Life Up Your Face to God
For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you, and you will pay your vows. You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways.
Job 22:26–28
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Life Up Your Face to God
These verses by themselves, without the context of all which we already know about what has transpired so far, are very beautiful verses. They remind us that God hears our prayers and that His light shines on us. Yet in its proper context we understand Eliphaz to meant that if Job would simply repent and ask for forgiveness then all is troubles would soon be gone and he would be restored to his former glory. But Job is the living embodiment of just the opposite. By the Almighty’s own admission Job is a righteous and blameless man. He has repeatedly appealed to God for mercy and understanding. And still, he sits in sackcloth and ash, a broken man. Being a child of God is not a promise of sunshine and rainbows all the days of our lives. When we turn our back to evil and face God the devil paints a target on us. He wants to kill and destroy all which God has created, which includes us. It is good that we recognize our sin and repent and ask for forgiveness, but this does not negate the fact that we are still living in a fallen world where bad things happen to good people. So what are we to do? Eliphaz does get one thing right, life up your face to God and pray. At all times, we should be looking to God for care and protection. We should at all times be lifting our faces to God, whether in times of plenty or need, in times of joy or grief. For God hears our prayers and answers them. He does not turn away from the prayers of the needy. He does not fail to forgive the contrite and repentant heart. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). So we lift our faces to God, for when we do we see the cross, we see the answer to all our prayers, we see Christ. And in that vision, we know we are forgiven.
Job 22:26–28
+
Life Up Your Face to God
These verses by themselves, without the context of all which we already know about what has transpired so far, are very beautiful verses. They remind us that God hears our prayers and that His light shines on us. Yet in its proper context we understand Eliphaz to meant that if Job would simply repent and ask for forgiveness then all is troubles would soon be gone and he would be restored to his former glory. But Job is the living embodiment of just the opposite. By the Almighty’s own admission Job is a righteous and blameless man. He has repeatedly appealed to God for mercy and understanding. And still, he sits in sackcloth and ash, a broken man. Being a child of God is not a promise of sunshine and rainbows all the days of our lives. When we turn our back to evil and face God the devil paints a target on us. He wants to kill and destroy all which God has created, which includes us. It is good that we recognize our sin and repent and ask for forgiveness, but this does not negate the fact that we are still living in a fallen world where bad things happen to good people. So what are we to do? Eliphaz does get one thing right, life up your face to God and pray. At all times, we should be looking to God for care and protection. We should at all times be lifting our faces to God, whether in times of plenty or need, in times of joy or grief. For God hears our prayers and answers them. He does not turn away from the prayers of the needy. He does not fail to forgive the contrite and repentant heart. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). So we lift our faces to God, for when we do we see the cross, we see the answer to all our prayers, we see Christ. And in that vision, we know we are forgiven.
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