Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?
Job 38: 1-7
Do you ever feel like in the midst of your pain and confusion that God is silent? Has God been silent in your life as you’ve been waiting for answers?
That’s exactly how Job felt when he wanted to hear from God. He wanted to know why he had to suffer. “Let the Almighty answer me,” he said (Job 31:35, NIV)
Finally, after all the struggling and calling out to God for answers, in a voice from out of the storm, God spoke.
God asked Job,” Where were you when I began the Creation?” Had Job been there to call the universe into existence, or to create his own life, or to make possible all of his possessions or his children or his health?
We might expect God to answer our questions and to set everything straight by explaining exactly why he allowed something to happen but he answered Job’s questions with his own set of questions, four chapters of them, basically reminding Job that he was questioning the Almighty God.
God still did not explain or reveal his master plan. Instead God revealed himself, and in the midst of his awesome presence, Job’s questions were not answered—they simply disappeared.
Then the Lord said to Job,2 “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?” Job Responds to the Lord 3 Then Job replied to the Lord, 4 “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. 5 I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say.”
Job 40:1-5
God did not explain suffering or how to avoid it. Job came to understand that because he knew who God is, he can accept what God gives-even when it’s being our comprehension. He is God and he chose to not reveal everything to Job just like he doesn’t reveal everything to us either. And he doesn’t have to, he is God! He is the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning and the end! He is the creator and God of all things! Nothing comes to a surprise to Him, he already knows the outcome. We just have to trust in Him! And not lean on our own understanding. We have to acknowledge Him and he will direct our paths.
And what if God spelled it all out for us? What if he had explained his full plan and purpose for Job’s suffering or our suffering or what he allowed my son to get cancer and die? We tend to think that if we knew all the answers we could bear the suffering. But could we?
Somehow I think that if God listed all the reasons why he has allowed you to lose your loved one, develop the disease, or suffer, it still would not seem worth it from our limited perspective because we are still human. He is God.
Job had no idea about the conversation between God and Satan prior to his suffering.
He had no idea that is unwavering steadfast faith during his extreme difficulty mattered so much. Our response to difficult situations matters! Like Job, we often cannot see the hidden purpose and plan of God, so we must be determined to stay faithful and keep walking toward him in the darkness. Because we will see light on the other side and we will be more fully aware of God’s glory.
Our job is not to decipher exactly how life’s pieces all fit together but to remain faithful and obedient through the storm. This kind of faith pleases God, when we trust him even though it doesn’t make humanly sense, we have to believe it makes Godly sense. Would you be still and patient through your trials even when God is silent? Would you rest in knowing that we may never have the answers, but continue believing that God has a plan and a purpose through the darkness?
