Day 38 – Chapter 40

“Then the Lord said to Job, ‘Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it.’ Then Job answered the Lord and said, ‘Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. Once I have spoken, I will not answer; even twice and I will add nothing more’” (40:1-5).

What a marvelous and, at once, a terrible thing to commune directly with God. It is what every dedicated Christian desires and yet it comes with a price. Our God who is exalted above the earth does not miss anything about us. He is not surprised by what we experience nor caught off guard. He is omniscient, so He knows everything there is to know about us. That means that we cannot deceive God even though we may successfully deceive others and ourselves.

Job discovers this fundamental truth about God in dramatic fashion. Over the course of several chapters, spanning however long a period of time, God has been silently watching and listening to the dueling discourses. Now He speaks, but only to Job. Job has not sinned against God, but he has come dangerously close in his questions. God speaks to him, presumably because Job has been the object and the victim all along, with many questions of His own. They are all rhetorical because the answer to them is obvious, but He asks them anyway to make a powerful point; God is sovereign.

It is the sovereignty of God that most Christians and their churches generally affirm in their doctrine. It, also, tends to be one of the first qualities or characteristics about God that get dismissed whenever life catches up to us and becomes difficult. How many times have we questioned God about the things that have happened in our lives that we do not understand as though He were responsible, and because He was slow to answer or did not answer, unjust? God can handle our questions. There is no quality in Him that would cause Him to be intimidated, but who are we to question Him? He is sovereign over all creation and can therefore do whatever He chooses, whenever He chooses. So He can never be called on the carpet to give account for whatever we think is unfair or unjust. We want answers and perhaps need answers, but let us not forget that God is God and there is none other beside Him.

Great and mighty God, please forgive me for the times that I have questioned You and thought You unjust because of circumstances in my life. Forgive me for every approaching you as though You were flesh and blood. Forgive me for accusing You of things You have not done and for which You are not responsible. Give me the courage to take responsibility for those things I have done and to wait for Your sovereign will in those things over which I have no control. Enable me to get my will out of the way and consistently affirm Your sovereignty in all things in and over my life, in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.