Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / A Penetrating Reproof from the Almighty, Part 1 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living

Transcript

A Penetrating Reproof from the Almighty, Part 1 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Chapter after chapter in the Old Testament story of Job,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Job waited, waited for God to break the silence and
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: answer the anguished questions of his suffering heart. Finally, at last,
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: God spoke. But what Job heard was nothing like what
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: he expected. And today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: brings us to this long-awaited moment and reveals a God
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: whose ways are far above our own. On today's program,
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: we'll be reminded that God's surprising presence often comes right
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: in the middle of a storm. We'll begin by reading
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: the passage together.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: Well, God finally speaks to Job.
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: What he says is a Surprising, as you're going to
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: discover this morning, but.
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: That's fine.
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: God's full of surprises, which we will affirm again and
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: again in the message today. Job 38, I'll read just
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: a few verses and then we'll jump to 40. Then
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, verse 1 begins,
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: and said, Who is this that darkens counsel by words
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: without knowledge? Now, gird up your loins like a man,
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: and I will ask you, and you instruct me. Where
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: Tell me, if you have understanding, who set its measurements,
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: since you know? Or who stretched the line on it,
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: on what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: cornerstone when the morning stars sank? sang together, and all
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: the sons of God shouted for joy. If you were
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: to list the questions between here and the end of
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: the book, you'd find 77 that Job is asked, none
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: of them able to be answered by Job. Humbled and broken,
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: chapter 40, Job responds in verse 3, Job answered the
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: Lord and said, Behold, I am Insignificant. What can I
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: reply to you? I lay my hand on my mouth
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: once I've spoken and I will not answer.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: Even twice and I will add no more.
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: It's an old Hebrew colloquialism that means I have already
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: said more than I should.
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: You're listening to Insight for Living. To dig deeper into
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: Job's story, be sure to purchase a copy of our
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: Searching the Scriptures Bible Study Workbook by going to insight.org
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: slash offer. Chuck titled today's message, A Penetrating Reproof from
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: the Almighty.
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: God's ways are often so surprising, and when he does
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: show up, if you will, his message is so often
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: unexpected and unpredictable.
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: Sometimes it's a close call.
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: And we realize after the fact that he has been
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: there all the time protecting us, even when we didn't
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: know we were in danger. That occurred to me this
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: last week when I read a report that came from
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: Montgomery County, Maryland, in the city of Wheaton, Maryland. The
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: report reads, the first bullet fired in a shooting spree
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: that killed five people in Montgomery County Wednesday and Thursday
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: narrowly missed Ann Chapman, who was working at Michael Arts
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: and Crafts Store in Northgate Shopping Center. It's a miracle
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: no one was hurt after the bullet cut a dime-sized
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: hole in the display window, nicked a light fixture, pierced
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: two poster board signs, and hit a metal rack holding
• 4:20
  Speaker 3: rows of mini-books at 5.20 p.m.
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: Wednesday.
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: But the amazing thing is what the bullets stop next to.
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: The store's employees said a book called Inspiration for the
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: Heart from the Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson. If
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: you were to open the book flap, you would read
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: a simple daily prayer from the heart can inspire you
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: to seek God's constant favor, power and protection. The bullet
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: has not been recovered. Ann Chapman had no idea that
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: she was that close to being shot. You and I
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: think we know what is best for ourselves when in
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: fact we do not. And sometimes when the Lord does
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: come on the scene, we are downright not only surprised
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: but shocked at how he says what he says and
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: at what he says. I came across this week two
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: prophets from the Old Testament to verify what I'm talking about.
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: The first one we're not familiar with at all, and
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: the other we're rather familiar with. So let's turn first
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: to the less familiar, Nahum, just between Micah and Habakkuk.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: Doesn't help, does it?
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: It's page 1437 in my Bible, and It's the seventh
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: of the Old Testament minor prophets. If you're not familiar,
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: that's okay. Most of us aren't that familiar with the
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: Old Testament minor prophets. Nahum chapter 1 verse 3. I
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: came across this this past week and was reminded again
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: of how surprising the presence of God can be. Nahum
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: 1 3. The Lord is slow to anger and great
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: in power. The Lord will by no means leave the
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: guilty unpunished. Now it's this part that intrigues me. In
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: whirlwind and storm is his way. And clouds are the
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: dust beneath his feet. Look closely, put your finger on
• 6:43
  Speaker 3: that last part of the third verse and notice. He's
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: referring to a strong wind, a storm that may include
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: thunder and lightning. And that which frightens us and drives
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: us away is often, in fact, the reminder of the
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: presence of God. One man writes, the power and majesty
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: of God are evidenced most dramatically in the forces of nature.
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: So I suggest the.
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: Next time lightning flashes and thunder rolls and the rain
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: begins to fall, rather than slamming your door and closing
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: everything up and pulling the blinds and staying away from it,
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: that you stand and stare.
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: Remember that the clouds are but the dust of his feet.
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: God is there and very present at times like that.
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: When he gave the law at Sinai, Moses writes that
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: the mountain was surrounded by thick, heavy clouds.
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: There was thunder and there was lightning.
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: When Elijah stepped out of the cave in his depression
• 7:51
  Speaker 3: to see what was there, there was the passing of
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: a strong whirlwind that came by the cave.
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: The same happened with Ezekiel.
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: When Jesus walked toward the disciples, frightened in the boat
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: on the Sea of Galilee, it was in a time
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: of storm that he stilled the storm and spoke peaceful
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: words to his disciples. I read where Martin Luther, while
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: pursuing a law degree as a young man in Erfurt, Germany,
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: was caught in a thunderous, lightning-stricken storm, and the storm
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: so humbled him he realized he should not be pursuing law.
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: This was God's way of saying to him, you need
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: to pursue ministry. Now, every time we're in a storm,
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: that's not what the Lord is saying to his people.
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: But there was a sense of God's presence in that
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: frightening moment, and his heart became unusually sensitive and tender.
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: And aren't we all glad he was not an attorney,
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: but became a monk and ultimately minister. discovered what became
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: for us the roots of a reformation.
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: God has his way in the whirlwind and the storm.
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: This is called a theophany. T-H-E-O-P-H-A-N-Y. Theophany. It's a disclosure
• 9:20
  Speaker 2: of God's presence. Theophany. Nahum says.
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: that God is present in the storm, and in the
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: midst of the storm, he's having his way. Now, with
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: that in mind, go back to Isaiah. Isaiah is just
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: before Jeremiah, chapter 55, verse 6. I know we're in Job,
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: but we're moving in that direction, and just give me
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: a moment.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: To set it up, okay?
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: Job said, speaks of some of this, at least the
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: chapter we're looking at, and I want you to see
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: something ahead of time Isaiah 55 6 seek the Lord
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: while he may be found call upon him while he
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: is near let the wicked forsake his way and the
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: unrighteous man his thoughts let him return to the Lord
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: he will have compassion on him and to our God
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: for he will abundantly pardon that part we understand The
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: next part is so surprising. For my thoughts, this is
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: God speaking now. He steps in as Isaiah continues to write.
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: My thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways my.
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: Ways, declares the Lord. Well, are they really that different?
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: Are they really that far apart?
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: Verse 9, as the heavens are higher than the earth,
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: so are my ways higher than your ways and my
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: thoughts than your thoughts. As far as the distance between
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: heavens and earth, so is the distance between my thinking
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: and God's thinking, your ways and God's ways.
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: If you were raised like me, you were usually.
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: Taught that God speaks in a still small voice. that
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: he comes tippy-toeing on the scene, and he always sort
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: of whispers. But Nahum says he has his way in
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: a whirlwind and a storm, and the clouds are but
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: the dust of his feet.
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: And when he.
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: Does speak, what a surprising message. Often it is a
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: shaking of our shoulders in the storm. Sometimes it is
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: a reproof that levels us. We prefer the quiet settings.
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: We prefer the calm and peaceful.
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: Surrounding.
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: But sometimes the storm is a doctor's report that's frightening.
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: Sometimes the storm message comes in a rehabilitation center.
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: Or in the emergency room or in a prison cell.
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: Or as we're standing on the other end of the
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: room and we're reading a note from our mate who says,
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: I cannot stay any longer, I'm gone. And we think
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: in moments like that, where is God? Where is God
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: when I need Him? He is there in the storm
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: and in the whirlwind. God's whirlwind messages are never forgotten.
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: Most of us could testify that our lives began to
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: be changed because of some reproof that came through some.
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: Significant event, usually stormy.
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: Now, Job 38 brings us to the place we've been
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: waiting for for some time, quite some time.
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: Got a letter from one of the men in our
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: church this week, good letter.
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: He said, I just want to thank you for Job,
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: but could we do something in another book that isn't
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: quite so character building, he said. He said, if my
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: character gets built anymore, I'll need to have another office space,
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: another room in my office to put some of this
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: character that's getting built. And he names one thing after another.
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: And it's like the wheels have come off the cart.
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: And so it has for Job. And adding insult to injury,
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: not only does Job lose his ability to make a living,
• 13:38
  Speaker 3: and along with that his home and his entire family
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: of ten grown children, he now has lost his health,
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: and these so-called friends have come alongside to preach their
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: sermons and to deliver their messages, all of which are
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: off target, and they don't help.
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: And Job has stood toe-to-toe.
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: With each one of them, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and lately Elihu.
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: And by the time he gets to Elihu, he just
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: doesn't bother to answer. He is out of energy, and
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: he is so determined that he is going to wait
• 14:14
  Speaker 3: for God to speak. Well, God speaks. In chapter 38,
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: verse 1, the Lord answered, but.
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: He doesn't tiptoe and say, Psst, Job, it's me. He
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: comes in a whirlwind.
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: As if Job doesn't have it tough enough already, he's
• 14:35
  Speaker 3: got to go through a whirlwind. And in the midst
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: of the whirlwind, as his hair is blowing and his
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: beard is blowing.
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: No, he doesn't have any hair. He's bald.
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: As his beard is blowing and as his clothes are
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: being pulled off, he realizes this must be some significant moment.
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: And he hears the voice he's been waiting to hear.
• 14:55
  Speaker 3: But it isn't a voice of comfort. Now, if you
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: and I had come, we would have come, hopefully, with
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: comfort in mind. We'd have brought Job something to read.
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: We'd have maybe something to eat. And we'd sit down
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: with him. And Job, my, it's tough. But God doesn't
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: do that. Why? His ways are higher than our ways.
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: His thoughts different than our thoughts.
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: Remember that. Get out of your mind the idea that
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: God is just like us, just a lot older.
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: And God understands like we understand, but he just, you know,
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: he's been at it longer. He's not this old man
• 15:37
  Speaker 3: with long white hair blowing wind from the north to
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: make the boat sail across the ocean. He is totally
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: and completely and absolutely different from us. Therefore, his ways
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: are full of shocks and surprises. The first word out
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: of his mouth is a reproof. Why would he do that?
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: Here's a man covered with boils, waiting for comfort and
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: needing help, and along comes the living God who has
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: known the whole story from start to finish. He doesn't
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: give Job any answers to his questions. He doesn't apologize
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: for having been silent so long. He doesn't give a
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: hint about the whole thing between himself and Satan way
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: back when, when it all started. He doesn't acknowledge that
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: Job has been through deep struggles, When he finally speaks.
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: He speaks in a reproof.
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: Frankly, having thought about this for some time, I think
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: Job by now has gotten in his defense a little arrogant.
• 16:41
  Speaker 3: You get like that when you defend yourself too long.
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: When you've had to stand against the attacks of the others,
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: you tend to get a little cocksure. And God is
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: going to communicate a number of things to Job, but
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: he has to get his heart right to begin with.
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: And does he do that? He comes with a clipboard
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: full of questions.
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: His opening line is, Who is this that darkens counsel
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: by words without knowledge? Now, you've got to understand there's
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: not a whole group of people standing there. It's just
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: Job and God. So who is a pretty simple answer. Now,
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: Gird up your loins like a man.
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: It's singular.
• 17:26
  Speaker 3: He's not talking to the friends. He's talking to Job.
• 17:29
  Speaker 3: Gird up your loins like a man. I will ask
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: you and you instruct me.
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: And he starts.
• 17:36
  Speaker 3: He begins with the creation of the world. He moves
• 17:39
  Speaker 3: to the stellar spaces, to the deepest seas. He goes
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: ultimately into the animal kingdom. One question after another, after another.
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: The first set of questions ask, Can you explain my creation?
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: Let's even add control it. Can you explain or control
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: my creation? Just answer the question, Job. And that ends
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: with a statement of humility when Job answers in verses 3, 4,
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: and 5 of chapter 40.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: God isn't through.
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: The next set of questions ask, can you change or
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: subdue my creation? And that's ended with Job's answer of repentance.
• 18:19
  Speaker 3: We'll look at that some time from now. But right now,
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: let's think about this first set of questions, which is
• 18:26
  Speaker 3: answered with humility, thankfully. Now watch closely. He begins with
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: the creation. Verse 4, chapter 38. Where were you when
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: I laid the foundation of the earth? Well, obviously, he
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: wasn't anywhere around. All of us were gone at that time.
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: Tell me if you have any understanding. Who said it's measurements?
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: He doesn't know that answer. No one knows how the
• 18:49
  Speaker 3: Earth is measured or the universe about us or the
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: multiple galaxies beyond that.
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: Who set its measurements? Since you know.
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: Or who stretched the line on it? On what were
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: its bases sunk? Who laid its cornerstone? How did all
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: of this get flung into space? When the morning stars
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy.
• 19:11
  Speaker 3: That's a reference to the first stars. Those morning stars
• 19:15
  Speaker 3: sang together. Perhaps at creation time, The stars could sing.
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: Maybe it's poetic writing, and it doesn't literally mean singing,
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: but again, maybe the heavens were in harmony with one another.
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: We don't know. We weren't there.
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: Writing this account, he refers to the morning stars singing together.
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: Maybe they were the angels as they sang at the
• 19:36
  Speaker 3: time of creation. These angelic creatures were witnessing all of
• 19:40
  Speaker 3: this with open mouths, staring with this incredulous.
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: Look about them. And then he moves to the sea.
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: Who enclosed the sea with doors?
• 19:51
  Speaker 3: When bursting forth, it went out from the womb.
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: This is poetic.
• 19:56
  Speaker 3: When I made a cloud, its garment and thick darkness,
• 19:59
  Speaker 3: its swaddling band, and I placed boundaries on it, I
• 20:02
  Speaker 3: set a bolt and doors, and I said, Thus far
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: you shall come, but no farther, and here shall your
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: proud waves stop.
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: Could you do that, Job? Were you there when that happened, Job?
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: Have you ever in your life commanded the morning and
• 20:19
  Speaker 3: caused the dawn to know its place?
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: Now he moves to.
• 20:22
  Speaker 3: The sun, this greater light by day, that it might
• 20:27
  Speaker 3: take hold of the ends of the earth and the
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: wicked be shaken out of it. Verse 16, have you
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: entered into the springs of the sea or walked in
• 20:35
  Speaker 3: the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death
• 20:39
  Speaker 3: been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: deep darkness? Have you understood the expanse of the earth?
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: Tell me if you know all this. Quite a set
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: of questions, isn't it? You know what happens when you're
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: asked questions like this?
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: You get even more silent. You're already silent, but you.
• 21:00
  Speaker 3: As he says at the end, he puts his hand
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: over his mouth, lest he be tempted to give one answer.
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: You are silent.
• 21:06
  Speaker 3: Totally out of it. It's like a classroom. And the
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: prof is way ahead of you. And you duck behind
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: the head of the person in front of you so
• 21:15
  Speaker 3: the prof can't see you've done it.
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: You're there. And then he begins to ask questions.
• 21:21
  Speaker 3: And you know you're outclassed. Not only do you not know,
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: you are aware that others know you don't know.
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: So you are doubly silent. And yet God goes on.
• 21:34
  Speaker 3: The expanses of the sea, in my research, it may
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: be dated, but the book I read talked about the
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: deepest place of the sea has been revealed to be 6.78 miles.
• 21:48
  Speaker 3: There may be deeper places, but at that point, that
• 21:50
  Speaker 3: particular authority said we've come a little over six and
• 21:55
  Speaker 3: three quarter mile.
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: Deep in the deepest place of the sea. And how
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: about the stellar spaces?
• 22:03
  Speaker 3: You may remember one of our space probes spent 12
• 22:06
  Speaker 3: years going 4.4 billion miles, passing within 3,000 miles of
• 22:14
  Speaker 3: Neptune's cloud bank. But that's only in this immediate galaxy.
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: There are millions more. Who knows but what ours is
• 22:25
  Speaker 3: the smallest of the group.
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: It's mind-boggling. It makes you quiet.
• 22:34
  Speaker 3: So he carries him to the telescopes and then he
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: takes him back to earth and he invites him to
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: visit the darkness.
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: 19 through 21.
• 22:43
  Speaker 3: And then he says in 22, have you entered the
• 22:45
  Speaker 3: storehouses of the snow? Have you seen the storehouses.
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: Of the hail? What a poetic way to put it.
• 22:54
  Speaker 3: All of the heavens that hold the waters that will
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: drench the earth, and the ice that will fall and
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: will form, and the hailstorms yet to come. And he
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: said he's reserved those for a time of distress.
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: I mean, Job is just standing there. Suddenly, the boils
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: don't seem quite.
• 23:15
  Speaker 3: As significant, and the answers he was giving his friends
• 23:18
  Speaker 3: with such dogmatism don't flow with such eloquence anymore. He
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: even asks him to, verse 31, can you bind the
• 23:28
  Speaker 3: chains of the Pleiades? Now he's describing some of the constellations.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: Or loose the cords of Orion.
• 23:36
  Speaker 3: Can you lead forth a constellation in its season and
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: guide the bear with her satellites, another of the star formations?
• 23:45
  Speaker 3: in the shape of a bear. Many of you are
• 23:48
  Speaker 3: familiar with that. Do you know the ordinances of the
• 23:51
  Speaker 3: heavens or fix their rule over the earth? It's like
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: being invited to one of these great telescopes and you
• 24:01
  Speaker 3: take a look and you blink and you watch this
• 24:06
  Speaker 3: entire world beyond.
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: Our present familiar surface.
• 24:14
  Speaker 3: You don't turn and start instructing the person who runs
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: the place. You stuff your hands in your pockets and
• 24:22
  Speaker 3: sort of walk backwards to get out of the place.
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: It is enormous.
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: It's especially enormous because the one who could answer every
• 24:31
  Speaker 3: question is talking to him and was there and has
• 24:35
  Speaker 3: put them in motion and keeps them in motion. Who, how,
• 24:39
  Speaker 3: can you, do you, will you, are you? If God's
• 24:43
  Speaker 3: ways are higher than mine, then whatever he allows, I
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: bow in submission. And that makes me humble. How needed
• 24:54
  Speaker 3: a humble spirit is.
• 24:56
  Speaker 2: In a person like Job.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: If God's ways are truly higher than ours, higher than
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: the heavens are above the earth, then perhaps the wisest
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: posture is to simply bow down in humble submission, to
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: stop instructing and start listening. So here's the bottom line
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: question that Chuck Swindoll has invited us to ponder. Where
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: is God inviting us to trade our questions for trust? When,
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: like Job, we're sitting in an ash heap, suffering from
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: physical ailments or reeling from the insensitive input from family
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: and friends, it causes us to second-guess God's presence. Does
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: He even know what we're going through? That's the question
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: Chuck answers in a book he's written. It's called Finding
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: God When the World's on Fire, and it's our featured
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: resource today on Insight for Living. Maybe you're feeling discouraged today.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: Perhaps you've suffered through a sequence of unwanted surprises. Nothing
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: seems to quell your confusion or alleviate your fears, and
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: God feels very, very far away. Chuck's book, Finding God
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: When the World's on Fire, was written exactly for that moment.
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: We'd love to send you a copy today. It's yours
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: when your request includes a contribution toward the ministry of
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: Insight for Living. We're grateful for you, and we believe
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: this book will be a gift to your soul. Again,
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: it's called Finding God When the World's on Fire. Call
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: us at 800-772-8888 or go to insight.org slash donate. Thanks
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: so much for your voluntary gift. No matter the size,
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: it'll be used to provide hope to those who feel hopeless. Plus,
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: your generosity allows us to provide Chuck's teaching on your
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: station and on the Insight mobile app and all the
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: other platforms where Insight for Living is freely heard. To
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: send a contribution in the mail, address your envelope to
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: Insight for Living, Post Office Box 5000, Frisco, Texas 75034.
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: Or call us at 800-772-8888.
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: Online, go to insight.org slash donate. What does it really
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: mean to surrender our will to God? I'm Bill Meyer.
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: Chuck Swindoll presents a biblical answer Thursday on Insight for Living.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: The preceding message, A Penetrating Reproof from the Almighty, was
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: copyrighted in 2002, 2004, and 2025, and the sound recording
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: was copyrighted in 2025 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: use is strictly prohibited.