You Are His Child

Job 8: 1-6

"Then Bildad the Shuhite answered: "How long will you say such things? Your words are no more than wind. God does not twist justice; the Almighty does not make wrong what is right. Your children sinned against God, and he punished them for their sins. But you should ask God for help and pray to the Almighty for mercy. If you are good and honest, he will stand up for you and bring you back where you belong. "

SITUATION Bildad told Job that his children had died because they sinned against God. Bildad believed that if Job repented, God would restore his wealth.

OBSERVATION Bildad's ignorance proved that not all advice is worth heeding. Be careful to choose counselors who can listen well as advise.

INSPIRATION Some time ago Denalyn (my wife) was gone for a couple of days and left me alone with the girls. Though the time was not without typical children's quarrels and occasional misbehavior, it went fine.

"How were the girls?" Denalyn asked when she got home.

"Good, No problem at all."

Jenna overheard my response, "We weren't good Daddy, she objected. "We fought once, we didn't do what you said once. We weren't good. How can you say we were good?"

Jenna and I had different perceptions of what pleases a father. She thought it depended upon what she did. It didn't. We think the same about God. We think his love rises and falls with out performance. It doesn't. I don't love Jenna for what she does. I love her for whose she is. She is mine.

God loves you for the same reason. He loves you for whose you are, you are his child. It was this love that pursued the Israelites. It was this love that sent the prophets. It was this love which wrapped itself in human flesh and deserted the birth canal of Mary. It was this love which walked the hard trails of Galilee and spoke to the hard hearts of the religious.

"This is not normal, Lord God," David exclaimed as he considered God's love. You are right, David. God's love is not normal love. It's not normal to love a murderer and adulterer, but God did when he loved David. It isn't normal to love a man who take his eyes off you, but such is God's love for Solomon. It isn't normal to love people who love stone idols more than they love you, but God did when he refused to give up on Israel. (From And the Angels Were Silent by Max Lucado)

APPLICATION Do you wonder if God really cares? Do you feel like he has left you to face your problems alone? Trust God to work in your life day by day? Let God be your source of security.

EXPLORATION God's Faithfulness -- 2 Kings 13:23; Isaiah 42:16; Hosea 2:19

The Devotional Bible - Experiencing the Heart of Jesus; Max Lucado General Editor; New Century Version, Thomas Nelson Bibles