Tag: god’s absence

Be Honest (Job 42:7-9)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Job’s Sacrifice, by William Blake (1757-1827)

After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you did not speak the truth about me, the way my servant Job did. Now take seven bulls and seven rams to Job and offer them as a sacrifice for yourselves. Job will pray for you, and I will answer his prayer and not disgrace you the way you deserve. You did not speak the truth about me as he did.”

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar did what the Lord had told them to do, and the Lord answered Job’s prayer. (Good News Translation)

After all of Job’s terrible trouble in losing everything and everyone he cared about; after all of the longwinded speeches of his supposed friends; and after God’s breaking of silence through unanswerable questions; the epilogue of the story brings us God’s verdict concerning Job and his situation.

God finally dispenses his assessment, and renders his judgment. The Lord was not at all happy with Job’s companions; and was pleased with Job. Therefore, God made a decision against the companions, and for Job.

Four times in three verses, God refers to Job as “my servant,” but does not describe the friends as such. It is Job, and not Job’s friends, who spoke truth. Only Job spoke words consistent with reality.

At best, the friends spoke unhelpful words. At the worst, their words were hurtful and full of hubris. In retrospect, they probably should have at least kept their mouths shut. And ideally, they could have been true comforters, and consoled Job in his agony.

This gets at something which I believe we all need to get a firm hold upon: Not extending help, mercy, and consolation to those in dire straits, pisses-off God.

It irks God because it is a misrepresentation of God’s basic character, and distorts God’s true nature.

Being dishonest and pretending to be okay when one is not…

telling someone who is hurting to suck it up and confess their sin…

believing that the world operates according to good guys getting health and wealth, and bad guys getting sickness and poverty…

downright angers the holy and merciful God of the universe.

Job, unlike the Three Stooges he had as friends, affirmed what is right and true:

  • God is the Sovereign of the universe who dispenses both good and bad (Job 2:10)
  • God is the One who gives and who takes away (Job 1:21)
  • God is the Lord to whom we must bow in willing submission (Job 42:5-6)

In the dialogue with his friends, Job rightly insisted that God is sometimes an enemy, and that God’s inexplicable silence and absence is unjust and destructive.

I don’t want you to easily pass over what I just referred to, or to flip-out over it. In truth, God is both present and absent. And God’s absence hurts. Sometimes, it hurts like hell. We must affirm that God is sometimes silent. There are times when it feels like God is on vacation and is paying no attention.

I want you to get ahold of this important dimension to the spiritual life:

Human pretentions and posturing only present a false self to God and the world. That sort of behavior angers God. The Lord wants honest vulnerability.

Whereas Job’s friends insisted on maintaining theological respectability and an ordered theological system, Job essentially said, “To hell with all that!”

And Job was right.

Job contended with God. He cried, yelled, and exposed his innermost thoughts and feelings to God. Job was real. No phoniness existed with him. Yet, Job did not forsake God, curse God, or say there was no God.

The genuine spiritual life is always a tricky and risky combination of devotion and confrontation toward God.

Job presented his true self to God.

Job’s friends presented to God what they believed God wanted to see and hear.

There is a big difference between those two approaches.

God affirmed Job. God was against Job’s friends.

Maybe today it is necessary to rethink what you have always believed it is which gets God’s affirmation, and what raises God’s ire.

If we cannot be honest about what we are really thinking, and about how we are really doing, then we are hopeless people. In that state, no one can help us. And God is not pleased.

The final verdict of God is that only the prayers of one who speaks truth, like Job, will be effectively heard. Less honest prayers, like those of Job’s wife and friends, are foolish and ineffective.

One of the big overall messages of the Book of Job is this: For God’s sake, be honest!

My own culture is one of Midwest nice. That’s a nice way of saying that Midwesterners are mostly dishonest creatures. Every Midwesterner I know, understands being nice and polite to someone’s face, and then speaking gossip and slander to their back.

Ask any Midwestern American how they are doing, and they’ll tell you, “Just fine,” or “Great!” or “The sun is shining,” or some other deflection or blathering lie about how they are really doing. More than once, I have actually heard a depressed person with suicidal ideation tell another person that they are “doing fine today.”

That sort of claptrap gets us nowhere, especially with God. The Lord is okay with you and I telling him what we really think, even if we are extremely upset with God. God isn’t bothered by our anger, yelling, or messed-up thinking. But God is bothered by our pretending, our dishonesty, and our false presentations.

None of this means that we must wear our heart on our sleeve. In fact, I have found that persons who declare to me that they “tell it like it is,” are some of the most false people on the planet. It’s usually a sign that I’m not going to get from them how they are really feeling. It usually means they’re angry, and want to talk smack against someone, without ever examining themselves.

Don’t be a jerk. There are nice jerks, and obnoxious jerks, but in the end, they’re all just jerks. You and I really can speak honest words of truth, without being a jerk about it.

Job was honest, real, raw, hurt, angry, sad, lonely, and grieving out of his mind. And he was no jerk. And God affirmed him.

Personally, I’d rather have God’s affirmation than anyone else’s. How about you?

Almighty God, help us to speak and act truthfully in all situations. May we be honest with ourselves and with others, building trust and integrity in our relationships. Thank you for your example of truth and honesty. Help us to follow in your footsteps and to live with authenticity.

Guide us to be honest even when it is difficult, recognizing that honesty is the foundation of trust and respect. Help us to confront our own falsehoods and to seek the truth in all aspects of our lives. May we create environments where honesty is valued and encouraged, fostering open and transparent communication.

We pray for those who struggle with honesty, asking for your guidance and support in their journey towards truthfulness. Thank you for the clarity and peace that comes from living honestly. Help us to embrace and uphold this value every day. Amen.

Living Without Answers (Job 41:12-34)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

“I will not keep silent concerning its limbs
    or its mighty strength or its splendid frame.
Who can strip off its outer garment?
    Who can penetrate its double coat of mail?
Who can open the doors of its face?
    There is terror all around its teeth.
Its back is made of shields in rows,
    shut up closely as with a seal.
One is so near to another
    that no air can come between them.
They are joined one to another;
    they clasp each other and cannot be separated.
Its sneezes flash forth light,
    and its eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
From its mouth go flaming torches;
    sparks of fire leap out.
Out of its nostrils comes smoke,
    as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
Its breath kindles coals,
    and a flame comes out of its mouth.
In its neck abides strength,
    and terror dances before it.
The folds of its flesh cling together;
    it is firmly cast and immovable.
Its heart is as hard as stone,
    as hard as the lower millstone.
When it raises itself up the gods are afraid;
    at the crashing they are beside themselves.
Though the sword reaches it, it does not avail,
    nor does the spear, the dart, or the javelin.
It counts iron as straw
    and bronze as rotten wood.
The arrow cannot make it flee;
    slingstones, for it, are turned to chaff.
Clubs are counted as chaff;
    it laughs at the rattle of javelins.
Its underparts are like sharp potsherds;
    it spreads itself like a threshing sledge on the mire.
It makes the deep boil like a pot;
    it makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
It leaves a shining wake behind it;
    one would think the deep to be white-haired.
On earth it has no equal,
    a creature without fear.
It surveys everything that is lofty;
    it is king over all that are proud.” (New Revised Standard Version)

In a long anticipated response, God finally spoke to Job with his companions present. And it was nothing like anyone expected.

Today’s Old Testament lesson continues God’s questioning of Job, and talking of the great Leviathan – a large and uncontrollable creature.

Trying to figure out exactly what Leviathan is or was (e.g. a dragon, a dinosaur, or some dang demon) is not the point of having this chapter in Holy Scripture.

We can become obsessed with having our questions answered, everything neatly categorized and understood, every problem and mystery solved to our satisfaction.

If the Book of Job teaches us anything, it is that there are questions for which there are no answers this side of heaven. There are problems which we humans cannot logically and scientifically solve.

Ironically, we discover the presence of God through God’s absence; and hear the voice of God through God’s silence.

Any encounter we may have with God will typically shatter any preconceived notions about divinity. Any experience with God shall prevent us from packaging up an answer with some nice pretty paper and bows, as if we were enjoying a delightful Christmas at home.

Facing God is much more like coming face to face with who you really are, and what motivations and intentions are really in your heart. It’s more like Halloween than Christmas. It’s staring at a scary monstrous Leviathan, and not a bright jolly Santa Claus.

Coming to grips with our fears and anxieties, struggles and weaknesses, mortality and vulnerability, is the real sort of encounter people have with God. It’s not so much that God is scary; it’s we who are scary.

It’s scary what people will sometimes do in order to try and get answers to their questions. And it is equally scary what we will do to avoid the questions asked of us.

We don’t like hearing there are some things which are unanswerable. Yet, the mystery of God is real, which means that we are never going to know about everything we want to understand.

And we also don’t like being questioned. But what can you do, whenever you cannot move, and God begins peppering you with his own questions?

We would like to justify and vindicate ourselves – even rationalize our words and actions, if that’s what it takes. Yet, it is God alone who has the power to absolve and exonerate, to bring justice while in the teeth of injustice.

Furthermore, such justification comes in God’s own timing, not ours. Again, this is one of those realities which is far above us, for which we have only a very limited perspective on.

As we move ever closer to the end of the Book of Job, Job’s quest for answers and vindication hasn’t come, at least yet. We, along with Job, must handover the entire affair thoroughly to God in complete trust – without insisting that God say or do what I want God to say or do.

Living by faith is the only real option we have. All other options leave us in an existential angst, sliding toward nihilism.

Anyone who believes they can govern the world better than God, better brace themselves for some serious questioning.

There is not a person on this earth, including myself, that I would trust to run it for ten minutes. Because within ten seconds the world would be burning.

I don’t want that world.

I want a world with God – because I wholeheartedly believe that grace is the real and true operative force on this earth.

The grace of God allows us to see the divine without having to have our puny questions answered. Grace reassures us that we are not lost, that God sees and knows what is happening, and will do something about it.

So therefore, I can rest assured that everything is held in the sinewy strong arms of God. And no person, no monster, no Leviathan, is outside of God’s ability to effect justice and righteousness in the world.

It may take some time to realize complete and total justice, but God has given me enough faith to rest in mystery, and to live with uncertainty.

May it be so, to the glory of God.

Creator of the world, we pray

That you, with steadfast love, would keep

Your watch around us while we sleep.

From evil dreams defend our sight,

From fears and terrors of the night;

Tread underfoot our deadly foe

That we no sinful thought may know.

O Father, we ask your will to be done

Through Jesus Christ, your only Son;

And Holy Spirit, by whose breath

Our souls are raised to life from death. Amen.

There Is No God? (Psalm 53)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Nietzsche, by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (1863-1944)

Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”
    They are corrupt; they commit abominable acts;
    there is no one who does good.

God looks down from heaven on humankind
    to see if there are any who are wise,
    who seek after God.

They have all fallen away; they are all alike perverse;
    there is no one who does good,
    no, not one.

Have they no knowledge, those evildoers,
    who eat up my people as they eat bread
    and do not call upon God?

There they shall be in great terror,
    in terror such as has not been.
For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly;
    they will be put to shame, for God has rejected them.

O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
    When God restores the fortunes of his people,
    Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad. (New Revised Standard Version)

In 1888, the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche published his book, “The Antichrist.” Nietzsche used the phrase, “God is dead,” to express his idea that the Enlightenment, with its thorough rejection of all things subjective and intuitive, and the embrace of everything objective and observable, had eliminated the possibility of God’s existence.

Nietzsche simply named what a modern progressive society had become: We “enlightened” people have drained and divested ourselves of all divine mystery. Nietzsche wrote:

“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: Who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?”

Friedrich Nietzsche, The Antichrist

This was the nineteenth century equivalent of making the psalmist’s observation that there is a philosophy extant which states, “There is no God.” God is gone; humanity has replaced God with themselves.

Unlike Nietzsche, however, the psalmist takes the perspective of God, not humans. The Lord looks about for someone wise, someone who truly takes notice to see with spiritual eyes, hear with spiritual ears, discern a spiritual touch, smell the aroma of God, and taste that the Lord is good – rather than relying solely on the five basic human senses.

So, where is God? In the grave? No, he has risen, just as he said.

Just because there appears to be a profound absence of good in this world, does not necessarily mean that good is not here – or that God has somehow gone away, and perhaps never existed at all.

Any common fool can make bold proclamations whenever they embrace an epistemology all to themselves.

From God’s perspective, anyone can use their five physical senses. To only use them, and completely ignore other ways of knowing, is well, plain stupidity.

So then, where is God? Not hanging out with fools, drinking cheap dandelion wine, and smoking nasty inexpensive cigars. Rather, the Lord is in the company of the righteous; God is with wise persons who discern the divine presence.

Things are not always as they seem. Violence and oppression in the world does not warrant the interpretation that God is on vacation, doesn’t care, or simply doesn’t exist, at all. We are invited to see beyond or through the world’s crud to a Divine Being who is there, reachable, and very much cares about the state of humanity.

All of our human posturing and preening to appear that we have it all together is nothing more than a poorly produced television reality show to God. So, if the Lord chooses to change the channel, that does not translate that God is not viewing the screen.

Only a fool believes no one is watching.

If we ignore God, perhaps we should not be surprised or upset when divine Skittles from heaven don’t come raining down on us to enjoy.

Instead, we have the opportunity and the privilege of paying attention to the spiritual life.

There are divine resources available if we will but acknowledge, receive, and use them. Though they are abundant and free, we still have to ask for them with the humility that comes from realizing we are not the center of the universe.

Nietzsche is not exactly a person that many Christians would typically acknowledge, let alone refer to, and, for good reason. And yet, Nietzsche understood that when God is removed from societal norms, it leaves us with a nihilist worldview (the belief that nothing has any inherent importance, and that life lacks purpose and meaning).

I believe that Christianity, and/or a focus on the spiritual life, is a powerful and needed antidote to the despair of meaninglessness which is all around us.

If God is truly the ground of moral reality, and gives real shape to human purpose, then we have an effective way to center ourselves. Yet, if God is ignored to the point of being “dead” then there is nothing substantial for humanity to orient their lives around.

Try as we might to create, as Nietzsche did, an Übermensch(superman) in the form of the radically independent and strong person to fill the enormous spiritual void of God’s death, it is merely a façade covering our weakness and our foolishness as creatures.

I suggest we consider the psalmist as a reliable source of knowledge – that God is a force for justice and for good in the world – and that we explore what this means for us in our respective lives, families, communities, as well as in our public discourse and personal philosophy.

Is God gone? No, not really. It’s just that we humans tend to give God the stiff arm.

Almighty God, you called your church to be one, holy, universal and missional people. By your grace you have given us new life in Jesus Christ, and by your Spirit you have called us to proclaim his name throughout the nations. Awaken in us such a love for you and your world that we may boldly proclaim Jesus Christ by word and deed. May all people everywhere come to know you, and Christ’s power to save. Amen.

How Long, O Lord? (Psalm 80)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
    shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might;
    come and save us.

Restore us, O God;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.

How long, Lord God Almighty,
    will your anger smolder
    against the prayers of your people?
You have fed them with the bread of tears;
    you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors,
    and our enemies mock us.

Restore us, God Almighty;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.

You transplanted a vine from Egypt;
    you drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it,
    and it took root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shade,
    the mighty cedars with its branches.
Its branches reached as far as the Sea,
    its shoots as far as the River.

Why have you broken down its walls
    so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
Boars from the forest ravage it,
    and insects from the fields feed on it.
Return to us, God Almighty!
    Look down from heaven and see!
Watch over this vine,
    the root your right hand has planted,
    the son you have raised up for yourself.

Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;
    at your rebuke your people perish.
Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
    the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
Then we will not turn away from you;
    revive us, and we will call on your name.

Restore us, Lord God Almighty;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved. (New International Version)

What do you do when your life is not going as expected? How do you deal with the confusion of unwanted circumstances you didn’t ask for?

Nobody willingly signs up for chronic pain, constant hardship, debilitating situations, and unanswered prayer. And yet, all of us know what it feels like to have our hearts broken over a child, parent, or relative; or to be grief-stricken with either a physical malady, mental disease, emotional disorder, spiritual abuse, or some combination of them.

The psalmist most certainly knows your difficulty and your pain. That’s because he intimately knew God – and still had questions! In fact, all of us who worship and adore the Lord have faced the conundrum that God seems, at times, to be missing in action.

We may wonder, like the psalmist, where the God of the past is. Where is the One who manhandled enemies, provided for the godly, and brought abundant life? The Lord might sometimes seem to be foreign to our human condition, and far from our human experience of things.

There are plenty of stories in the Bible about God doing the miraculous, bringing deliverance, and extending help in dire situations. Yet, for many, in this present time, there is silence. Prayer after prayer brings nothing but bupkis from God. A sullen angst can easily settle into our spiritual bones.

It could also be that people we love and care for are experiencing too many hardships, boatloads of anxiety, and are wracked with worry. And we wonder why God has not risen up to answer our prayers on their behalf.

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me? (Psalm 13:1-2, NIV)

The very fact that with only a cursory look at the news there are children dying in war, senseless murders in the streets, and wanton destruction throughout the world, we may cry out, “Where is God in all this? Wake up! How long, O Lord, must we endure this!?”

Even the small tragedies of life might push us beyond what we can bear, because grief is stacked upon grief in a big lamentable sandwich of spiritual hurt. And if God seems nowhere to be found, our afflictions are multiplied.

The psalmist drew upon agricultural metaphors that his culture was quite familiar with. A society of farmers knows how much hard work is involved in their vocation – and the hours of anxiety and concern for the field to produce some crops and bear some fruit.

Farmers very much realize the power that nature can do through either drought or flood, hail or wind. The picture of the attentive farmer, gardener, and vinedresser is an apt picture of how God looks upon us.

I grew up on an Iowa farm. I have an intimate understanding of the requirements for tending to the land so that it will produce a crop, and yield a good harvest. Like many jobs, farming isn’t something that requires the same amount of attention every single day.

There are times and seasons for a high degree of activity, like planting in the Spring and harvesting in the Fall. At other times, there isn’t much to do but wait.

By no means does the farmer expect the plants to grow overnight. The faithful farmer learns to be patient, knowing that it will be weeks before anything breaks the ground; and that it will take all summer for the crops to grow and mature before they are ready for harvest.

In those times of inactivity, the corn stalks don’t start talking to one another about where the farmer went to, and whether he is off fishing or not. Even though the farmer is absent, the actions of the farmer are still very much evident.

Our own wonderings and questions about God’s presence and absence are all understandable and valid. Yet, we must keep in mind that there is continual evidence all around us that the Lord has been at work, and is still laboring as the Divine Gardener in ways we cannot see.

God is continually watching over us, ensuring that we have the proper conditions of sun, water, and good soil in order to grow, thrive, and produce a harvest of righteousness. We will still face the adverse circumstances of inclement weather, unfavorable weeds, and pests eating on and around us. Yet, we already and always have everything we need to live a successful spiritual life – without choking or starving to death.

We are not going to have all of our questions answered this side of heaven. We are, however, assured that God is good and can restore us when we are broken or failing to thrive. However, it just might take some time to do it, that’s all.

O God of heavenly powers, by the might of your command, drive away from our bodies all sickness and infirmity, and everything that brings us ill health of either body, mind, or spirit. Be present in your goodness with all your servants who are in need, that their weakness may be banished and strength restored; and that, with health renewed, they may bless your holy Name. Amen.