Selwyn continues to look ‘at the effects which divine mystery can have upon us. Not only does it silence us and expose our double-mindedness, it can also compel us to struggle. In the atmosphere of mystery we are forced to wrestle honestly with God. Mystery draws out of our soul both our desire for God and our (self-centred) demand for explanations or reflief.’
In today’s study, Selwyn draws our attention to Job, who pleads with God to answer his questions – Job wants to understand the reasons behind his suffering – and given the scale of loss that Job suffered it’s only natural for him to seek answers to, the universal question; ’Why, is this happening to me?’ The important lesson that comes out of Job’s story is that we are often not given an answer. In the case of Job, Satan claims that Job is only blameless and upright because God has blessed the work of Job’s hands. Job suffers terribly but does not curse God during his suffering, and so, Satan’s claim is proven to be false and God’s confidence in Job is vindicated. Job has no knowledge of Satan’s accusation. The story ends well; Chapter 42, verse 10: ‘After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.’
I found the next point an interesting one: ‘There are some who feel it is impertinent to ask honest questions of God – and so they bury them in the subconscious. But anything buried in our subconscious is never buried dead – it is buried alive. And because it is alive it struggles for expression; it tries to get out.’ In a realtionship that is built on love and trust, there are no secrets – Jesus knows every dark corner of our subconscious – and I’m sure he yearns for us to share with Him every aspect of our lives. He may not answer all our questions but He will not fail to provide us with the strength to continue with our journey – do you agree?
Today’s conclusion is also very good: ‘If we draw back from telling God exactly how we feel in the presence of mystery, and refuse to acknowledge our spiritual struggle, we may lose the voice to cry out for mercy. And that would be a most terrible thing.’ I think that if we do draw back from telling God exactly how we feel – then, we may also be withdrawing from the close relationship we may have had with our loving God.
Asking hard questions
Selwyn continues to look ‘at the effects which divine mystery can have upon us. Not only does it silence us and expose our double-mindedness, it can also compel us to struggle. In the atmosphere of mystery we are forced to wrestle honestly with God. Mystery draws out of our soul both our desire for God and our (self-centred) demand for explanations or reflief.’
In today’s study, Selwyn draws our attention to Job, who pleads with God to answer his questions – Job wants to understand the reasons behind his suffering – and given the scale of loss that Job suffered it’s only natural for him to seek answers to, the universal question; ’Why, is this happening to me?’ The important lesson that comes out of Job’s story is that we are often not given an answer. In the case of Job, Satan claims that Job is only blameless and upright because God has blessed the work of Job’s hands. Job suffers terribly but does not curse God during his suffering, and so, Satan’s claim is proven to be false and God’s confidence in Job is vindicated. Job has no knowledge of Satan’s accusation. The story ends well; Chapter 42, verse 10: ‘After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.’
I found the next point an interesting one: ‘There are some who feel it is impertinent to ask honest questions of God – and so they bury them in the subconscious. But anything buried in our subconscious is never buried dead – it is buried alive. And because it is alive it struggles for expression; it tries to get out.’ In a realtionship that is built on love and trust, there are no secrets – Jesus knows every dark corner of our subconscious – and I’m sure he yearns for us to share with Him every aspect of our lives. He may not answer all our questions but He will not fail to provide us with the strength to continue with our journey – do you agree?
Today’s conclusion is also very good: ‘If we draw back from telling God exactly how we feel in the presence of mystery, and refuse to acknowledge our spiritual struggle, we may lose the voice to cry out for mercy. And that would be a most terrible thing.’ I think that if we do draw back from telling God exactly how we feel – then, we may also be withdrawing from the close relationship we may have had with our loving God.