JULY 9, 2014
Asking
Different Questions
Read: Job
38:1-11
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? —Job 38:4
When tragedy strikes,
questions follow. Our loss of a loved one may lead us to ask God any number of
pointed questions: “Why did You let this happen?” “Whose fault was this?”
“Don’t You care about my pain?” Believe me, as the grieving father of a
teenager who died tragically I have asked these very questions.
The book of Job
records the questions Job asks as he sits down with friends to lament his
suffering. He had lost his family as well as his health and possessions. At one
point, he asks, “Why is light given to him who is in misery, and life to the
bitter of soul?” (3:20). Later, he asks, “What strength do I have, that I
should hope?” (6:11). And, “Does it seem good to You that You should oppress?”
(10:3). Many have stood near a headstone placed too early and asked similar
questions.
But when you read all
the way to the end of the book, you get a surprise. When God responds to Job
(chs. 38–41), He does it in an unexpected way. He turns the tables and asks Job
questions—different questions that show His wisdom and sovereignty. Questions
about His magnificent creation—the earth, stars, and sea. And the questions all
point to this: God is sovereign. God is all-powerful. God is love. And God
knows what He is doing.
We comprehend Him not,
Yet earth and heaven
tell,
God sits as sovereign
on the throne,
And ruleth all things
well. —Gerhardt
Our greatest comfort
in sorrow is to know that God is in control.
Insight
Our familiarity with
the story of Job may cause us to overlook some of the significant aspects of
his story. It is important to notice the unity of the book of Job. The wisdom,
power, and control that God asks Job to consider in chapters 38–41 is the same
wisdom, power, and control we read about in the opening chapters when God
allows Satan to turn Job’s life upside down and inside out. We should not
disconnect God’s wisdom seen in the world around us from the wisdom with which
He works in our lives.
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012
