Today's Meditation

Read Job 42:1-6

Then Job answered the Lord: ²“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ³‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ⁴‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me.’ ⁵I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; ⁶therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

    We have come to nearly the end of Job.  He has suffered calamity.  He has grieved and mourned.  His friends, who were initially supportive, have pointed out to Job that he must have sinned or done something wrong to have caused such tragedy to come upon him; that his predicament was God's wrath being carried out.  Job can't believe this and he notes that horrible things happen to everyone.  He even references his own life - blameless and righteous toward others and God.  But, Job wants answers.  He wants an audience with God.  He doesn't understand how God could have allowed such things to happen to him.  After chapter upon chapter of his complaints, God finally answers - out of the chaos.

    God's answer to Job is not entirely satisfying if you want concrete, definitive answers.  It comes without a "real" explanation, but rather out of a sense that we cannot understand the full knowledge and understanding of God.  How could we, since we are part of the creation and not the Creator?  If we were the Creator, we'd understand.  We would have been there from the beginning and known what depths of understanding and wisdom that come from the ebb and flow of the creation.  We would have known and understood the foundations of the pillars of the earth and how the seas were created.  We would have known the lifespan of a sparrow and would know the exact number of hairs on the heads of every living thing.  We could tame the Leviathan and make it our plaything.  But, we do not and as much as we might try, we can not.

    This explanation alone is enough to humble Job and he answers the Lord, in return.  "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?'  Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know."

    Finally, Job repents of his arrogance before the Lord.

    As we've read in this book, the Lord never becomes angry with Job for asking and wanting an explanation.  In fact, I think God is pretty impressed with Job for being persistent in wanting to understand.  So, there is nothing wrong with questioning God or asking God one of the most basic questions of all; why?  However, that does not mean that we'll either like the answer or even understand it.  At some point, like with Job, we'll have heard with our own ears, and we'll have seen with our own eyes the wonder of the Creator.

Humble and Kind by Tim McGraw