Confessions of a Storyteller...

Alright folks. Grab your popcorn and your date- or snack of your choice. Slide into your preferred seat for comfort and hold on because this puppy is going to be a bit long. Why? Because I'm going to share one of my favorite Bible stories with y'all.

I love the story of Job, but not so much the part of the beginning. And until recently, that was the only part I knew. But have you ever read the ending of Job? Holy cow! It's phenomenal! So, here comes a brief synopsis.

You all probably know the beginning of Job. To make a long story short he basically looses everything he has, but still refuses to deny God. Even his own wife is like "Curse God and just die." But still, he refuses. All of these people he meets try to tell him its because he sinned. Then, this guy Bildad comes along (that was his first mistake, seeking council from a guy named Bildad) and is like "Why try being righteous? You never will be!"

Job is somewhat stubborn, but in a good way. More like a rebel-I like that about him. He replies, "as long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils, my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will utter no deceit. I will never admit you are in the right; till I die, I will not deny my integrity. I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live." (Job 27:3-6) So then after two chapters of Job ranting on this guy, Bildad is like "Okay, whatever," and vamooses.

But after this is where the good part kicks in. Because while Job never looses his faith, he begins to doubt. He does what a lot of us do when we're suffering, we get a little angry. And we feel abandoned. Sometimes we doubt that God is even there. Sometimes, we know He is, but we wonder why He's not listening, or responding. God seems way more distant than He used to be. We all go through this dark period at some point, and Job was no exception.

Chapters 29 and 30 are all about him accusing God of forgetting him (Job 29:2-5 ""How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me, when his lamp shone upon my head and by his light I walked through darkness! Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God's intimate friendship blessed my house, when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me.")

He is accusing God of being unjust and letting men mock him (Job 30: 9-11 " "And now their sons 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.").

Accusing God of throwing him straight into the storm. Accusing God of not caring AT ALL. Calling God ruthless, and making a Holy God out to be wicked. (Job 30:20-23 ""I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me. You turn on me ruthlessly; with the might of your hand you attack me. You snatch me up and drive me before the wind; you toss me about in the storm. I know you will bring me down to death, to the place appointed for all the living."). Woah baby! These are some SERIOUS accusations.

But oh no, dear readers, he does not stop there. Our dear friend Job decides to dig his hole a little deeper. Chapter 31 is filled with Job trying to justify himself. Just read it! Of him thinking he knows better than God. Of him attempting to put himself on the same level as God and getting right in His face about it. Bad mistake Job. BAD mistake.

By this point,it's not hard to guess that he is really and truly angry with God. I can almost picture him in a room, face upaward, fist clenched, arm raised, screaming at God at the top of his lungs. Job is basically also just kind of whining to God saying "Why me? I've done nothing but try to live a righteous life. Why did all of this happen to me?" Today we are no different. Do you know how many times I have heard the question "Why do bad things happen to good people?" I've lost count! But that's a different story. Finally, after ranting and ranting Job's like "I'm done," and this guy Elihu comes on the scene.

And chapters 32-37 Elihu basically calls Job out. He's like [in paraphrased terms] "Dude, you don't get it at all do you? And you're old-you're supposed to be wise! I'm young, but even I know that what you are saying is not right. God does not cause evil! It is unthinkable (Job 34:10-12) Who are you to yell at God? Have you forgotten how majestic He is!?!?"

But I don't get the sense that Job really listened. Still, I think there is something to be admired about Elihu. Because I know in my own life, there are sometimes when I don't need kind words. I don't need encouragement. I don't need gentle co-ersing. I need someone (who most of the time is my very best friend) to come along and be like "You know what Rachel! I can't help you! You don't get it! I could line up every guy on the street to tell you that you are beautiful, but it would never be enough. Because this is between you and God. And until you learn to see yourself through His eyes, you're self esteem isn't going to get any better." That's honest. That's telling it like it is. And sometimes, although we don't like it, it's the only way to get through to us. That's what Elihu was trying to do to Job, but I don't think it worked to well.

But then comes the part that I LOVE LOVE LOVE. God comes on the scene. He causes this storm and that's how we speaks to Job in His deep, Sean Connery voice. This is also the part where I am reminded that God has a tremendously good sense of humor. He's like " Bam! You've been complaining that I've been silent, well here me speak now buddy! Bwahaha Because I've heard everything you've been saying and I got some questions for you! So answer me this Job, Who are you to question ME?" And He just slams Job over and over and over with this question. So, I'm just going to post the whole thing because there's no way I could put it any better and I think it needs to be read. Reading it alone, makes me tremble at my own insignificance. I know its long, but it is sooooo worth the read!

Job Chapter 38:

"Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said: 'Who is this that darkens my counsel 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! [God is showing a bit of sarcasm, I Love it! ha ha] 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'? Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it? The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment. The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken. Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this. What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside? Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings? Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years! Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle? What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth? Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm, to water a land where no man lives, a desert with no one in it, to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass? Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew? From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen? Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God's dominion over the earth? Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water? Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, 'Here we are'? Who endowed the heart with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind? Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together? Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket? Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?'"

But wait! There's more!

Job Chapter 39
"'Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth?
They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labor pains are ended.
Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return.
"Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied his ropes?
I gave him the wasteland as his home, the salt flats as his habitat.
He laughs at the commotion in the town; he does not hear a driver's shout.
He ranges the hills for his pasture and searches for any green thing.
"Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will he stay by your manger at night?
Can you hold him to the furrow with a harness? Will he till the valleys behind you?
Will you rely on him for his great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to him?
Can you trust him to bring in your grain and gather it to your threshing floor?
"The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, but they cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stork.
She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand,
unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them.
She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain,
for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense.
Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider.
"Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?
Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting?
He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray.
He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword.

The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance.
In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!' He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry.
"Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread his wings toward the south?
Does the eagle soar at your command and build his nest on high?
He dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is his stronghold.
From there he seeks out his food; his eyes detect it from afar.
His young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there is he.'"

But wait, there's more! As if Job hasn't gotten it yet!
Job Chapter 40
"'The Lord said to Job:
'Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!"
Then Job answered the Lord:
"I am unworthy--how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.
I spoke once, but I have no answer-- twice, but I will say no more."
Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:
"Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
"Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?
Do you have an arm like God's, and can your voice thunder like his?
Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.
Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at every proud man and bring him low,
look at every proud man and humble him, crush the wicked where they stand.
Bury them all in the dust together; shroud their faces in the grave.
Then I myself will admit to you that your own right hand can save you.

"Look at the behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox.
What strength he has in his loins, what power in the muscles of his belly!
His tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are close-knit.
His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like rods of iron.
He ranks first among the works of God, yet his Maker can approach him with his sword.
The hills bring him their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby.
Under the lotus plants he lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh.
The lotuses conceal him in their shadow; the poplars by the stream surround him.
When the river rages, he is not alarmed; he is secure, though the Jordan should surge against his mouth.
Can anyone capture him by the eyes, or trap him and pierce his nose?'"

And just in case, you still had any pride left Job, God lays it on one more time.
Job Chapter 41:
"'Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook or tie down his tongue with a rope?
Can you put a cord through his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook?
Will he keep begging you for mercy? Will he speak to you with gentle words?
Will he make an agreement with you for you to take him as your slave for life?
Can you make a pet of him like a bird or put him on a leash for your girls?
Will traders barter for him? Will they divide him up among the merchants?
Can you fill his hide with harpoons or his head with fishing spears?
If you lay a hand on him, you will remember the struggle and never do it again!
Any hope of subduing him is false; the mere sight of him is overpowering.
No one is fierce enough to rouse him. Who then is able to stand against me?
Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.

"I will not fail to speak of his limbs, his strength and his graceful form.
Who can strip off his outer coat? Who would approach him with a bridle?
Who dares open the doors of his mouth, ringed about with his fearsome teeth?
His back has rows of shields tightly sealed together;
each is so close to the next that no air can pass between.
They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted.
His snorting throws out flashes of light; his eyes are like the rays of dawn.
Firebrands stream from his mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.
Smoke pours from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over a fire of reeds.
His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from his mouth.
Strength resides in his neck; dismay goes before him.
The folds of his flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.
His chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.
When he rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before his thrashing.
The sword that reaches him has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.
Iron he treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood.
Arrows do not make him flee; slingstones are like chaff to him.
A club seems to him but a piece of straw; he laughs at the rattling of the lance.
His undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
He makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.
Behind him he leaves a glistening wake; one would think the deep had white hair.
Nothing on earth is his equal-- a creature without fear.
He looks down on all that are haughty; he is king over all that are proud.'"

WOW! I don't know about you, but that's extremely humbling. I mean, how do you come out of that? I find myself saying exactly what Job said in Job 42: 4-6 "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.' My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." I despise myself... no better way to put it!

The only response is to be in awe because this Holy and Majestic Creator takes the time to have a relationship with us. He doesn't just allow us to talk to Him either much like you would talk to a wall. He reaches down to us. He desires it because we are His creations. And no one can mask the beauty of the intimacy between Creator and creation. That's love baby!

So I fall on my knees because I am beginning to grasp how insignificant I am compared to an indescribably Majestic God. And yet, through all of this, it makes the love He showed towards us on the cross is even more mind blowing! And I don't think we will ever fully understand the depth of that love. That kind of love calls us to offer every last fragile breath, because He deserves so much more than that! And it calls us to repentence. Not only for sins, but for those times when we "boxed" God. We put limits on His power and who He is. We diminish him. Now a days we have all this technology. Some say we can even predict what Jesus looked like. But it doesn't matter! What matter's is He is Jesus. He stands alone!

He stands. Taller than the tallest tree. Stronger than the strongest structure. More beautiful than the prettiest flower. More powerful than the fiercest storm. More gentle than the slightest breeze. More Wondrous than all the stars. Grander than the Universe. More majestic than the purple mountains. More creative than the best artist. More understanding than the best of friends. More mesmorizing than the ocean. He stands.

Isaiah 40:25 "'To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?' says the Holy One."

Forgive me, Precious Lord, for not letting You be You.