Bible Passage: “Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: ‘Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.'” (Job 38:1-3 NIV)
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 55:8-9; James 4:13-15
We are years removed from the COVID-19 pandemic, and with hindsight, many of us learned a lot.
One thing that I heard men say when I was pastoring through that season was how hard it was to feel helpless—whether in the face of the virus itself, or the government, or the cultural anger and fighting—there wasn’t much we could do to change things.
Some men found this completely debilitating, and that’s understandable. We like having agency, and losing the ability to make our own choices was challenging.
Others, however, leaned hard into God. Even when life felt out of control, they drew comfort from the fact that God was never out of control.
As we near the end of Job’s story, after chapters of him crying out in his pain, arguing with his friends, and venting to God, God finally speaks back.
Today’s passage opens a long discourse in which God answers Job’s questions, rantings, and frustrations.
And how does He answer?
Actually, not with much.
God pours out paragraphs of poetic images of His glory and majesty, His sovereign power, His control over every aspect of Creation and eternity, and His “Almightyness” over all things, forever and always.
He never actually answers any of Job’s specific questions or explains why the suffering happened.
Instead, He essentially responds:
“Job, I am God, and you are not. You may question all you like, but the Creator does not owe an answer to His Creation.”
It’s thoroughly unsatisfying if we’re trying to answer the question of why bad things happen to good men.
It is, however, thoroughly satisfying if we can trust this God who reveals Himself to us and demonstrates His glory and power over all things.
Although He doesn’t answer our every question, His response is ultimately Himself.
We may not always understand, but we know the One who does, and we trust that He will ultimately do good and make things right.
Job responds to God with humility, as every man should:
“You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” (Job 42:3)
Job reminds himself of his place in God’s created order—trusting the Lord who is over it all.
It doesn’t satisfy all our questions—but it can give us a gift of peace if we can embrace it.
Prayer: Lord, bless me in my struggles and my wrestling. If You are willing to answer my questions, please do. If You are not, please grant me the strength and the faith to trust in You in the meantime. Amen.
Reflection: How might a man find his way to peace, even if God doesn’t answer his questions?
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