The left hand side of God

The Left-hand Side of God!

Where is God When I am hurting?

A Sermon

By Pastor R.G. Lee

Preached @ Scott Zion Sunday, October 21, 2012 Revised on Sunday, June 11, 2023

Greetings:

Pastoral Comments:

Affirmations:

Text:

Job 23:1–10 (NKJV) — 1 Then Job answered and said: 2 “Even today my complaint is bitter; My hand is listless because of my groaning. 3 Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat! 4 I would present my case before Him, And fill my mouth with arguments. 5 I would know the words which He would answer me, And understand what He would say to me. 6 Would He contend with me in His great power? No! But He would take note of me. 7There the upright could reason with Him, And I would be delivered forever from my Judge. 8 “Look, I go forward, but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him; 9 When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him; When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him. 10 But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

Big Idea:

God uses the storms in your life to test you with the purpose of purifying you just like pure gold.

Introduction:

When someone asks you at church: “How are you?” You know the proper Christian answer is: “I am doing fine.” But honestly, if you were asked that same question in private your answer would be different.

We acknowledge that life is good and we are blessed to have the grace of God, but that doesn’t mean that at this present point of your life everything is good. Some of you are suffering right now.

When people ask you say you are fine, you are doing greatbut that just not true is it. You are scared, afraid, alone, and you are wondering why. Why did this have to happen to me?

Sometimes when we suffer we cry out to God:

Why?

Saints sometimes life is just not fair! Now I don’t care how you look at this story or what you take out of it. From our point of view, itdoesn’t seem fair. I want to speak a word tonight to somebody that really loves the Lord, but there is still an unanswered question in your mind…

We know that everything God does is right, but in the privacy of our own praying ground doesn’t it seem like life is unfair? Can I get a witness?

Job was a man who faithfully served GOD.

Job 1:1,5 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

Job comes under attack!

Job 1:6–12 (NKJV)

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.

7 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lordand said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”

9 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing?

10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”

12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Look at Job, God and Satan get into an argument and Job is caught in the middle. How is that fair? Job has target put on his head because he is a righteous God fearing man. It looks like he is punished for fearing God. How is that fair? Just look at what happens to Job. Job had seven sons and three daughters. He was a wealthy man with many livestock and servants. Then when the dispute in heaven takes place and Job gets stuck in between heaven and hell.

Is there anybody here that has felt like you have been stuck in between heaven and hell?

In a moment everything Job had was taken from him. But that was only the beginning. His children were all together for a family meal when a sudden wind crashed into the house and caused it to collapse. All ten of them died.

You know that Job was devastated. Is there anyone here that can relate to being devastated? This was a time in which your children were your legacy. He had been blessed with seven sons. In a moment they were all gone. All of his money, his livelihood, and his family, everything Job had was lost in the blink of an eye. You know this guy is hurting. As Job gets all this bad news one piece after another you can imagine some part of him starts to ask why.

Why is this happening to me?

Job lived in a culture that viewed suffering and pain as punishment from God. So not only has Job just lost his children, his legacy, his source of income, and all his wealth Job also has to deal with the fact that everyone (They-Sayers) is going to think that he has done some terrible thing to deserve it.

Instead of arguing with his friends, or compromising his integrity by giving in to Eliphaz’s appeal, Job ignores them completely and speaks to and about the Lord. Job has already made it clear that his dispute was not with men but with God, and he emphasizes this fact in his speech.

We may paraphrase Job 23:2, “My complaint today is bitter, and I have to keep a heavy hand on myself to keep from doing nothing but groaning.” Job’s three friends did not understand how much discipline Job needed just to be able to talk with them.

Instead of giving in to his pain and doing nothing but groan, Job sought to master his pain and not give in to self-pity. The next time you visit somebody in pain, keep in mind that suffering drains a person’s energy and makes great demands on his strength and patience.[1]

You know saints I have found out no matter how prayed up you are and no matter how saved you are, there are some things that can come on you that will leave you wounded, hurt and yes bitter!

Main Body:

Where is God When I need Him?

Job 23:1-9 8“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; 9on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.

Children have a most unique way of entertaining themselves. In spite of all the toys and technology available to them, they still find pleasure in simple games:

“Tag”, “Simon says”, “Red Light, Green Light”.

But perhaps no other game is as well-known among children of every generation as the game we call “Hide and Seek”.

Even an infant will giggle with delight when playing “peek-a-boo”.

But when GOD tries to play “Hide & Seek” however, it seems to lose all the fun!

The reason is simple:

He’s a good “Hider”!

Job wanted to find God and plead his case because he just couldn’t understand why he was going through like he was. When each of his so called friends advised him there advice made him feel worse that better!

What Job didn’t realize is that God is so wise that He can work in places that we don’t expect him. He works in my trials, He works in my stumbling, and He can even work through the tragedies in your life…

That what I call the left hand side of God…

When you get laid off from work…God is working on the left hand side.

When you get sick… God is working on the left hand side.

[Give some other examples of how God works in places you don’t expect him to]

You see saints:

God’s “Hide & Seek” was NOT a punishment!

The devil would have you to believe that GOD hides from you because He’s either mad at, or ashamed of, you.

God’s hiding was simply the result of a challenge from Satan.

God’s answer to Satan’s challenge began the game of “Hide & Seek” from Job.

But you see, God’s confidence in His servant said, “I may hide, but Job will never give up seeking!”

It may seem to you that God is playing “Hide & Seek” from you, but don’t let the devil convince you that God is mad at you for something you’ve done, or that He’s embarrassed by your actions.

Let me share something amazing with you this morning:

“Nothing I can do will make God love me anymore, and nothing I do will make God love me any less.”

It is absolutely imperative that we understand that God’s Love is perfect and unconditional.

So then if God’s love for me is perfect; then when I need Him the most why can’t I find Him, and where do I look?

Nothing can be more frustrating than looking hopelessly for that missing item.

You KNOW you put it there, but “someone” must have come along and moved it!

The older I get, the more I find that people move things from where I put them!

“Behold I go forward…”

The first place to look is in the most logical place to find Him: forward.

We start praying more

We start fasting

We start reading our Bible more

We move FORWARD in our attempt to draw near to God.

“…but He is not there.”

Did you realize that this is the ONLY direction that Job flatly stated “He is NOT” ?

In the other three directions, Job says “I can’t find Him.”

Backward – “I cannot perceive Him”

On the left – “I cannot behold Him”

On the right – “I cannot see Him”

But Job realized that if God is anywhere to be found, He’s not out there leaving me behind!

What are you saying, pastor? Simply this:

You may have tried everything within your human power to find God, to draw close to God, to make connections with God, all to seem hopeless.

The reason is simply because “He is not there”!

My God is a God of invitations; He’s not a God that runs away and leaves me falling behind because I can’t keep up!

…and backward, but I cannot perceive Him.”

You’ll never find Him going in this direction.

To the Jew, this meant facing the West, as “forward” always signified toward the Eastern sky.

You can look for Him in the sunrise as well as in the sunset, but He’s still playing “Hide & Seek”.

“On the left hand, where He doth work…”

Job looks again in a direction where He has known God to “work” in the past.

How many times have I returned to the place, whether a physical location, or someplace in my spirit, where I knew that God had visited me in the past…only to discover that He’s not there.

“…but I cannot behold Him.”

“He hideth himself on the right hand…”

The “right hand” was considered the South;

This was a region that, in Job’s time, was vastly unknown and unexplored.

It contained the Arabian deserts, and beyond that, the uncharted seas of which the Hebrews had only heard.

Job looked even in the direction of places he had never before explored.

He tried things he’d never tried.

He’s desperate in his search for God.

“…that I cannot see him.”

And still, after all this seeking, God remains hidden in this spiritual “Hide & Seek”.

Close…

“But he knoweth the way that I take…”

1. Herein lies the secret to God’s game of “Hide & Seek”, my friend.

It’s not always about me finding Him.

I understand that scripture tells us that we’ll find Him when we seek Him with all our heart.

I understand the scriptures tell us to pursue after Him.

I realize the scripture tells us “Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst…for they shall be filled.”

But it’s not always about me finding Him.

Sometimes, it’s about me realizing that, even though I’ve done everything in my power to find Him, all to no avail…

He knows where I am.

The secret, my friend, is that five-letter word that we discussed so recently: TRUST.

Maybe he was asking himself why and had his moment’s extreme pain and agony but in all of this tragedy Job praises God in his suffering.

I just have to say, there aren’t a lot of Jobs left; he endured in a moment more than all of us put together would deal with in a lifetime and never lost his praise!

Can anybody say with me, after all that I have been through I still have my Joy!

When this is over I am going to be Better than ever!

Tested like gold (23:10–12): Job is certain that he will be found innocent after he endures his trials like gold in a refining fire.

1 Peter 4:12-14 12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

Before a bridge builder builds a bridge he takes a sample of the steel and sends it to a lab to be tested.Before a diamond is set in a piece of jewelry it is examined to see if the color and brilliance will pass the test. Before new drugs come to the market that drug has to undergo a series of test to see if that drug will accomplish what it is suppose to accomplish. Before and new car hits the high-waythey make what is called a proto-type and it is tested to see if it is reliable and safe!

Same thing with God. Everything God uses He test! He tested Adam and Eve by saying do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. God tested Abraham by saying Abraham I want you to take you only son Isaac whom thou lovest and offer him to me a burnt sacrifice.

He tested the Children of Israel by telling them through His man servant Joshua Choose ye this day whom you will serve…

[Add some of you own examples if you like]

He even tested His own Son by sending Him here in a cold world. He was hungry had no place to lay his head; He was talked about, Lied on, scandalized and called everything but the Son of God. And as if that wasn’t enough they dragged him from judgment hall to judgment hall, beat Him, hung high and stretched him wide.

But after He did everything that God sent Him to do, He hung his head in the locks of his should and declared “It is Finished!” Jesus passed the Test!

Every now and then when I am watching TV or listening to my radio sometimes the programs are interrupted and a warning signal is transmitted just to see if the emergency equipment is working properly.

I heard a message that said don’t be alarmed, there is nothing wrong with your set, and this is just a test.

I want to encourage somebody before I go just because you going through something right now as if some strange thing has come upon you; don’t worry, there is nothing wrong with your connection to God. Touch your neighbor and let them know that the storm that you are going through right now is just a test!

Guest what; somebody here tonight is about to pass the test! Give God the glory in this place!

Conclusion/ Celebration:

When God plays “Hide & Seek”, it can be so frustrating.

I’ve seen children get frustrated, angry, even cry because their playmates were too well-hidden.

I’ve experienced the frustration of searching for something that I was almost certain should be in a particular place.

And more importantly, I’ve known the desperation of seeking a God who had hidden Himself from me so well that I could not find Him.

It is in these times, and in these moments, that I have to take comfort in the fact that:

God is not hiding because He’s angry with me.

He is not hiding because He’s ashamed of me.

He understands that I am desperate in my attempt to find Him.

And He knows exactly where I am at.

1. I recently told a minister friend that I knew God would answer me because, I said, “I’m seeking His face.”

You see, I may not have the answer right now, and right now it may seem hopeless and helpless, and I may not be sure which way to turn.

But He knows exactly where I’m at…and when the time is right, and I have proved my trust in Him,

I will see His Face.

I will behold His Glory.

I will stand in His Presence and feel His anointing.

Job 23:1–10 (NLT)

1 Then Job spoke again:

2 “My complaint today is still a bitter one, and I try hard not to groan aloud.

3 If only I knew where to find God, I would go to his court.

4 I would lay out my case and present my arguments.

5 Then I would listen to his reply and understand what he says to me.

6 Would he use his great power to argue with me? No, he would give me a fair hearing.

7 Honest people can reason with him, so I would be forever acquitted by my judge.

8 I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him.

9 I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I look to the south, but he is concealed.

10 “But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.

Call to Discipleship:

Benediction: