The Strength of God

Job 22:19-38
19 The righteous see their ruin and rejoice; the innocent mock them, saying, 20 ‘Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire devours their wealth.’21 “Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you. 22 Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart. 23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent 24 and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, 25 then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you. 26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God. 27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. 28 What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.

We will be harassed for our faith but God will use us and our pain and suffering to bless others. But in order for this to happen, we need to first submit so that we can find the peace that we are meant to have with God. It takes God to restore us from our pain. It is through our pain that God can really restore us to Him. No matter what happens, He will restore us to His glory.

Job 23:10-1210 But he knows the way that I take;when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. 11 My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. 12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

It doesn't matter how crappy our path is that we have chosen, how much pain comes out of our history, God can always lead us back to His plan. He does call us to follow His path, but even when we stumble and stray, we can be brought back. His word will always be strong in direction as long as we are open.

Job 27:2-6
2 “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made my life bitter, 3 as long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils, 4 my lips will not say anything wicked,
and my tongue will not utter lies. 5 I will never admit you are in the right; till I die, I will not deny my integrity. 6 I will maintain my innocence and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.

It is imperative that we praise & celebrate God in all things. I will never in this life deny God, and it is impossible in the next. I must maintain my righteousness through Christ, because I cannot meet that standard on my own. In this declaration, Job is not saying that God has caused him pain, but is instead acknowledging that it is Satan who has caused him torment.

Job 28:20-28
20 Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? 21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds in the sky. 22 Destruction and Death say, “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.” 23 God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells, 24 for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. 25 When he established the force of the wind and measured out the waters, 26 when he made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm,
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it; he confirmed it and tested it. 28 And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”

The wisdom I possess is not my own. My understanding is not my own. Even death & destruction only have heard rumors. That is how powerful the Lord is. That ultimate wisdom and understanding is something that only the Lord can know demonstrates the vastness of all there is to know.

Psalm 34:4
I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We so often seek deliverance from our fears that are controlling our lives. It is the Lord who lifts us up, but first we must seek Him. When we come before the Lord, He hears every request that we place before Him. He will be our shield and protector from all that we encounter.

Psalm 23
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

This is a guarantee that the Lord will shepherd and protect each of us as we continue in our walk with God. When we are walking with the Lord, we are able to find our refreshment and comfort in Him. His protection and provision will always be with us. It is when we seek after God with all of our heart, soul, body, and mind that we draw closer to God. It is also a promise that we will never be alone. The last verse of this psalm is the ultimate guarantee, that if we seek and serve God in all that He asks, we will be forever joined with Him in heaven.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through him who gives me strength.
2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

When we are weak and vulnerable, that is when God is most able to truly demonstrate His strength through us. Paul was tested, just as we are.

Luke 4:1-13
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” 5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” 9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

If Jesus is the Son of God and was tempted, then why should we expect any less? It also says that the devil did not leave Him alone forever, but only left until opportunity presented itself again. How many times does Satan tell us "I'll give you everything that you ever wanted if you just serve me. I'll do everything for you if you just follow my worldly lead." But Jesus gives us the example to resist temptation. We can't resist on our own all the time though, because we will find ourselves exhausted very quickly. It is through God that we are strengthened to carry on even when our own strength is exhausted.