Job

What is STOPPING us from TRUSTING God wholeheartedly? Have we SURRENDERED every part of our lives into God’s hand? Are we able to TRUST that He is Able & will Provide for our every need? 

Reflections 

If God allows suffering in my life, what will my response be?

Often suffering becomes a taboo word that brings with it a strong negative connotation. When I think of the suffering that Job had to go through, I thought to myself, “Will I be able to stand upright and not curse the name of God?” If things do not turn one’s way as wished, to speak foolishly is easy compared to holding one’s tongue. Job’s wife told him to curse the name of God. Job replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Should we accept good from God, and not trouble?” (2:9-10) Job stood upright, knowing fully well who God is. Job lived up to his name, being blameless and upright. So what happened?

His friends heard of it and came by to be with Job (2:11-13). How awesome it is to have friends who will journey far to be with us in times of trouble. But, instead of comforting him, his friends accused him of wrong doings and advised Job to repent in order to be free of his suffering. They defined God with their limited understanding from their experiences (4-25).

Then, Job spoke on who God is and his deeds before God. He defines, explains and reviews God with his experiences. He too limited God ONLY to work in ways he knew. It seems as if Job knows God better than God knows himself (26-31).

Elihu, the youngest of the four, spoke of the same thing as three of his friends but with a different purpose. He was not trying to prove Job as a sinner, but that Job’s view of God was wrong. He introduced a new truth that God sends suffering, not necessarily to punish us for our sins, but to keep us from sinning (33:18; 24) and to mould us to be a better person (36:1-15). God sometimes uses pain to warn, humble and bring us to the place of submission (Hebrews 12:1-11). However, not all sufferings come from God because it may be from our own doings. At Elihu ends his speech, he hopes that Job would submit to God, accept his painful situation and get from it the blessings God has for him.

A few questions that came to mind, in relation to us today, Who do we identify ourselves with?

• Job’s three friends, based on their understanding, who accused Job?
• Job, who had a very good understanding of God and attempted to squeeze Him into his framework?
• Elihu, who spoke truthfully on what he knows and bring hope to his friend’s ear?

THEN THE LORD ANSWERED JOB, in the final account.

God floored Job with His queries, and finally, Job got the point: Only God can define himself. In the words of Max Lucado, “You’ve got to know the alphabet before you can read, and God tells Job, “You don’t even know the ABC’s of heaven, much less the vocabulary.” For the first time, Job is quiet. He was silenced by the torrent of questions. God’s wisdom is beyond the grasp of Job’s understanding. Did Job finally get it? I think so… I am not worthy; I cannot answer you anything, so I will put my hand over my mouth (40:4).

From the beginning to the end, God is God. God is in control. He only requires us to be still and know I am God (Psalm 46:10). As Warren W. Wiersbe quoted that we live on promises, not on explanations. Let the AWESOME GOD take his rightful place, and we at His feet.

What about us today?

Reflect on how often we have allowed troubles to take the best of us and while God becomes so small in the sight of our problems.