Serving God for Nothing
Yesterday was a busy day for me without any rest time. I felt fatigued this morning, but I seemed to recover as I moved through my day. I did have some appointments today as well and did go to the fitness center for my weekly meeting with my trainer. I enjoyed another day of warmer than normal temps for this time of the year. It is great to live in Colorado.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… Satan replied, “Would Job worship you if he got nothing out of it? … The Lord gave, and now he has taken away. May his name be praised!” Job 1:9,21
Pastor Park Sutton reviewed the response of Job to the losses of his life during our Tuesday morning devotional. I found his words most challenging. One of the issues he pointed out was the timing of dealing with the loss of everything about his life. Before being able to handle the grief of the magnitude of his loss of possession and family, he faces the physical attack that creates unbearable pain.
The test of these attacks is to prove whether Job serves God because of what he has or in spite of what he has. The bottom line everyone must deal with at some point is, “why do I serve God?” What would it take for you to “walk away from your faith?” I recall meeting a man during my years as a pastor who felt that “God wasn’t delivering.” For him, Christ’s death on the cross for our sins was nice, but not enough to keep his devotion. Unfortunately, there are many who take that attitude when the expectations and circumstances of life don’t materialize.
In Job we learn that it is not just a matter of faith and trust, but one of integrity and our view of God. Job’s wife taunted him with the words, “are you still holding on to your integrity?” Concerning Job’s response we read, “In spite of everything that had happened, Job did not sin by blaming God….Even in all this suffering Job said nothing against God.” (Job. 1:22;2:10)
I reminded of the words of Habakkuk 3:17,18 “Even though the fig trees have no fruit and no grapes grow on the vines, even though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no grain, even though the sheep all die and the cattle stalls are empty,I will still be joyful and glad, because the Lord God is my savior.” How many “even thoughs” could happen in your life and your response be “I will still be joyful and glad, because God is my savior.”
I like the words of Romans 12:1 in the Living Bible, “I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living sacrifice, holy—the kind he can accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?”
Our response to the Lord is to be based on what He has done for us and not what we get in return. I am thankful for the provisions of God’s blessings and His promise to provide for our needs and to care for us in all situations. But when the times come when those benefits are tested, our heart is revealed as to our true motives and expectations.