January 26, 2016
When Questions Remain
He
knows the way that I take. - Job 23:10
Read:
Job
23:1-12
On October 31, 2014,
an experimental spacecraft broke apart during a test flight and crashed into
the Mojave Desert. The copilot died while the pilot miraculously survived.
Investigators soon determined what had happened, but not why. The title of a
newspaper article about the crash began with the words “Questions remain.”
Throughout life we may experience sorrows for
which there are no adequate explanations. Some are catastrophic events with
far-reaching effects while others are personal, private tragedies that alter
our individual lives and families. We want to know why, but we seem to find
more questions than answers. Yet even as we struggle with “Why?” God extends
His unfailing love to us.
When Job lost his children and his wealth in a
single day (Job 1:13-19), he sank into an angry depression and resisted any
attempted explanations by his friends. Yet he held out hope that someday there
would be an answer from God. Even in the darkness Job could say, “[God] knows
the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (23:10).
Oswald Chambers said, “There will come one day
a personal and direct touch from God when every tear and perplexity, every
oppression and distress, every suffering and pain, and wrong and injustice will
have a complete and ample and overwhelming explanation.”
Today, as we face life’s unanswered questions,
we can find help and hope in God’s love and promises.
When we face unanswered questions, we find help and hope in
God’s love.
INSIGHT:
The date and author of the book of Job is
unknown. Some scholars suggest that Job lived at about the same time as Abraham
and that Moses is the author. When Job’s three friends heard about his
sufferings (Job 1–2), they offered an explanation. Over three rounds of debate
(Job 4–14; 15–21; 22–27) they argued with Job that suffering is always a result
of sin (4:7–9; 8:4–7). Rejecting their explanations, Job sought to find an
answer directly from God (23:1–5). At a time when Job needed Him most, God was
seemingly absent (vv. 8–9). Yet despite the silence and lack of answers, Job
entrusted himself to God’s ways and drew strength from God’s Word (vv. 10–12).
Source: Our Daily Bread 2016