Read Job 36:26-33
This passage accurately portrays God's
greatness, though it is mis-used by Elihu, another of Job's antagonists. Elihu is saying: "Job, you must repent
of sin because who are you to stand up against this great God." Elihu has the same idea everyone else had:
Job suffered because of sin in his life.
But when we just take the picture of God here,
I find it to be the "start of the end" so to speak. Job is about to come face to face with this
great God (Chapters 38-41) but for a different reason. For the moment, meditate on these
verses. Think about God in His Majesty.
Read Job 38:1-3
It is not surprising that we have struggles in
dealing with the trials and sufferings of life.
Especially when they are of the magnitude of Connie's death. Job's story makes this clear. He is a righteous man (Chapters 1-2) and yet
he struggled with "why" God brought all this on him. So, struggle is not abnormal for Christians.
But at some point, the Christian must expect
to be confronted by God, to be questioned by God. And that is what happens here. God is speaking. Job has asked for a "conference"
with God so he can explain his plight or get an answer. He has been "questioning" God. But now he, and we, find out that the great
God was there all the time. He
apparently had a time-table that was different than Job's and has only now
decided to talk to Job. The struggle is
normal but we must expect that we will eventually have to come to grips
with (submit to, James 4:7) God.
Notice that God does not begin by saying
"Oh poor Job. Your life is so
hard." No pity. Nor does he say, "Job, you are a man of
integrity. Congratulations! You did not deny me." No rationalizations. Instead, God hits Job hard with truth:
"Who is this who darkens counsel, by words without
understanding." The truth is that
Job is man, finite, limited in knowledge to what is "under the
sun." God is God, infinite,
unlimited in knowledge. But Job has not
been thinking or acting like man. He has
taken the role of God, seeking to question God and to press God into the image
Job has of what "God" should be and how He should act.
Further, Job has not only thought it unfair
that he suffer; he has felt that God must change his circumstances. Job has a certain dis-satisfaction with the
life God has given him to live. In other
words, he does not trust God. God has
made a mistake in Job's eyes.
Now in spite of Job's pain and tragic
situation we must call this what it is.
Job is arrogant and proud; he is dis-believing. I say we must call this what it is
because we must come to see the same thing in ourselves. Struggle is normal but our trials must reveal
who we are so we can turn from dis-believing and put our full trust in the
Sovereign God.
Our trials must also bring us to see God for
Who He is: the Sovereign Lord! And that
is the subject of God's words in Chapters 38-41. You may want to read them now. In essence they are a series of questions
designed to show Job his limits and to show Job God's Sovereignty.
You will note one other thing God does not
say. He never, never says,
"Job, here's why I did this. Here's
the explanation you've been looking for."
The point is clear: we must come to that point where we will deny
self, where we will deny our curiosity, and follow Christ only. We must come to let God be God. We must be satisfied -- not with answers --
but simply with God (read Psalm 73:25-26).
Anything else is an attempt by me to be God instead of allowing God
alone to be God.
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