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SEPTEMBER 30, 2011
HOW GREAT OUR REJOICING
Then he comes to men and says, “I sinned, and perverted what was right, but I did not get what I deserved. He redeemed my soul
from the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light.” (Job 33:27-28, NIV)
Every golfer with an ounce of humility will tell you that golf’s greatest pleasure—a hole-in-one—is
nothing but luck. Sure, the better you are and the more good shots you hit, the likelier you may be to get that little ball to find that little hole. But plenty of good golfers have never had an ace, and
any number of bladed, rolled, and otherwise mis-hit shots have fallen into the cup.
No matter how it is done, though, here are some things all holes-in-one have in common: they set off hoots and hollers
and high fives, ignite delighted jigs devoid of all self-consciousness, and fill nineteenth holes everywhere with co-celebrants.
This is not an original question, but we do need to keep asking ourselves if we rejoice in our salvation like this.
Pastors have long wondered how it is that people who shout their throats dry at a Saturday football game show up to church on Sunday as reserved as pallbearers.
In the book bearing his name, Job listened to the speculations of his friends as to why he was facing horrible troubles
and what God is all about anyway. But in the midst of their guesses, we find nuggets of observation. One of these was delivered by Elihu, who tried to extract a confession of some wickedness in Job, the
kind of sin that would justify God’s apparent punishment of the man. Turns out Job was as righteous as they come. Turns out Job’s pains were tests, not chastisement.
Where Elihu gets it right, however, is that all of us have answering to do for the lives we lead. We are not only
guilty but secretive in our guilt. And yet for us all, God provides redemption if we will turn to Him and say, “I am done with my old way of living, for there is no life in it at all.” And
when we run to God like this, our running turns to “shouts for joy” (v. 26). You see, we are, when saved from the tragic results of our own rule, the luckiest people of all. There is no
better reason to celebrate!
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Jeff Hopper
September 30, 2011
Copyright © 2011 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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