Deeper with God

Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. - Job 13:15

The life of Job in the Bible was a testimony of God's providence, chastening, and steadfast love in the life of a man who feared Him, but was tested beyond measure. What God allowed Job to go through, seems out of line with His character- as a loving, holy, kind God who exercises holiness and righteousness. I don't understand why God works the way He does. The verse stated above is exactly that kind of perplexity that fills my mind with wonder and amazement. Though He slay me... yet will I trust Him, hope in Him, love Him.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 says: "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD.

There seems to be a depth that God allows His servants to suffer, that they continue to trust Him. To the unbelieving eye, this sort of relationship almost seems demented. Who would treat someone that way? In a sense, it seems as though God purposefully slays His servants, knowing that His grace will carry them through and they will be humbled, and cling to God more. God means to be glorified in our lives, for our eternal joy and to allow us to enter a relationship that is fulfilling. There seems to be a maturity that arises through trials that make no sense and cause the most intense suffering- pleading with God asking for His deliverance but He does not seem to deliver. The writer of Psalm 44 speaks of this turmoil:
8In God we have boasted all day long,
And we will give thanks to Your name forever. Selah.
9Yet You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor,
And do not go out with our armies.
10You cause us to turn back from the adversary;
And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.
11You give us as sheep to be eaten
And have scattered us among the nations.

Here he makes his argument to God. They have been faithful to Him, and loved Him, but why is not God acting on their behalf?

18Our heart has not turned back,
And our steps have not deviated from Your way,
19Yet You have crushed us in a place of jackals
And covered us with the shadow of death.
20If we had forgotten the name of our God
Or extended our hands to a strange god,
21Would not God find this out?
For He knows the secrets of the heart.
22But for Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

At the end of the psalm, the writer places his hope in God's loving kindness and mercy. He knows that God will not be hidden forever and will one day deliver. This sort of faith can only be found in Christ Jesus, given to us by grace from God. The Christian struggles under the sculptors hand. Like Jacob struggled with God in the wilderness, so it seems that He wrestles with the sinner's heart. What love and commitment He has to continue to shower grace that we would know Him in His holiness and righteousness, and seek to flee sin, and hate that evil yet in our hearts. All for His glory- and commitment to His eternal plan to glorify Jesus Christ and make His name known to all nations.
Do not lose heart when you are tested by the fiery trial of your faith. It is not some strange thing, but is working for you an imperishable inheritance. Soli Deo Gloria.