Day 148, or May 28, God responds His own way every time. Our thoughts today are rooted
in Job chapter 33 verse 14. For God does speak, now one way, now another, though no one perceives
it.
Now the big picture surrounding this verse. In addition to his three friends, Eliphaz,
Bildad, and Zophar, Job has to listen to the opinions of a young man called Elihu, who
continues, as he continues his debate with Job, which he started a little earlier. It
seems Elihu is addressing Job and his friends after seeing that previous talking has been
unproductive. Despite his youthfulness, he speaks very frankly to them, and warns Job
that if he continues to be as stubborn as he has been previously, he is simply adding
to his list of sins that will all have to be forgiven by God, and only then if Job repents
and asks for forgiveness. He makes a good point that just because Job has missed what
God said, it doesn't mean God hasn't spoken. He tells him not to limit God's speaking
to words alone.
And now our action step for today. Many of us fail to see God working in this world due
to our vision being too narrow. Often when we pray, we ask God to intervene, and we are
very specific about how. When God does intervene, sometimes He chooses to take an unexpected
path and we miss Him. We keep praying, and He keeps saying, I've answered you, but you
weren't listening. It's rather like when Rhoda, a servant girl, answers the door to
Peter, who has just been miraculously released from jail, in Acts chapter 12. When she tells
the good news to the prayer meeting, who are praying for his release, she is scolded. Verse
15 tells us, You're out of your mind, they said. When she insisted, they decided, It
must be his angel. They were praying for God to do something about Peter's imprisonment,
and God decided to perform a miracle this time. We need to concentrate on what we're
asking God for, rather than how we think He ought to do it.