Job 13:2,3
“What you know I also know; I am not inferior to you. But I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to argue with God.”
While Job has lost everything, God has allowed him to keep his confidence. If I had Job’s problems I would be going insane. I would have endless thoughts about what I had done to deserve this. Job never does this. He seems crystal clear that it’s not retribution from God.
His friends are unified that he’s guilty of something. After the initial time of silence they spend thirty chapters attempting to convince Job it’s his fault.
That is an assault. That would also drive me insane. I wouldn’t be able to combat their arguments. I would be in agreement with them.
Either God put this confidence in Job or He didn’t allow Satan to disturb that confidence. I believe God gives us resilience. He will not give us more than we can handle.
Early in my walk of faith I had much guilt. That was tough. As I grew in faith it began to dissipate. I learned that God loved me and that I didn’t have to earn my salvation. The guilt got less and less. I have the propensity towards it. I feel it’s at a healthy level.
David prays in Psalm 139:23, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.” God does this for His children. He will point out the things He wants to work on. I’m not sure if God uses guilt. It does get my attention. I look up and ask if it’s Him. Fortunately it’s not as relentless as it used to be. It’s His work that caused it to diminish and it’s Him and His Word which keeps it away.
As I’m writing this the thought came to mind that maybe God let me go through those guilty years so I would appreciate the freedom from it. I am so thankful I don’t feel that guilt anymore.
One book assisted me with the deliverance. It’s called “Decision Making and the Will of God”. What helped me about that was that it said God doesn’t influence us in our decision making process. Meaning if I did felt guilt it wasn’t from God. So I began to ignore it. I dared not do that earlier, as I thought I was hardening my heart. This was a time out from guilt.
As time went on I began to dought the premise that God doesn’t seek to influence our decisions. At that point I knew God didn’t condemn us. One verse that helped was I John 3:20, “Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things.” That was huge. This showed me God wasn’t in the condemning business.
Lord, thank You for this confidence. Thank You for Your deliverance from guilt.