Then the LORD answered Job out of the
whirlwind and said…. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding. Job
38:1;4
Job is hurting. He has
been devastated by this storm that came out of nowhere and ravaged his life,
taking his things but most of all, his children. Things – livestock - can be replaced, but his
children cannot be replaced. This storm
has left a permanent mark on his life in the worst way. Finally, Job breaks and questions God on His
true ability to protect him and whether or not God really cares about him in
the first place. He accuses God of being
unkind and unfair and not really knowing Job at all.
God fires back, not
with answers, but with seventy questions for Job.
God begins his reply in Job chapter 38. He asks Job Where were you when the foundation of the earth was laid? He is essentially telling Job, You think I don’t understand, do you understand Job?
God begins his reply in Job chapter 38. He asks Job Where were you when the foundation of the earth was laid? He is essentially telling Job, You think I don’t understand, do you understand Job?
God picks things out of nature and asks Job what he knows
about them. He asks Job What do you know about the animals? Do you care for them,
Job, like I do? In verse 12 God asks, Have you ever in your life commanded the morning? Job, just how intelligent are you?"
Or read verse 8: "
Or who enclosed the sea
with doors? When, bursting forth, it
went out from the womb? In the Bible, the sea is always the symbol of
chaos and disorderliness. God has tamed the seas.
Later he asks, "Has the
rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew? From whose womb did the
ice come forth, and the frost of heaven, who has given it birth? Basically that means, who
created the rain and dew and ice?
With these questions, God is saying to Job, "Job,
how much do you know about how much I care? How much do you know about my
wisdom? How much do you know about the way I order the universe?"
God is saying, "Think, Job. You are accusing me of
being uncaring. You are accusing me of
not understanding, of being unsympathetic. But I have made a world the depth of
which you will never understand. It's running in perfect order and symmetry.
That's how much I love it."
Haven't you ever said that in the quietness of your heart,
when the whirlwind of tragedy has blown through your life and through your
family? God, I know you're there, but I don't think you're listening. I don't
think you care. I don't think you understand. And then out of the whirlwind God speaks into
your life, or you go through a period of silent waiting. But the point is that God is God and who are
we to question Him, even when it feels like He has completely turned His
back. I feel like God was basically
telling Job Who do you think you
are? How dare you talk to me like that!
God understood Job and his feelings and He understands
ours. He is God enough to handle our
accusations hurled at Him through a broken heart. God’s words really put it into
perspective. If God created the earth
and everything in it, commands the rising and setting of the sun, the raging of
the seas and the power of the wind, He is in control of my little life, even
when I think He is nowhere to be found.
I may not like some of my circumstances sometimes but I must make myself
remember that He loves me, no matter what is happening around me. That and the faith that He is in ultimate
control will pull me through any storm.
Scripture to Claim:
That people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things. Isaiah 45:6-7
That people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things. Isaiah 45:6-7
