Sin

I have absolutely no doubt in the radical depravity of my soul. Lord break me! I need your grace

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Lowliness

The exhaustion of self preservation. When the strength and energy run out, you have yet to cross the desert. God has proven that he has no problem leaving His backslidden people to thier wandering. It is when the humble turn their hearts to God that the fire of His mighty presence shows up. All the guidance provision one needs is their in His presence.
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“…understanding…”

Job 28:20-28

^"20Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? ²¹ Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air^h. ²² Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. ²³ God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. ²⁴ For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; ²⁵ To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. ²⁶ When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: ²⁷ Then did he see it, and declareⁱ it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. ²⁸ And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding."

When will people come to understand that we can do nothing in our own strength? God has shown that He advances His Kingdom with or without man. And if man is involved, it is typically one man or a very small minority. Why then do people feel the need to do everything for God? As one reads scripture, we find that God has not entrusted the success of His will to men. God has given many reasons as to why: there were none righteous, men's hearts are full of iniquity, walked in the way of his fathers and served Baal…. The only answer that I have seen in scripture is that we seek God's wisdom and set ourselves apart unto holiness. In the passage above, God speaks of both.

Prior to this passage, Job spends a good amount of time expanding on the vast power and glory of God. Then of wisdom, Job describes how it is only by God that we ever come to the place of wisdom for only God knows where it is. The key to God's wisdom come only by two things. What makes this a hard message for today's "Christians," is that unfortunately they have neither and do not want them. Today, God is spoken of as common and matter of fact. In Job's description of God, we have been given ample reason to revere and fear God. The word behold is saying look at this, speaking of fearing the Lord.

If that wasn't enough, Job goes even further to say that when you understand, you will depart from evil. When you come to understand who God is; His majesty, power, and glory, it produces a reverence and fearfulness. The fruit of God's wisdom in your life is that you will depart from evil.

I find it interesting that we try and do this backwards. It is God who sanctifies and He does it His way. When we do it we strive and strive to depart from sin yet it just becomes a burden to us. We think that we must fight off all our sin in order to know God. God on the other hand has said when you see who I am it produces reverence. When you fear and revere God you will depart from sin.