“Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer it.”
– Job 40:2

Have you ever questioned or argued with how God was running the universe? It’s OK to be honest with yourself! In its fallenness, the world can be confusing. Things don’t work the way we think they should, particularly when we, or someone we care about, is suffering for no obvious reason. And so, we can be tempted to question God’s management. We can be tempted to doubt His wisdom or goodness toward us. It happens.

Here’s the lesson God is teaching Job – the universe is extraordinarily complex. Determining what’s best for all of creation across all of time is beyond human capacity. And so, God bluntly asks Job question after question, dozens upon dozens of them regarding creation, weather, nature, and more. God’s point is that if a human can’t answer these fundamental questions about creation, he or she simply isn’t qualified to have that conversation about what’s best for all of creation across all of time. We simply aren’t.

God’s work throughout time has often been compared to the weaving of an elaborate tapestry. On the front side is great beauty and order. The back side, however, appears to be a chaotic mess of colors and threads. Constrained by time, limited in our lifespan, and finite in our knowledge, we live, breathe, suffer, delight, and see only the back side. God, the master weaver, sees the front side and knows how to weave even our worst seasons of life into a beautiful, glorious tapestry.

Questioning God’s management will bring you no answers. It will bring you no peace. It will bring you no comfort. What will bring you peace and comfort is trusting God’s perfect wisdom, knowledge, goodness, and mercy. Pursue relationship with God, not answers from Him. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. #FollowJesus

“Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;
love her, and she will guard you.”
– Proverbs 4:6

Here the writer of Proverbs praises the blessings of wisdom. In Proverbs, wisdom is often spoken of as a person, a woman who nourishes life in the best way imaginable. If we pursue, embrace, and love wisdom, she will guide, guard, and protect us – physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. Wisdom in the Bible isn’t just about deep sayings that belong in fortune cookies. Biblical wisdom teaches us how to skillfully and practically live in a world designed by a good and wise God Who is the source of all wisdom.

If you pursue God’s wisdom, letting it soak into your soul, it will help you navigate the challenges of modern life. Read and meditate on the Proverbs and Psalms regularly. Bring your mind into contact with God’s wisdom every day. Scripture may never speak of the technologies, opportunities, and dilemmas you struggle with, but it will show you the way to respond to them in a manner pleasing to God. A life lived according to God’s wisdom is very likely to experience material blessings, peace, contentment, and flourishing here on earth. It will certainly be blessed by God in eternity.

So make time to grow in wisdom. Don’t just gain information – develop wisdom. Wisdom begins with knowing the Lord and holding Him in worshipful awe and reverence. It grows as you nourish the Holy Spirit within you and meditate on the Bible regularly. It develops when you genuinely want wisdom to rule over your life. The book of James tells Christians that we pray for wisdom if we lack it, confident that God loves to answer that prayer. So, love and pursue God’s wisdom. You won’t regret your decision! #FollowJesus

“Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.” – Matthew 21:43

The invitation to enter God’s Kingdom isn’t extended based on ethnic identity, religious heritage, or national citizenship. It isn’t a birthright or something to be taken for granted. It also isn’t a reward for a job well done. None of us deserve this invitation! It isn’t for people who’ve served their time in church or put on the best displays of religiosity. It doesn’t come based on the faith of your parents or grandparents.

The invitation into God’s Kingdom is extended to everyone through faith in Jesus Christ. It’s a gift of God’s grace rather than something anyone deserves or earns. All anyone must do to enter God’s Kingdom is repent of their sins and trust their life to their risen Lord Jesus. This is the fruit of the Kingdom – repentance and faith. Transformed lives of submission to Jesus. The joy of amazing grace rather than burdensome works.

This is the only way into God’s Kingdom. There is no other. No path of heritage or hard work. No do-it-yourself trail. Embrace Jesus. #FollowJesus. Obey Jesus. Live a life that reveals the Kingdom fruit that supernaturally grows in every true Kingdom citizen.

“Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.” – Matthew 21:31

Ouch! This is a message the chief priests and religious leaders certainly didn’t want to hear. To learn that despised sinners would enter God’s Kingdom before the holiest men of the land must have been shocking and offensive. But they needed to hear this message because entrance into God’s Kingdom isn’t based on genealogy, power, prestige, title, or appearances. Entrance into God’s Kingdom is a matter of grace, faith, and the heart.

God’s Kingdom is wide open for people with shameful, disgusting, vile, or evil backgrounds. They simply need to recognize their sin, genuinely repent of it, and embrace Jesus. In God’s Kingdom there is love, embrace, healing, and restoration for everyone who has messed up badly, done terrible things, and asked God’s forgiveness in the name of Jesus.

However, God’s Kingdom is shut tight for everyone who likes to look holy and religious without humbling themselves to accept God’s grace. The gates are shut for those planning to enter based on their public practice of religion, their Bible knowledge, their power, or their position in the church. Nobody can enter God’s Kingdom on their own because God’s Kingdom is a place of perfection and none of us are perfect. The only way into God’s Kingdom is through faith in Jesus, the Son of God, Who was perfect on our behalf.

It doesn’t matter if the first few acts of your story have been full of sin, shame, selfishness, cruelty, greed, or guilt. It doesn’t matter if the first few acts have been full of self-righteous, arrogant, harsh, proud legalism and hypocritical displays of visible holiness. What matters is whether you have turned from all that and embraced Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Have you? #FollowJesus

“In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.”
– Psalm 18:6

This is David’s story but it’s true for all of God’s people. If you’re in Christ, this is your story! God hears you when you call to Him. When you’re in distress, call upon the Lord and know that He’s listening. Cry out for help. He absolutely hears you, you don’t need to wonder or doubt. Your voice is heard and your cries touch the heart of your loving Father in Heaven.

That doesn’t mean you’ll get instant relief. David certainly didn’t. He wrote this psalm when everything finally came together and he was safe, at last, from all his enemies. That relief from his distress was years in coming. Before that day, there was a great deal of danger, running away, living like an outlaw, and hiding in caves. Nonetheless, God always heard David’s cries. God always cared for the man after His own heart. God was always with David, guiding, protecting, and strengthening him. Likewise, God will be with you and sustain you in your distress, however long it may last. You aren’t alone, your prayers aren’t bouncing off the ceiling, God loves you.

Then why did David’s relief take so long to arrive? Why did God wait so long to set His anointed one free from his distress? Because David’s time in the wilderness, in the caves, and in distress made him who he needed to be. That time forged his character and solidified his faith. That time taught David to completely rely on God and to recognize His presence even in the darkest seasons of life. David wouldn’t have been the king he became if he hadn’t spent so much time in the wilderness crying out to God. God left David there because He loved him and had great things prepared for him. Nonetheless, God was with him every step of the way, he was never abandoned or ignored.

This is also true for you. You may well be going through a long season in the wilderness. That doesn’t mean God is deaf, distant, or uncaring. It means He’s forging your character in Christ, strengthening and ripening your faith, and giving you opportunity to know Him better. Keep praying, keep trusting, draw near to God and He will draw near to you. #FollowJesus