A SONG FOR THE NIGHT
There is none like You
No one else can touch my heart like You do.
I could search for all eternity long
And find there is none like You
Your mercy flows like a river wide
And healing comes from Your hands
Suffering children are safe in Your arms
There is none like You.
A very dear group of women who are seeking God to reveal Himself on a personal journey are reading through the Bible this year together and sharing online what lingers in their hearts. I have the privilege of studying with these twenty women, and I cannot begin to tell you the intimate things God is revealing to me as His Word jumps off the page and into the realities of my life. Then, on Mondays, I get to see how mightily He is stirring these other godly women’s hearts in beautiful and unique ways. If you want a rich blessing, go see Bev’s deep heart for Him at Keep on Believing each Monday. It is a rich and very intimate journey we are on that rouses my soul, overtaken with His love for us, despite ourselves.
In a few words, this study is a sweet gift to my heart each week, and the journey is almost too personal at times to put to words. It stirs my heart and shakes my beliefs. It brings me to my knees often in pure reverence and conviction, but with a hope of such blessed restoration unto Him. This week, we finish up Job and move on to Genesis. Though Genesis 11-21 is full of nuggets, for brevity’s sake (don’t laugh—this is brief for me) I will stay with my thoughts on Job.
Listen, for the Lord is speaking. Elihu speaks and he’s the junior senator from the land of Uz. He is quiet but can’t remain silent any longer in Job 32:18. The Spirit in me rises up and I can’t keep my lips shut. He basically tells Job to be quiet and listen so he can hear God. God is not silent. “Though men may not perceive it.” (Job 33:14) How often we miss God because we are not quiet. In Job 38:1, “Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm.” THEN, – The Lord waits for all to speak. He answered Job OUT of the storm. The Lord ANSWERED –He responds to our suffering. He is there and He answers. Every word in this verse is a promise and Truth of God. FINALLY He steps in. Anybody else? Finally. How often we feel God’s timing is late but it is after we have railed and said our piece, and how can we hear God anyway in our grumbling? But when everyone finally gets still, THEN the Lord ANSWERED Job—but, not as we would expect with reprimand but to reveal His beautiful and mighty character to Job.
Whatever happened to letting God be judge? Job 34—Elihu then turns to the other men and says, who are we to judge? He reminds them, “Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good.” So often, I am quick to judge all in the name of discernment, sharing my opinion. It often comes from a place of arrogantly assuming I’ve been there, when I really haven’t walked in their proverbial shoes at all. I’d rather my merciful God be my judge any day that my peers, like Job had to endure.
He gives songs in the night. (35:10) Night is when our troubles multiply. Things are just worse in the dark. He gives us songs to comfort us. This reminds me of Paul and Silas praying and singing in the jail around midnight, when they had been beaten so badly. Don’t you know in their distress and pain, they could not sleep, so they sang. Just like Job probably had so many sleepless nights in pain, when we can’t sleep, He gives songs in the night.
His Ways are not comprehendible. (Job 37) Even if we knew the why about our circumstances, chances are our small minds couldn’t wrap around it. All we really need to do is look and see His power and know He is in control even when the answers to all the whys in the world make no sense. They are unfolding according to a bigger and much grander plan than we can comprehend or imagine. (1 Cor. 2:9)
God wants to reveal His glory and His love to us. As Job finally surrendered his righteousness and self indignation, God restored him. God revealed his incomparable character and Job was brought to his knees. Through Job’s loss, and finally his repentance and humbling, God refined Job to a place where He could send life abundant. We aren’t meant to figure life out on our own. God wants to father us. The truth is, he has been fathering us for a long time we just haven’t had the eyes to see it. He wants to father us more intimately, but we have to be in a posture to receive it. May we have eyes to see and hearts to receive Him.
annette geffert 
I missed 35:10—just came back to re-read your very good writings—and that’s what happened to me last night 35:10…
I feel so privileged and honored to share in what God is speaking to the hearts of those reading along with me! So long ago I learned the lesson (the hard way) that we so often do not hear God speak because we are too busy being “noisy”. I try )(fail too often) to get myself quiet real quick now so as not to miss what He has for me.
What a river of words of life from you on this post…I came back to double dip and now I see something new from my Lord. So grateful for you Annette.
Trying to learn how to “lin” tonite thanks to Shonda and Dave, whoever he is. So, I got my son to step into the contaminated study (they wanted to know if I wanted them to buy me a mask—LOL—kids!) and Barrett showed me how to do it successfully BUT I JUST ACCIDENTALLY ERASED IT…oh no…SO LET ME try on my own at your blog here being the guinea pig—please come visit me tonight in my tainted study at Bev’s Blog! So, did I just link???
I am thanking God for the songs He brings in the night. I am also thanking Him that He gets to be the judge, not me. I am praying I can be still and listen. I am thanking God for YOU, sweet friend. You write like a poet, you really do. God is using you to bless me every single day!
Love you ,
Angie xoxo
Annie,
I am just so amazed by God’s Word. There is so much to learn and is never boring. You’re right–it’s incomprehensible. Just can’t grasp all that He’s doing. He has the big picture.
Thanks for your sweet comments and I’m glad you’re back from “fishing.”
Blessings in Christ–
Isn’t this just so wonderful? I mean this weeks reading was just beautiful to me. Thank you for always sharing your heart! I hope today was a wonderful day.
Blessings friend~
Fran
Thank you for your very kind words at my blog today about the contest. you made my day and blessed me so much. This is a great post, too. I’m glad to have found you!
Hi there…alright, for some reason I didn’t connect Annette and Annie…now I know you are ONE!
First, I wanted to tell you again thank you so much for the prayer you wrote in an email when my dad was in the hospital…I forwarded it to my mom and she shared it with my dad and grandfather and they were just so touched and blessed by your heart for God!
You and I had similar thoughts about God speaking in the storm…
I completely missed 35:10…I love that…how I have had some difficult nights…singing would have helped…
Thanks for your heart and your thoughts this week.
Helen
Okay, I posted and forgot that I was signed in under my friends name. I enjoyed reading your thoughts on our reading this week. You were right on with the statement you made: how can we hear God through our grumbling? WOW! Amen!! I have been there and trust me God has convicted me of the times I chose to complain over trusting Him. God spoke to Job in the storm quickened something in my spirit. I am thankful God speaks to us in our suffering. Waiting on God to speak can be hard and I faced that at a point of suffering through cancer. I was in the hospital and was in so much pain that I couldn’t utter a word or a prayer but God knows my thoughts. As we learned with Sarah in our readings this week. I needed a word from God but I got silence. Later that day the cleaning woman came in to clean the room and as she was leaving she came over to me and said, God hasn’t forgotten you. You will be okay and He will heal you. I was floored. Praise God!!
Have a blessed day!
Patty
This post to spoke to my heart. Wow, God is so moving in my life. I truly stand amazed at Him. He is drawn me closer to Him the last two years of my life and a lot of the time He has been silent and what I considered “late”, but then He ever so gently showed me He was right on time. That is very humbling…and I try to use one time as a particular stone of remembrance so that I can be grateful and appreicative when I think He is being “slow”. thank you for your post. What a privelege to have Bev’s posting to read the Bible thru.
In 1975 I wrote in the margin of the first Bible I ever owned “I want a father.” Wanted to trade in the one I had. My Abba Father stepped in to “father” me and help me forgive my earthly dad who so “missed” me in life. Your post tonight floods my soul with truth that my Father has been fathering me and I need to trust even tonight in older age that He still is even when I don’t feel it. It’s okay. God used your post to really speak a word to me this moment. He’s here. My Abba Father who just showed up and touched me, even physically. Now, I didn’t see it (before you think I’m losing it) but I know it. I’m not the same I was before I read this post.