Tuesday May 31, 2011

I Grew up playing sports and watching them on TV, after they began being shown (I remember the first TV’s that came out and there were no sports being shown on the one channel that we could get. My family lived out in rural Colorado so there were no sports teams we could go to. I had heard of major sports teams and followed the Denver Bears, a triple AAA baseball team but I had never seen them in person. They had a promotion that if you got straight A’s in school for a quarter, you could get a free ticket to a baseball game and one for your parent. I do remember my sister getting them all the time, but this one quarter I got straight A’s (I think my first and only quarter) and got to go. It was truly amazing as we parked the car and walked up to the stadium. We gave them the tickets and walked thru the turn styles and into the expansive arena. What a beautiful sight with green grass and players throwing and hitting and fielding. You see I had heard of major league baseball, but I finally saw firsthand what the experience was.

Job had the same experience with the Lord. He had been a follower most of his life. He had prayed to him. He had asked forgiveness for himself and for his children many times. He sought out wisdom by reading from the scriptures to learn more about this God he worshipped. But when he was afflicted with sores all over his body and had lost all of his possessions, he asked for a personal encounter with the Lord and God gave him that as God talked with him in Job 38-41. I think it is interesting Job’s response when the Lord finished his response to Job. “I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears!” (Job 42:5). He had lived his life worshipping God, but when he asked for an encounter with God, he came face to face with Him and a firsthand experience. His whole perspective changed. His understanding of God transformed as he heard God speak. What he knew became experiential.

We have the same opportunity to not only know God but experience him firsthand in the person of His Son Jesus Christ. But are we experiencing Him firsthand or are we living our lives and praying to Him but don’t have a firsthand experience with the God who IS ALL. On this journey, sometimes it is healthy to stop and evaluate what kind of a relationship we do have with the God who rules all so that we can experience all that He has for us.