But, after who knows how many months of silence, when God finally speaks to Job in chapter 38, His words don't fit the profile of what I think Job deserves to hear.
1Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: 2"Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. 4"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.5Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?
God continues on this way for four chapters. "I am GOD, Job! I hung the stars in the sky, created the oceans and every animal in them. Can you do that?! I am all powerful and all knowing. Don't act like you could possibly know better on any issue than I do."
I would expect God to say something more comforting--at least as I define comfort. Something like nothing can separate us from the love of God. Or that God works all things together for our good. Or that they who wait on God mount up on wings like eagles. Or that He who began the good work in us will be faithful to complete it. But none of those promises are emphasized here.
Instead, to the guy who was probably at the lowest point of anyone ever named in Scripture, God says, "I am God. I am all powerful. And I know what I'm doing!"
I have been wrestling personally with God over some things in my own life. Recently, I very seriously prayed for a word from Him--"God, give me something to make sense of this time in life. Help me know how to think about all this and how to respond in obedience." I don't know what I expected, but His word was pretty clear. "Without faith, it is impossible to please Me." (Hebrews 11:6).
God didn't tell me that my troubles would soon end or that things would make more sense soon. Instead, He said pretty forcefully, "Trust Me! Believe in Me. I hung the stars in the sky and I know what I'm doing."
I am reminded that God never explained to Job on earth (at least according to the Scriptural account) the purpose for his suffering. As far as we know, Job didn't know until heaven what all was going on behind the scenes. In fact, Job's suffering had no earthly purpose at all. It was fully about proving the trustworthiness of God's character in the heavenly places to Satan and his minions.
I am beginning to see that the primary point of long periods of silence by God during our earthly sorrows and suffering is that we prove His worthiness of our belief and trust based fully on who He is and not on what things He gives us. Satan can't believe we would trust God just based on His character and not on the blessings on earth He gives us. That's Satan's taunt--"They only worship you because you are good to them. They'd never worship you if you didn't answer their prayers and take care of them like they expect."
The truth is that true faith doesn't worship God because God is good but because God is God. We don't endure because we expect deliverance but because He is worthy. And we will never fully clarify this in our own hearts until God stops fitting our definition of goodness and requires us to sit patiently at His feet without answering our prayers for a season. And even if that season lasts the remainder of our lives, He is worthy.
The other truth is that for no one in Scripture did that season last the rest of their lives. God's promises are that He will complete the good work He began in our hearts. He will work all the hard circumstances for honest to goodness GOOD in our lives. And when we wait on Him to work, He lifts us up on wings as eagles.
But that isn't why we trust Him, have faith in Him, or worship Him. We worship Him because He alone is God. And He is worthy.
8 comments:
good stuff.
Thanks Wendy, great post. I have been "kicking the gate" myself lately.
Love it!
I like what Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "God is not a God of the emotions but the God of truth." God gave Job the bottom line truth, a little chilly for most perhaps. However, for a personality like me, this is comforting because I like truth served like my ice cream: hard. I don't typically respond to soft serve. Others, however, do. So long as we are responding to God in whatever method he dishes, its all good. The problem is that we tend to compare. What speaks to me must surely be the same method that speaks to you, and its confusing when it doesn't work that way. I tend to expect God to show up the same way in everyone's life as he does mine. In reformed circles there is this analogy of our giftings in categories of 'prophet, priest and king'. Nothwithstanding the necessity for all 3 in the Body of Christ, I tend to be the prophet, and I need hard ice cream. Like I say to my husband, "Give me the truth, I can handle that." What I mean is, get to the bottom line, because that's what I best respond to. I don't typically respond to soft serve, although I admit I need to grow in hearing His still small voice. Maybe Job got truth served his way, because God knew his inner core would respond to that best. And my disclaimer of course is that those who respond to soft serve truth, those perhaps more priestly by nature, are not any less in the Body of Christ. The virgin Mary was soft serve to truth, and she responded/took a punch better than many men.
There are some helpful thoughts in this post.
"true faith doesn't worship God because God is good but because God is God"
Isn't God is God=God is good?
Because, not everything he brings into our lives is good (Rom 8:28), but he works them all out for our good.
I agree--God is good. It is His character.
However, He doesn't always appear good to us in the moment. So there must be something about who He is as God that trumps our definition of good, enabling us to worship Him anyway.
Thanks for getting back Wendy. I desperately need grace to love him whichever way he will turn out to be.
I just came across your blog-and this post-and it is so beautiful and true. He is infinitely worthy.
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