The character Job from the Old Testament has always been the symbol of
tragedy, of someone who lost everything. Job lost his wealth, his crops, his
livestock, his servants, his 10 children, his health and finally his own
friends turned against him. What a tragedy! Job said, For the thing
which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is
come unto me (Job 3:25). Many men would have commit suicide. Even Job's
wife turned against him in his darkest hour; but I'll give her credit, at
least she stayed with Job (which is more than I can say for many wives today
who sinfully quit).
Amazingly, Job refrained from blaming God for
his woes. So many people today blame God for the problems in their life.
Interestingly, God was to blame for Job's calamities (Job 42:11); but Job had no right
to accuse God. There is an important truth to be learned here. God has every
right to make our lives miserable, and place us in fiery trials that rob us
of our loved ones and joy. Who are we to accuse God or call Him unjust? We
must not judge God. We are His creatures; God is the Creator . . . Nay
but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed
say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? (Romans 9:20).
The problem with humanity is that we expect God
to respond to every situation the way we would; but God doesn't think the
way we do, which is plainly stated in the Scriptures . . . For my
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the
LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher
than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. God does things
very differently than we do, which makes the workings of God a mystery. My
mother used to often say that God works in mysterious ways. She was
right. God often doesn't work in days, weeks, months or even years; but
rather, in decades.
Thankfully, our part is simply to trust God,
and not to figure Him out. If God were small enough for us to understand,
then He wouldn't be big enough to handle our problems. Psalm 145:3 states, Great
is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is
unsearchable. We are told in 1st Timothy 3:16 . . . And without
controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in
the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. The
unbelieving world demands evidence of things which the Bible says are CLEARLY
SEEN ... by the things that are made (Romans 1:20). Amen!
It all boils down to whether or not a person
trusts God. For those who don't trust God, they'll continually look for
every excuse they can find to blame God, discredit the Bible as rubbish and
justify their own sins. But for those who trust the Lord, they'll give God
the benefit of the doubt, keep praying when no answer comes, stay the course
and hang in there as Job did. Job's life eventually turned around for the
better, but it took time. The important thing is that Job never lost his
faith in God (Job 13:15). Job complained, wished he had never been born (Job
3:3), told his so-called friends they were miserable comforters (Job 16:2),
but he never gave up on God . . .
