Truth that Matters: God sees

Job's friends meant well, I suppose, but their "encouraging words" were anything but encouraging. Even worse, they had just enough truth in their soliloquies to make them dangerous. 

Eliphaz claimed that clouds are a hiding place for God. The clouds, he believed, hid The Almighty and prevented Him from seeing us. 

Job was not convinced.

For Job, being in the midst of his suffering was like being trapped in a dense fog. 

No matter which way he turned, Job could not see the hand of God. In the midst of his pain and sorrow, he felt separated from God and alone in his suffering.

Job understood, however, that his feelings and his reality were not the same. 

Job knew that His Redeemer lives and he knew that His Redeemer sees. 

"He knows the way I take..." Job 23:10 nasb

God had not lost track of Job. Suffering and grief had not obscured God's vision. Job's response to his suffering and grief had not cut him off from God. He was not alone.

God sees.

Just as Hagar found, when she was sent away into the desert and separated from all she knew, God was there. He saw her and met her, right where she was. She understood, at last, that Jehovah is the God who sees.

El Roi

We, too, can easily feel separated from God by circumstances or by sin. It's common to feel isolated in our suffering, but we are not. 

We serve a God who sees us, no matter where we are, no matter how far away from Him we roam.

We may be controlled by our feelings, but God is not. He is. He sees. He lives. Whether our feelings tell us so, or not.

Take heart, then, in the truth that God sees us in our suffering and distress, regardless of how we feel. He sees and He is nearer than we realize.

He is here. 

We are not alone.

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photo courtesy freeimages.com

In case you missed one of this week's posts, here are the links:  A Matter of Perspective, Living in Goshen: God's Best, Embracing Our Personal Gethsemane, What is the Point of Suffering: Extracting the Precious, Mamie and the Ink Stain, The Blizzard That Was Not, and The Truth That Matters Most: My Redeemer Lives.

Be sure to check out my new Amazon Author Page.

#Job #Godsees #truth #ChronologicalBible #Christian #faith

Finding Christmas: Separating Truth and Fiction

It saddens me that I need to say this, but someone must.

Santa Claus is not a part of the Holy Trinity and he is not watching us or our children.

Jesus is absolute truth. Santa is fiction, just as Cat in the Hat and Barney the purple dinosaur are fiction. Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not against Santa Claus. I'm simply for Jesus. 

I'm an avid supporter of fiction. I relish the way truth can be taught with stories, but blending truth and fiction serves only to create confusion.

Yes. I read Santa stories to my son when he was small, but I made it clear that Santa was fiction. I explained it as a game adults and children play. A sometimes confusing game. 

I know most parents don't tell their children this, but I told Ryan it was easier for people to embrace Santa than to embrace Jesus for one simple reason. The mythical Santa gives presents and temporary happiness. Jesus gives us Himself and expects us to obey Him. He brings joy that lasts. 

It's easier to accept presents from Santa than to give ourselves to Christ, even if Santa is not real.

It's no wonder the world is confused about Christmas. We, the Christians who should know better, have played the Santa game with such enthusiasm that we've convinced the world Christmas is as much about Santa as it is about Jesus. 

The world has happily accepted Santa. I wonder, though, if we'd spent as much time and money celebrating Jesus as we have Santa, would the world understand Jesus a little better? Would they be drawn to Him?

It is El Roi, The God Who Sees, who is watching, and the Son of God, Jesus, who is the greatest gift-giver, for He gave Himself.

Mary recognized the watchfulness of God. He had seen her poverty, her low status as a woman in a male-dominated world, her seeming insignificance. He had taken note of her and He entrusted her with the gift of His Son.

"For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave..." (Luke 1:48 nasb)

He knows us, too. He has taken note of us, our status, our insignificance and, incredibly, He has entrusted us with the gift of His Son, too.  

It is our job as disciples to communicate that truth of Jesus with clarity to a world that has basked in its confusion.

God wrapped Himself in flesh, squeezed all His God-ness into the form of a baby, and came to live with us, walk with us, laugh with us, weep with us. Before He left, He died for us and rose again. He sent His Spirit to stay with us and help us through this mixed-up, confusing world. 

We have great news, and it's much better than a fat man in a red suit with a bag of toys. We have news that can change the world. It would change the world, if we would only tell it.

This Christmas, let's get our stories straight. Accept fiction as fiction and celebrate the Truth as never before. Celebrate the Savior who can not only save us from our sins but redeem a world that is filled with darkness and hate. 

Christ has come and He is love. It's the best truth of all. Let's tell the world, especially at Christmas.

~~~~~~~~~~ In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links: Finding Christmas: When Life is Less than Perfect, Finding Christmas: Clear Vision, Finding Christmas: Making Choices that Count, Finding Christmas: Truth, Tradition, and Choice,  Finding Christmas: The Joy of Relationship, Finding Christmas: The Word of God, and Finding Christmas: The Importance of Surrender.

The most read post of the last week: Finding Christmas: When Life is Less than Perfect

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 #Advent #keepChristinChristmas #MerryChristmas #JesusChrist #disciple #Santa #truthorfiction