“Then the LORD answered Job…”
These are the powerful words that begin Chapter 38 in the book of Job. By this point in the book, you might be wondering, “How will God answer the question of Job’s suffering?” Or perhaps more personally you think to yourself, “How will God answer the question of my suffering?” If these are your questions, you are right where God wants you to be and here is what He has to say:
Where were you when I established the earth? (38:4)
Who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (38:6-8)
Have you traveled to the sources of the sea or walked in the depths of the oceans? (38:16)
Can you fasten the chains of the Pleiades or loosen the belt of Orion? (38:31)
Who put wisdom in the heart or gave the mind understanding? (38:36)
Does the eagle soar at your command and make its nest on high? (39:27)
Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his? (40:9)
Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook or press down his tongue with a cord? (41:1)
As a father can speak both sternly and yet out of love, God is here saying, “My power is beyond your comprehension and My plans are beyond your imagination. You are in no position to demand anything from Me.”
Is this the answer you were expecting from God? Are you satisfied by God’s answer? I must admit that when I first studied Job, I struggled. Big time. I didn’t expect God’s answer and I wasn’t satisfied. But then one day I saw something that astounded me and still astounds me to this day: Job is satisfied.
Let Job’s responses soak in as you read them:
Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth (40:4)
I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know…I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42: 3b, 5-6)
Job, the very one who experienced such intense suffering, who lamented, who protested, and who demanded answers is humbled, is silenced, and is satisfied. How is this possible? Why doesn’t he protest still? How can Job be satisfied without ever getting his “why”? It is because Job realized something when God came in power: Job realized that God being with him in his suffering is better than God giving him an answer to why he is suffering. God’s might and majesty were enough for Job, is it enough for you? This is our a final lesson we learn from Job: We need God with us in our suffering more than we need God’s answer to why we are suffering.
The reality is that even if God told us every reason for “why,” that doesn’t mean we would accept it. Knowing why your world is falling apart does no good if you are falling apart with it. Job didn’t get the answer he first wanted, but he got the answer he needed: closeness with God. That is what we all need. Right now, if you repent and believe in Jesus Christ, you enjoy closeness with God. All barriers have been broken down by the saving work of Jesus Christ. He died on the cross to pay for your sins and He rose again from the dead that you may receive, by faith, new life that can begin now and continue into eternity.
Jesus says in John 16:33, “You will have suffering in this world, but take heart! I have overcome the world." This side of eternity you will have suffering and you may not know why, but in your suffering, God gives you all that you need: He gives you Himself.
