hard and trying times I have a fraction of his fortitude.

Prayer: God help us to trust Your will for our lives even when the going gets hard.

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Eddying Out – New Life

Posted on March 22, 2015 by wamplerp

IMGP6477I have been slogging through the book of Job for a couple of weeks now and I needed a break so I am taking a day to eddy out and enjoy the sabbath day and the arrival of spring in Michigan.

The sun is shining and the very first snowdrops and crocusses are poking their heads out from beneath the blanket of dead leaves.  These first flowers of spring seems to burn with a special brightness.  It is almost as if they have to be especially dramatic to overcome the drab browns and tans from which they emerge.

I will return to my walk with water tomorrow and take on more of Job.  God will be showing up soon (in a tangible way).  I am excited for His arrival and this portion of the journey.L

Prayer: God thank You for the spring flowers that are overtaking the dead leaves of winter. 

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Dry Stream Beds

Posted on March 21, 2015 by wamplerp
Colorado River Delta (source: USGS)

Colorado River Delta (source: USGS)

But now they mock me, men younger than I, whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep dogs.   Of what use was the strength of their hands to me, since their vigor had gone from them?   Haggard from want and hunger, they roamed the parched land in desolate wastelands at night.   In the brush they gathered salt herbs, and their food was the root of the broom bush.   They were banished from human society, shouted at as if they were thieves.   They were forced to live in the dry stream beds, among the rocks and in holes in the ground.   They brayed among the bushes and huddled in the undergrowth.   A base and nameless brood, they were driven out of the land. – Job 30:1-8

This is a somewhat strange passage.  Job is providing a final defense for his actions and his state of being.  There seems to be a tension here with the younger generation beginning to react to the position in which Job finds himself.  This will become more apparent in subsequent passages as a young upstart named Elihu takes aim at Job before God comes to the rescue.  As I have reflected on this section of Job it seems that what Job is lamenting is the loss of respect he feels from those who should be looking up to him as an elder.

Job’s description of this new crowd of critics does not pull any punches.  He describes them as vagrants, wandering in the desert, hungry and being shouted at as if they were thieves.  They live in “dry stream beds” and huddle in holes.  It sounds as if he is describing people whose faith in God has dried up — a people who wander through their lives haggard from want and hunger.

I have encountered people in my life who were dry and bitter…even some who were attempting to follow God as Christians. I explored some of this in a previous post called “guess who moved“. I think we all experience dry spiritual times, but it is our choice whether we dwell in these “dry stream beds” or merely pass through them on the way to another hidden well or spring of living water provided by God.

Job is in the midst of “dry time” spiritually and physically but his roots still reach for the living water in the One River that gives him hope and spiritual nourishment.  He refuses to forget where the water that sustains him comes from even in the midst of a drought, while his peers and their offspring wander about searching for water from intermittent streams and dry stream beds.

Prayer: Thanks God for providing living water for us in the midst of spiritually dry times. 

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Posted in Christian Leadership, Christianity, Discernment, Discipleship, Faith, Following God, God's Love for Us, Healing, Job, Life Together, Obedience, reconciliation, Redemption, religion, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm, Trusting God | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Roots that Reach the Water

Posted on March 20, 2015 by wamplerp

DCP_9710I thought, ‘I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as the grains of sand.   My roots will reach to the water, and the dew will lie all night on my branches.   My glory will not fade; the bow will be ever new in my hand.’   “People listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel.   After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears.   They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain.   When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.    I chose the way for them and sat as their chief; I dwelt as a king among his troops; I was like one who comforts mourners. – Job 29:18-25

This passage is part of Job’s final plea. He is reminiscing about his youth before his life fell apart through a series of “life floods”. Even now he is not willing to give up on God or himself. There is a hint of hubris here “my glory will not fade”. Perhaps part of the process God and Job were involved in here was to humble Job, sort of like Saul (Paul) and his temporary blindness. Sometimes we need to have some of our senses dulled to allow others to become better developed.

Job’s roots will continue to reach for the One River where he knows his soul can be nourished. His “branches” will be covered with dew…godly condensate. This is a great word picture or analogy for our spiritual walk with God. We are to be both deeply rooted in Him and infused with his spirit (covered with dew). I think Job’s roots are still effective at drawing spiritual nourishment from God, but the more I read about Job the more I wonder if he was a flawed follower just like the rest of us.

Roots are interesting things..they seek out water and can break apart solid rock as they grow and expand.  They can harden and even transform into something more like a tree trunk when they are exposed to air by erosion or floods. I feel like that is what has been happening to Job…his roots have been exposed by repeated “life floods”. He is tenaciously gripping the bank, but his exposed roots are hardening and it is getting more difficult to draw life-sustaining water from his source….God.

Toward the end of the passage Job really seems to become self-focused and perhaps a little boastful and vain. The self-image Job is painting is one of a benevolent and caring king. I find it interesting that in yesterday’s post Job gave God credit for decreeing the rain. Now he is comparing himself and his words to showers and spring rain.

Job has just joined the ranks of the perplexing people in the bible like David and Moses. Maybe we are all perplexing people.  A strange brew of body and spirit — one moment at war with one another and the next moment in an awkward alliance of self-promotion. It is a good thing God loves us for who we are becoming instead of who we are at the moment.

Prayer: God thank You for loving us for who we are becoming rather than who we are at the moment.

 

Posted in Christianity, Conflict, Covenant, Discernment, Discipleship, Faith, Following God, Job, Obedience, religion, The Earthly Realm, The Spiritual Realm, Trusting God, Wisdom | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

A Decree for the Rain

Posted on March 19, 2015 by wamplerp

Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?   It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds in the sky.   Destruction and Death say, “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”   God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells,   for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.   When he established the force of the wind and measured out the waters,   when he made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm,   then he looked at wisdom and appraised it; he confirmed it and tested it.   And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.” – Job 28:20-28

Today’s passage is a continuation of the interlude after the anemic advice of Job’s friends and Job’s replies. God is about to show up but in the meantime Job is reflecting on wisdom and the proper order of things. He is asking some pretty big questions… Where does wisdom come from? What is wisdom and where does understanding dwell? The answer is pretty simple…God knows.

God established the force of the wind and measured out the waters. I take this to mean that God started all things in motion…He is the Logos or reason that came at the beginning, underlies all things, and He even “measured out the waters”. Too much water and we are drowned by God’s rain…too little and we return to the dust from which we came. God decrees the rain. I take this to mean that God determines when it will sprinkle lightly and when a deluge will drench us to the bone. He determines the path of the thunderstorm.

When one is in the midst of one of life’s “thunderstorms” it can be less than reassuring that God has determined it’s path. In fact we often blame God or the person who is experiencing the storm as Job’s friends are so deftly demonstrating. Job acknowledges that the storm he is experiencing is controlled by God but He is not willing to blame God or himself. He shows an amazing amount of spiritual maturity by realizing that the thunderstorm he is experiencing is part of the spiritual cycle which brings both thunderstorms and gentle rain on tender plants.

The last part of the passage is very similar to a familiar verse from Proverbs (Proverbs 9:10) “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding”.  I did not know this verse was in the book of Job too….”The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding”.

What does it mean to fear the Lord? Does that mean we should cower in a corner awaiting God to blast us? I do not think so. I think that the “fear” being referred to here is more like respect or awe. The same respect you would give to the Grand Canyon or a mighty river in flood that you may choose not to cross for fear of drowning. The river does not want to kill you or hurt you any more than God does, but just like the river God is not tame or controlled — God is way bigger than us.

Prayer: Sometimes the storms that buffet our lives are scary and hard. Help us to have a healthy respect for You God while we seek to know You better.

Posted in Christianity, Covenant, Discernment, Faith, Following God, God's Love for Us, Job, Obedience, The Earthly Realm, The Nature of God, The Spiritual Realm, Trusting God, Wisdom | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sources of the River

Posted on March 18, 2015 by wamplerp

There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.   Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore.   Mortals put an end to the darkness; they search out the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness.   Far from human dwellings they cut a shaft, in places untouched by human feet; far from other people they dangle and sway.   The earth, from which food comes, is transformed below as by fire; lapis lazuli comes from its rocks, and its dust contains nuggets of gold.   No bird of prey knows that hidden path, no falcon’s eye has seen it.   Proud beasts do not set foot on it, and no lion prowls there.   People assault the flinty rock with their hands and lay bare the roots of the mountains.   They tunnel through the rock; their eyes see all its treasures.   They search the sources of the rivers and bring hidden things to light. – Job 28:1-11

This passage is an interesting one for a geologist…especially one who used to mine and explore for metals and minerals for a living. I chose to get out of the mining and exploration game long ago for two main reasons: 1) the travel and work schedule were making it very difficult to spend time with my wife; and 2) I could not go on searching for minerals and metals knowing that if I found them the land they were located under would be devastated by mining.

Why do human’s place such value on things like silver and gold?  As this passage makes clear the birds and the beasts have no such care for silver or gold.  When was the last time you saw an eagle or a bear digging for minerals or metals…they know better.  They focus their energy on important things like food and water.

We mortals are always searching for treasure in the darkness when all we really have to do is stop moving and striving and let the light of God overtake us.  Instead we try to make our own light…put an end to darkness…by striving to wrestle treasures from the earth…replacing our darkness with artificial light.

Some metals are mined because they are used to make things, but many of the most valuable minerals and metals are mined because they are valuable and can make the person who finds them rich.  It is sad how much of our time and energy is invested chasing after “flinty rock” from which we can wrestle riches.

We search the “sources of the rivers” to find treasure. This is what the old gold prospectors would do to find gold. They would pan their way up the rivers until they found the source. God offers us a more valuable treasure. We need only find the One River that can make all other treasures seem like trash.

Prayer: God you are the only true treasure that is worth seeking.  Help us to keep this in perspective.

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