“Your Will Above All Else, My Purpose Remains”
Introduction:
“Your will above all else
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing You praise “
“In my heart and my soul
Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out Lord”
These lyrics are from the song: “From the inside out”. This song has always remained close to me for many years. When I think about why this song has stayed with me, a few things come to mind. Yes, it has a catchy melody. Yes, it has great dynamics which build up into a powerful crescendo…but if I’m being honest, it is the message and lyrics that really keep me coming back to it.
What about these lyrics in particular? When I sing these words, it communicates more than just shallow emotion. It communicates submission. Submission to God’s perfect will, above all else. It reminds me that it is not all about me and what I want. It reminds me that I need to step back and acknowledge that God is in control and that we must give Him the praise, honor and glory. Regardless of whether I ‘like’ the outcome or not, I need to lose myself and my own desires…because His purposes and His ways are beyond my capacity to comprehend.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
-Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV
Devotional:
As I wrapped up my study in the book of Job last week, the Isaiah passage cited above was one that came to mind as we see how Job’s story resolves. In some ways we see resolution, and in some ways we don’t.
The Lord’s response to Job’s accusations spans chapters 38-41 and it is very humbling. At no point does God give Job a detailed explanation as to exactly why Job has been afflicted…instead, He challenges Job by painting a picture of His complete and total control over creation itself and His infinite knowledge and wisdom over it…
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
-Job 38:4-7 ESV
Well, the obvious answer to these questions is…‘No, Lord…I was not there’. The Lord continues to challenge Job and poses another big question to him in chapter 40…
6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
7 “Dress for action[a] like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
8 Will you even put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?
9 Have you an arm like God,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?
-Job 40:6-9 ESV
God is laying this out very bluntly for Job…after all, Job had been pretty blunt himself in some of his speeches earlier in the book. He had made some bold accusations toward God. In many ways, we ask the same questions that Job had asked in the book. We struggle with the same things. Sometimes we question why we suffer or why others suffer. What God is trying to get through to Job, is that this is something we cannot fully understand. God has a plan. God has a purpose…He knows the reasons for Job’s suffering, and He knows the reasons for our suffering. We are simply called to trust. To submit to His plan and His will and know that one day, whether here on this earth or in the New Heavens and New Earth…one day it will be revealed to us…
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
-Romans 8:18 ESV
So how does Job respond?
Then Job answered the Lord and said:
2 “I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
4 ‘Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.’
5 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
6 therefore I despise myself,
and repent[a] in dust and ashes.”
-Job 42:1-6 ESV
Job comes to the realization that he was speaking of things that he did not understand. His response is submission and repentance. The wonderful thing about Job’s story…is that it does not end in ‘dust and ashes’. It ends with mercy and restoration. The opening line from our song: “From the inside out” says this:
“A thousand times I’ve failed
Still Your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
I’m caught in Your grace”
We see this in God’s response to Job. Job obeys God and prays for His friends…and then we read:
10 And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11 Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil[b] that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money[c] and a ring of gold.
-Job 42:10-11 ESV
What is important to notice, is that God did not tell Job ahead of time that His fortunes would be restored after he prayed for his friends. This shows that Job acted out of obedience to God, accepting that his situation may not change. He did not obey out of an expectation that God would give him something in return. God’s restoration of Job is simply a gift of mercy and grace. It points towards a future restoration and a future hope.
Many of us like Job have experienced suffering in our lives or have witnessed suffering around us. Even daily, things don’t always go the way we want them to go or how we plan them. The point is that we are so infinitely shortsighted when compared to God and His infinite wisdom and foresight. He is Alpha and Omega. At times, things may not make sense to us and we may not know the answers or the purposes behind why these things happen…because realistically, we cannot fully comprehend God’s plan and His purposes.
We are called to submit to God’s will, judgement and plan. We are called to trust that He is working things out for a greater glory that will be revealed to us. In that…we can rest and find peace.
Sean Wagner