Original Entry:
January 15, 2009
McMinnville, OR
That is why I am terrified before him; when I think
of all this, I fear him. God has made my
heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me.
Yet I am not silenced by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers
my face. Job 23:15-17
And he said to man, “The fear of the Lord-that is
wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”
Job 28:28
For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of
his splendor I could not do such things.
Job 31:23
I have a friend that
God nearly killed. If you were to talk
to him he would tell you about the four years of pain and suffering God took
him through in order to get his attention, and ultimately his life. God almost killed him during a routine surgery
that left him blind for three days and afraid for his young life. Questions flooded his mind as he lay in the Intensive
Care Unit in some strange hospital. A few months later God crippled one of his
legs long enough for him to dislocate his elbow just as the leg was
healing. Within two weeks of the cast
coming off the dislocated elbow God broke (okay it was a hairline fracture)
this guy’s leg fibula (the small bone on the lower leg). Not even a year later God damaged a nerve in
this guy’s neck that progressed to paralysis.
Finally he realized
that God was trying to get this attention. God did this? Yes. To this day his
left arm operates at less than 100 percent.
It was not until this man gave his life to Christ that the punishment
ceased.
You may be thinking,
“Oh, God would never do that. I serve a
God of love not punishment.”
And I would disagree.
Spend a few weeks
flipping through the Old Testament then pitch your tent in the book of Job for
a few chapters. You may change your
mind. By then it will begin to sink in that our God is a raging fire burning
over the sons of men, and stopping at no end to bring people to a point of
salvation. Going even as far as to
crucify the only begotten One on the cross (John 3:16).
Jesus said that it is
better to enter the kingdom of heaven without eyes or limbs than to be thrown
into the fires of hell. God is so
concerned with your soul that he will sacrifice your body.
He is a God to fear.
He is a God to
tremble over (Philippians 2:12).
The thought of what
he might do scares the Hell out of me.
You see, I am the man
in the opening story.
