God On Our Terms?
Should God repay you on your terms when you have rejected his? - Job 34.33 (CSB)
Start with simply asking that first part of the question.
“Should God repay you…?
If we ever have any hint of “yes” in our souls when we answer that question, it is then we need to confess our pride and our sin of entitlement and humble ourselves before the Lord. Read Psalm 8.3-4 to be reminded of what our posture before the Lord should be:
When I observe your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you set in place, what is a human being that you remember him, a son of man that you look after him? - Psalm 8.3-4 (CSB)
Look at Paul’s humble posture before the Lord as he humbly contemplates the majesty and holiness of God.
Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? And who has ever given to God, that he should be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. - Romans 11.33-36 (CSB)
And it’s that last question that Paul asks, “And who has ever given to God, that he should be repaid?” that should cause us to pause and answer honestly. Have you ever given anything to God that requires him to repay you for it? Have I? Absolutely not! But do I still think that he owes me something when circumstances veer off course and run toward tragedy and crisis? Do I remain humble before Jesus even when things aren’t going “my way”? Or do I allow my pride to drive me toward entitlement, actually believing that God exists for my pleasure and to keep me comfortable?
And Paul’s final question above brings us to the rest of Job 34.33: “Should God repay you on your own terms when you have rejected his?”
What terms do we actually believe that we have before God? What leveraging power do we think that we possess that enables us to expect God to come and deal with us based on our preferences?
This was such an incredible question laid out by the young Elihu to Job. And I believe that it’s a question that we need to answer honestly to battle against the pride that resides in us. Because, at the end of the day, we have no right to demand or even inwardly expect anything from God. We have no play here. God has never been in the wrong, which, then, results in us being in the right. Rather, before surrendering to Christ, we were sinners in need of a Savior. And if we go even further with that, we have to admit that he had no clue that we needed a Savior. But God did. So Jesus came, took our place on our cross, experienced the wrath of God because of us and for us, died, and then resurrected from the dead. And all of this was based on his terms. So, in reality, wanting God to come to us and make things right based on our terms is beyond ludicrous. Rather, us coming to God based on his terms, being saved by his grace through the faith that he provides (Ephesians 2.8-9), is too good to be true.
So, let’s stop fooling ourselves. We have no bargaining chip that we can use as leverage before God. All that we can do is collapse on his grace and receive him. His terms. Nothing else will do. And praise God for that.
