Page 37 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 14

thing, diet, exercise, affiliation, pleasurable ac- critically important understanding that God is
tivities and related self care topics. wise, good and majestic, elements that are cri-
Self care and self focus are helpful immediate tical to how we approach God. But that is not
tactics for short term coping and should be God’s main point or purpose (Job 38.2) because
used to the degree that they integrate well with essentially Job knows this, he just can’t compre-
the walk of faith and faithfulness, but life itself hend how these fit the context of devastating
often might bring events that severely dampen realities. God responds by telling Job that he will
their effectiveness. More fundamental is the in- not and cannot understand what God is doing
trinsic work of becoming aware of and interpre- and so his comprehension is not the basis of
ting our own emotional reactions as a language this relationship (Job 38 – 40:2). Job’s response,
which, when interpreted, help us understand wisely, is to repent (Job 40:3-5). But then God
ourselves which is hugely important in under- does something extremely interesting. In Job
standing others, sharing hope, and working on 40:6-14 God sounds like He is bragging (accu-
relationships with loved ones. And while this rately) when He makes twelve statements about
has entailed exploring my own story it is set in Himself. But several years ago I noted that eve-
the greater context of life events are part of the ry one of these self statements, every point God
dialectic with a living God. Indeed, we can think makes about Himself is attributed to Messiah at
about our own therapeutic work as confessi- some point in the Bible, starting with the first
on (recognizing behaviors), taking ownership one in verse 8 (cf Rom 3:24; Gal 2:16). It is like
and repentance (behavior change) when set in God is saying “you can’t do these things, but in
a God context, even as we may be thinking of Messiah I will.” Of course Job can’t know that -
these in theoretical therapeutic terms. And ha- which is God’s point.
ving worked through the conflicts within my- Throughout the Bible God proclaims His love
self, others and with God, often with some an- for us often times in ways that to are quite coun-
guish, we know we are getting to resolution on terintuitive (e.g. Isa 5:25-30). But our compre-
that point when we arrive at that place of grati- hension is not required for acknowledging
tude, praise, worship, and compassion directed the fact that this, indeed, is love. Our minimal
at others. At the same time, thinking in terms of apprehension and ongoing reception of that
the therapeutic systems helps me generate hy- reality concomitant with the honest appraisal
pothesis when looking at the behavior of clients of apparently contradictory facts is required.
and having a language to talk about them to That does not mean that God will not, in time
other professionals, even while bearing in mind and when He sees fit, meet my need for some
the biblical truths that transcend and illumina- comprehension but only after and to the degree
te those theoretical systems. As important as that I keep this principle straight: God has no
theories are, and while utilizing the tools of self requirement to make himself comprehensible,
awareness, management, and working through only that it is clear Who He Is and what He asks
my own issues, the primary tool principle for of me right now. He is doing stuff and He wants
self work is that I recognize and continually re- to include me in it (Gen 18: 17-19; Luke 15:31).
member that I walk in the immediate presence So, a great deal of our work concerns becoming
of the living God (Willard, 1998) who actually aware of our unconscious expectations, their
loves me, loves the other person, and is doing contradictions and setting this in the context of
good things. a God who is there. This might require releasing
expectations and desires that will not come to
Deeper Issues pass, perhaps because they may be unrealistic,
Job is instructive. After saying how he does not but more typically because that my expecta-
and can not comprehend God or what God is tions do not conform with God’s work at that
doing, Job demands to know how he is sup- time. Central to the process of letting these go
posed to work out this relationship if not by is being willing to engage in lamentation as part
doing what he understands is the right thing of release (Psalms of Lament, Lamentations).
(Job 31). After this, Elihu, reminds Job of the We can only receive what God has for us if we

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