SCRIPTURE: Job 13
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
O God, grant me these two things, and then I will be able to face you. Remove your heavy hand from me, and don’t terrify me with your awesome presence. Now summon me, and I will answer! Or let me speak to you, and you reply. Tell me, what have I done wrong? Show me my rebellion and my sin. Why do you turn away from me? Why do you treat me as your enemy? [Job 13:20-24]
This guy has guts; listen to him talk to God, it hardly sounds like an appropriate prayer!
Job is “answering back” to God, and you can almost picture God getting angry, ready to punish him for his irreverence.
And yet, as we shall see, though He does call him on his words, God still accepts Job’s heart.
Through the anger and defiance coming from Job’s mouth, God discerns the sincerity and depth of Job’s faith.
It seems that Job’s heart is different from the heart’s of Job’s friends – they have a religion about God, but Job has a relationship with God, and this is what God desires.

Job’s boldness here reminds me of a lady who presumed to challenge Jesus.
A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.” But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.” Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.” But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!” Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their master’s table.” “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed. [Matthew 15:22-28]
I am not sure why Jesus did not immediately go to the aid of this woman; His response about being sent to help the people of Israel seems to go against what He says elsewhere regarding non-Jews.
I am inclined to think that this was a test, not for the woman so much as for the disciples who want her to leave.
He uses this situation to show them how the faith of non-Jews is stronger than many of the Jews
Compare this to another time when He responds to the faith of a Roman officer: When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! [Luke 7:9]

But what I also appreciate about this incident is that the Lord recognizes the faith behind her bold challenge.
She is questioning the Messiah, and He welcomes it – just like God does with Job.
What I learn from this is that when we have a loving relationship with God, we can be bold and honest with Him.
Think of how the sons of Prince Charles can speak to him, while everyone else needs to use formal terms of respect.
They can call him “daddy”, they can ask things of him, they can call him “unfair”.
They have a personal relationship with their father, not just a formal relationship (imagine them calling him “your majesty”).

God loves us, and wants to have a personal relationship with us as our Father.
Jesus is our big brother, He too wants us to relate to Him personally, with love and respect and boldness.
That includes being able to be honest with Him, to tell Him what we think, what we struggle with.
This is not an excuse to disrespect Him, but it is an invitation to be real with Him.
Like Harry and William with their “daddy”, otherwise known as “your majesty”.

PRAYER:
Lord, I will be honest, there are things that I do not like about Your plan, and the way You operate. If I were in charge, I would probably do things differently… Thankfully I am not in charge, otherwise it would be a disaster. Thank You for letting me be honest and real, and for being big enough to take my small opinions. I love You!