The Heavy Hand of God!

Job 23

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, February 7.

Have you ever experienced what has been described as the heavy hand of God? In Job 23:2-3, Job responded to Eliphaz’s accusations, “Even today my complaint is rebellion; His hand is heavy despite my groaning. Oh that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come to His seat!” Even though Job suffered under His heavy hand, Job wanted an opportunity to plead his case with God face-to-face. Job’s desire was to approach the mercy seat of God!

Let’s look at two other usages of the heavy hand of God to gain some biblical context. The first is found in 1 Samuel 5:6 when God’s judgment came upon the Philistines who took the ark of the Lord and put it in the temple of Dagon – “Now the hand of the Lord was heavy on the Ashdodites, and He ravaged them and smote them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territories.” Satan’s prodigious efforts to provoke Job to curse God was a corruption of God’s righteous affliction (Job 2:7).

The second usage is when David described the effects of unconfessed sin in Psalm 32:4, “For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.” Once again, we see how Satan accursed Job with the same effects on his body that God used for unconfessed sin.

It is the desire of every child’s heart to be in the protective arms of her loving father when she is suffering. Seek the face of God, even as you are experiencing His heavy hand. Don’t let your pain prevent you from approaching His mercy seat, the place where Jesus has covered your sins and made a way to the Father through His propitiation of your sins (Romans 3:24-25; 1 John 2:2; 4:10)!

Seize the moment and “let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

God bless you!

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