Job 23

“If I head east, His isn’t there; If I head west, I won’t detect Him, if I turn north, I don’t spot Him; in the south He is veiled, and I still don’t see Him. Yet He knows the way I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My feet have stayed in His footsteps; I keep to His way without turning aside. I don’t withdraw from His lips’ command; I treasure His words more than my daily food.” Job 23:8-12 (CJB)

Because I have taught the Bible in coffeehouses, I am always on the lookout for a new cool location. On one occasion, I stumbled onto a vibey coffeehouse, almost hidden in a downtown neighborhood. The shop’s owner told me he considered his business to be a ministry, so I began thinking we had another Bible study location. But when I asked him to define what he meant by the word “ministry,” the owner told me he was a “universalist Christian.” What?  Oxymoron. Basically, he believes all religions lead to Heaven, and no specific religion has a corner on the complete truth.

Now, if “Christian” means “follower of Christ” (lit: follower of Messiah), how could this fellow deny the words of Jesus?

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life: No one comes to the Father except  through Me.” John 14:6 (ESV)

According to Job, God cannot be found in the “discipline-without-personal-relationship” philosophies that define Eastern religion. God also cannot be found in the “Liberty-without-accountability” philosophies that define Western religion. Go to the North or South, and you won’t find Him there, either. God can only be fully found in His Word, as Job admits at the end of today’s passage.

Can we honestly say, as Job professed, that our feet have stayed in the path of Jesus’ footsteps? He is, after all, the Word made flesh.  

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14a (ESV)

Can we say that we have kept His way and not strayed to the right or left (east or west) of it?

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law My servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.” Joshua 1:7 (NIV)

If you are undergoing a personal “trial,” remember to stay faithful to God’s Word, the Bible, and be faithful to the “Word-made-flesh,” Jesus. When your season of testing is over, you shall come forth as gold. I love God’s promises!