Instruction
Scripture: Job 38:1-11
Through all his suffering Job remained faithful to God until
he finally came to the point when he exclaimed, “Let the Almighty answer me!”
(31:35). Chapter 38 is the beginning of a four chapter response from God in
which he essentially says, “I am God. I don’t answer to you.” While this is but
a taste of God’s answer, it functions to put Job (and us) in awe of God and to
call us to put our trust in him as the Almighty who provides for his people.
Teaching
As Job was confronted by his friends they provided many
reasonable arguments to defend God’s justice and to accuse Job of deserving the
terrible things he had experienced. Not only that, but in arguing his own
innocence Job himself proclaimed he wanted an answer from God. God’s answer is
to put Job and his friends in their place. He asks, “Who is this that darkens
counsel by words without knowledge?” Too often we assume we know what God
should or would do in a given situation. His response here tells us that our
reason cannot match God’s wisdom.
God revealed himself as the Creator of all things in this
passage. He will continue in this vein putting Job in his place, but also
putting Job in awe of God once again. This passage is important for us modern
believers to remember in a world that sees creation more-or-less as a random
accident. It is not. It is designed by a God who takes all things into account
and to whom all things are accountable.
Life
When people go through difficult times they can become
overwhelmed by the pain they are experiencing. It is not a sin to wonder why we
suffer; although the Bible makes clear that the source of our suffering is sin,
just not necessarily a particular sin. We assume that God must be punishing us
when we suffer, and that there can be no good purpose in it. But one of the
awesome things about God is the way that he uses suffering to his glory. There
is no greater example of that than the cross, and Jesus’ sacrificial suffering
and death to redeem us.
When we become overwhelmed Job reminds us that there is
another factor at work in the world. Beyond our sin, beyond all evil, God the
Creator, Redeemer, and Comforter is at work. He offers us the opportunity to be
overwhelmed by him, his power, his love, his sacrifice, his salvation.
Prayer
The theme of this
prayer is Confession.
O God, you are the Creator of all things. Please forgive me
for the times that I’ve thought that this world was out of control or that my
life was random happenstance. Forgive me for the times that I doubted your
goodness, your power, your love, or anything else about you as I went through
hard times. Forgive me for heeding dark counsels and words without knowledge
instead of listening to your word and trusting in you. Forgive me for
considering the suffering of my life as punishment from you for something I did
or as something that you could not use to your glory. Indeed, please forgive me
for caring more about my glory than yours. Forgive me for the sake of Jesus who
suffered for me. Amen.
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