January 24, 2013 Submission

Read Job 40 Submission? Job 40:7 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. 8 Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? YOU are arguing with a friend, and if you sense you might be losing the argument, you shift into a new attack – even a personal attack because you “need” to win. The most important aspect of your view of right and wrong is for you to say, “I’m right.” Right is winning. You will not submit to your friend even if your friend is right. In a like manner, Job has essentially said, “Surely, God you are wrong. You are unjust in the ways you’ve treated me.” Job’s sense of right was to prove God wrong. Do you live that way? One of the biggest reasons people stay away from God’s Word, from his church and from a relationship with God is that they don’t want to hear, “You’re wrong.” Instead we often use life’s circumstances to condemn God. The common cry, “Why, God?” comes from our lips when hard things happen even if your decisions have caused the hard things. Amazingly, people who are in jail will even condemn God even though their criminal actions have imprisoned them. But admit it. You may not be in jail but you imprison yourself in the prideful prison called, “I’m right.” You’ll do that sometimes in subtle ways—“I’ll skip prayer today.”—and sometimes in defiant actions—“I’m never going back to church. The sermon made me feel I was wrong!” Yes, we are adept at telling God, “I’m right.” Blame someone, anyone but don’t blame yourself. Surely you’re smarter than God, aren’t you? It’s True! Submission is an admission, “God, you are God.”