RTW 2023

Then you will take delight in the Almighty and look up to God.
Job 22:26

“The Hebrew phrase is extraordinary, and emphatical, and implies a thorough and effectual turning not only from sin… but also unto God, so as to love him, and cleave to him.” – Matthew Poole

In a sermon titled Delight in the Almighty, Charles Spurgeon explained what this means.

• It means to have joy in God.
  When a man hangs his head down, he is unhappy: it is the attitude of misery; but oh, when our thoughts of God are changed, and our relationship to God is different, we lift up our faces and sun our countenances in the light of God’s favor.
• It means to have guilt put away.
  Guilt makes a man hang his head. Conscience doth make cowards of us all”; but oh, my brothers, when the atoning sacrifice has come with all its power to us, when we are washed in the blood of the Lamb, and we are clean every whit, then we lift up our face unto God.
• It means to be free from fear.
  Fear covers her face, and would gladly hide herself altogether, even though to accomplish concealment the rocks must fall upon her.
• It means to have expectation.
  Oh, to lift one’s face toward God, looking for deliverance, safety, and rest, and expecting both grace and glory from his right hand!

Delight in the midst of despair begins, is possible, when we lift our face to the Almighty.

• But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.
  Psalm 3:3 (ESV)

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A wonderful summary of where we are right now:

“This begins a third (and shortened) round of debate between Job and his three friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Through these three rounds, ‘A certain movement can be detected. In the first cycle the friends are content to talk generalities, without venturing to apply their doctrine directly to Job. In the second round the main theme is the fate of the wicked and Job’s point of view comes into open contradiction with that of his friends… Now it comes into the open and the breach between them is complete. Once this point is reached there can be no further dialogue, and the discussion grinds to a halt.‘” – Francis I. Andersen

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Lift my head to the Almighty and sing.