“And the LORD said to Job: “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.”” (Job 40:1–2, ESV)
Last week my wife came down with all the symptoms of a virus. Several people at her work were sick. No doubt, she got the illness from one of them. As my wife just started to get better, I came down with the virus. Suffering from bouts of fever and congestion, I found it hard to concentrate. My body felt weak, and my joints hurt greatly.
Not able to do much but lay in bed and let my body work through the illness, I opened my Bible to spend a little extra time with God. Going through the pages of the Old Testament, I came across the passage above from the book of Job. In these verses, the Lord questioned Job about the actions of family and friends. When Job was suffering with his own illness, some blamed his woes on sin. They suggested Job repent and just give up. Others seemed to put the blame with God. They thought God was forcing Job to suffer for no reason. Job 40:1-2 contains God’s reply to Job and those who gave him advice. In these two verses, the Lord slammed their accusations. “The Lord said to Job: Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.” (Job 40:1-2). The Lord knew that Job and those around him were making assumptions about God’s guilt, God’s responsibility, God’s plan for Job, God’s purpose for illness and suffering. In reality, each of the accusers were “playing God”. They were making judgments about God’s rightness or wrongness. They were not showing faith; they were pronouncing judgment on God’s actions. The Lord God corrected their errors in judgment and their open sin with the scripture for today.
When people pronounce judgements upon God, make assumptions of God’s guilt, or make a complaint against God, they are “playing God”. It is all too easy to slip into this role, questioning God’s actions and God’s righteousness. You might wonder how human beings dare question the Almighty, but in pridefulness they often do. In fact, some make it a regular practice of criticizing God and God’s truth. For example, King Nebuchadnezzar of ancient Babylon brazenly stated how he had built the great city of Babylon “by his own power and for the glory of his majesty” (Daniel 4:30). With words such as this, King Nebuchadnezzar pridefully proclaimed his own greatness. The king was playing with fire because he was playing God. God determines the flow of history. God can grow kingdoms and cities. Just as easily, God can destroy them. What did God do when Nebuchadnezzar proclaimed his own “glory and majesty”? God struck the king down with an illness that left him weak and barely able to function. Only by confessing his own prideful sin against God was Nebuchadnezzar able to save his life.
Suffering from fevers and chills, I contemplated Nebuchadnezzar’s prideful sin that caused his own illness. I react differently to my own illnesses. I don’t question God. I ask for God’s healing. I seek to find spiritual meaning in these moments of weakness. I have often found that God used illness to make me slow down, pull back, spend a little more time around my family, and reevaluate if I wasn’t doing too many things. Illness often drove me to be closer to God. Illness didn’t make me question God or blame God. I didn’t want to play God. That is not to say that in history people haven’t done the opposite. Like Job’s friends or Nebuchadnezzar, all too many like to pass judgment on God and blame God. All too many humans even try to make themselves out to be worshipped like a god.
Communist leader Nikolai Ceausescu ruled Romania from the mid-1960’s through the 1980’s. He ruled with an iron fist. He was not afraid to give death sentences to thousands. He was a ruthless dictator. AND he was not above exalting himself and playing God. He persecuted Christians openly. He killed those who threatened his power. Then, Ceausescu took the next step. He demanded god-like pronouncements be made in his honor. In 1989, he “instructed the National Opera to produce a song in his honor that included these words: “Ceausescu is good, righteous, and holy.” He wanted this song to be sung on his 72nd birthday on January 26, 1990, but on December 25, 1989, he and his wife were executed. Although his overthrow was part of the anticommunist revolution that swept through eastern Europe, many Christians saw his sudden downfall as an act of God. One Romanian, Peter Dugulescu, said that it was “because he took for himself the glory of God.” (“Our Daily Bread”, August 2, 1992)
Throughout history and throughout the world, people throughout time have pridefully challenged God, God’s wisdom, or God’s sovereignty. Many, like Nebuchadnezzar and Ceausescu were struck down by God. God caused illness and death to initiate suffering. God wanted to save their souls from hell and damnation. Some confessed and repented of their prideful sins while “playing God”. Others stood up against God all the way to death. As the scripture states clearly, “God will not be mocked” (Galatians 6:7). God will not stand for those who desire to play God. Those who “argue with God shall answer for it" (Job 40:2).
For the prideful, God often uses illness to humble or destroy them. For the faithful, God will often use illness to bring them closer to Him. When you face your own days of illness, seek God’s guidance. Don’t question God’s plan or purpose. Trust in God’s wisdom and mercy. Seek God’s healing and grace. Take the time to throw yourself into God’s everlasting arms, to seek healing, and to learn whatever lesson it is that God is trying to convey to you in that moment.
Not able to do much but lay in bed and let my body work through the illness, I opened my Bible to spend a little extra time with God. Going through the pages of the Old Testament, I came across the passage above from the book of Job. In these verses, the Lord questioned Job about the actions of family and friends. When Job was suffering with his own illness, some blamed his woes on sin. They suggested Job repent and just give up. Others seemed to put the blame with God. They thought God was forcing Job to suffer for no reason. Job 40:1-2 contains God’s reply to Job and those who gave him advice. In these two verses, the Lord slammed their accusations. “The Lord said to Job: Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.” (Job 40:1-2). The Lord knew that Job and those around him were making assumptions about God’s guilt, God’s responsibility, God’s plan for Job, God’s purpose for illness and suffering. In reality, each of the accusers were “playing God”. They were making judgments about God’s rightness or wrongness. They were not showing faith; they were pronouncing judgment on God’s actions. The Lord God corrected their errors in judgment and their open sin with the scripture for today.
When people pronounce judgements upon God, make assumptions of God’s guilt, or make a complaint against God, they are “playing God”. It is all too easy to slip into this role, questioning God’s actions and God’s righteousness. You might wonder how human beings dare question the Almighty, but in pridefulness they often do. In fact, some make it a regular practice of criticizing God and God’s truth. For example, King Nebuchadnezzar of ancient Babylon brazenly stated how he had built the great city of Babylon “by his own power and for the glory of his majesty” (Daniel 4:30). With words such as this, King Nebuchadnezzar pridefully proclaimed his own greatness. The king was playing with fire because he was playing God. God determines the flow of history. God can grow kingdoms and cities. Just as easily, God can destroy them. What did God do when Nebuchadnezzar proclaimed his own “glory and majesty”? God struck the king down with an illness that left him weak and barely able to function. Only by confessing his own prideful sin against God was Nebuchadnezzar able to save his life.
Suffering from fevers and chills, I contemplated Nebuchadnezzar’s prideful sin that caused his own illness. I react differently to my own illnesses. I don’t question God. I ask for God’s healing. I seek to find spiritual meaning in these moments of weakness. I have often found that God used illness to make me slow down, pull back, spend a little more time around my family, and reevaluate if I wasn’t doing too many things. Illness often drove me to be closer to God. Illness didn’t make me question God or blame God. I didn’t want to play God. That is not to say that in history people haven’t done the opposite. Like Job’s friends or Nebuchadnezzar, all too many like to pass judgment on God and blame God. All too many humans even try to make themselves out to be worshipped like a god.
Communist leader Nikolai Ceausescu ruled Romania from the mid-1960’s through the 1980’s. He ruled with an iron fist. He was not afraid to give death sentences to thousands. He was a ruthless dictator. AND he was not above exalting himself and playing God. He persecuted Christians openly. He killed those who threatened his power. Then, Ceausescu took the next step. He demanded god-like pronouncements be made in his honor. In 1989, he “instructed the National Opera to produce a song in his honor that included these words: “Ceausescu is good, righteous, and holy.” He wanted this song to be sung on his 72nd birthday on January 26, 1990, but on December 25, 1989, he and his wife were executed. Although his overthrow was part of the anticommunist revolution that swept through eastern Europe, many Christians saw his sudden downfall as an act of God. One Romanian, Peter Dugulescu, said that it was “because he took for himself the glory of God.” (“Our Daily Bread”, August 2, 1992)
Throughout history and throughout the world, people throughout time have pridefully challenged God, God’s wisdom, or God’s sovereignty. Many, like Nebuchadnezzar and Ceausescu were struck down by God. God caused illness and death to initiate suffering. God wanted to save their souls from hell and damnation. Some confessed and repented of their prideful sins while “playing God”. Others stood up against God all the way to death. As the scripture states clearly, “God will not be mocked” (Galatians 6:7). God will not stand for those who desire to play God. Those who “argue with God shall answer for it" (Job 40:2).
For the prideful, God often uses illness to humble or destroy them. For the faithful, God will often use illness to bring them closer to Him. When you face your own days of illness, seek God’s guidance. Don’t question God’s plan or purpose. Trust in God’s wisdom and mercy. Seek God’s healing and grace. Take the time to throw yourself into God’s everlasting arms, to seek healing, and to learn whatever lesson it is that God is trying to convey to you in that moment.
The Uplifting video for today is a challenge to believers not to end up in hell... click below