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Job 23:15
15 Therefore am I troubled [bahal] at his presence [paniym]: when I consider [biyn], I am afraid [pachad] of him. KJV-Interlinear
15 'Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence; When I consider, I am terrified of Him. NASB
So vast are the decrees, so complicated are the decrees of God, that we cannot possibly comprehend them.
We cannot even number let alone name the stars of our own galaxy, and there are literally trillions of other galaxies scattered across the universe, and probably trillions more that we have not yet discovered. And, within each one of those innumerable galaxies, there are trillions and trillions of stars, making the star count absolutely impossible for any of us to comprehend.
Man cannot map our own genetic code, though we are trying, let alone know what each gene or gene combination does, or how it interacts with other genes or gene combinations.
Can we extract human life from one body and insert it into another? No. Yet we can see and hear human activity. Can we see or detect angelic activity? No. And yet angels exist, but in what dimension, what are the physics of their makeup? Why can they see and hear us, but we cannot detect their presence.
Where does the wind come from? Where is its origin? Can we control the weather? Can we walk out into a tornado, a hurricane, a raging flood and command it to stop? No.
There are many things in life which we cannot control, and our future holds an infinite number of unknowns.
Folks crusade for civil rights, for environmental rights, for peace not war, for alternate fuels, for nearly everything and anything you can imagine. But to what end? Can we solve the world's problems? Can we make this world a better place to live? Do we double our efforts to accomplish our goals, or do we stop and do nothing?
But how many people contemplate the infinite? Not too many. We all are tuned in to our social life, the traffic, our jobs, how to keep the lights on and pay the rent. Very few even keep track of the news and current events of our time. Me and now, are the popular trends of thought.
But Job again gives us yet another answer regarding the realities of life.
If you are lacking in your spiritual life, then you are setting yourself up for heartache and disappointment. Everything you attempt, all of your hustle and bustle in life, will fail. Nothing you pursue will result in a utopia, for that is your objective as a spiritually deficient person. People all over the world want happiness, but without doctrine, that search is a frantic search at best.
Satan runs this world and you cannot match his abilities. But then most folks close their eyes to the spiritual side of life and look only to what they can see, hear, taste, smell, and feel around them. Their imaginations, drive their emotions, and their emotions translate into their logic, and all of that operates within the environment of the sin nature. The result is the blind leading the blind, and failed life.
The word for troubled, 'bahal' means anxious, dismayed, agitated, stressed. And that is what life without God is.
The word for presence, 'paniym' means presence, prospect, purpose. And that is the unfolding of human history right before our eyes. Something that we cannot control. The clock keeps ticking.
The word for consider, 'biyn' means to separate mentally, to discern, to comprehend, to perceive, to regard. And when we think about life and everything in it, especially with regard to our own personal prospects, then we can become overwhelmed.
None of us really know what tomorrow will bring. Will it be the same as it has been for weeks and years before? Will it bring something new, an accident, a layoff, an illness, a new acquaintance?
And afraid, 'pachad' means just that. Terrified, anxious, startled, but it also means one more thing, and that is to stand in awe. Awe means helplessness at the observance of something which is greater than we are.
Psa. 77:3
3 When I remember God, then I am disturbed; When I sigh, then my spirit grows faint. NASB
Life is greater than all of us. For those who consider the intricacies of life, then the big picture can overwhelm them. For those who ignore such thoughts, then they are just like the man who jumped off the mountain in yesterdays study. Indifferent and clueless to the end.
The heart can get so distracted by human events and the human experience, that flippancy, self-conceit, self-purpose, self-righteousness, self-centeredness, or crusade driven, that views of God and His power and His plan are forgotten.
Who controls history anyway, you, politics, the powers that be? No. Jesus Christ controls history. And in His good time, and on His perfect schedule, events will occur and changes will come which adds to or takes away from the human experience.
Gods plan is so vast and so comprehensive, that the doctrines of divine purposes and decrees is intended to and should, impress you to the point of awe.
Do you sit aside and do nothing? No. God controls history in three ways. Directly by means of His divine power and will, indirectly by means of the laws of divine establishment, and permissively by means of mans volition.
But no matter where you fit into this plan, it is Gods objectives which will be accomplished, not yours. In doctrine, God will use you honorably to accomplish His will. Without doctrine, God will use you in your dishonor even as historical filler, to accomplish His will.
Better to be functioning within Gods plan, than not.
'Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things.'
If you are impressed with God, then you can learn and grow and succeed. If not, then you will be a failure.
