Calamity is part of our human existence. We expect bad things to happen from time to time. That’s the reason we carry insurance, caution friends and relatives to “be safe,” and spread our investments over a wide range of portfolio options.
We never expect, even in our worst nightmares, to become a Job. To lose our wealth, our children, our home, even the respect of our friends... How low can we go? Even Job’s wife thought he was loony for refusing to curse God and die.
Are there any words of wisdom this broken man could possibly have to say that don’t cast blame on his Lord and God for all the troubles that came his way?
In Job 38:12, we see God as the greatest force in all creation:
“...You commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place.”
Job 38:14 describes Jehovah shaping the very surface of the earth:
“[The world] is changed like clay under the seal, and its features stand out like a garment.”
Job 38:19 says our Master and King cannot even be imagined by mankind:
“Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness?”
Job 38:22 compares the abilities of Man to those of his Creator:
“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail?”
Job 38:35 is our assurance that all things are under Yahweh’s command:
“Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’?”
In Job 40:1-5, Job cowers before the presence of the Lord:
“And the Lord said to Job: ‘Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.’
“Then Job answered the Lord and said: ‘Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.’ ”
Job 40:15-16, 18, 19 is God’s final word on his supreme relation to all mankind:
“Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron.
“He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword!”
Calamity will be our companion during our walk on this earth. We won’t make it through even a day without something devastating coming our way. We can insure, caution, and spread the risk, but we can’t escape. Job answered God twice, but his final response was the only one that God was prepared to hear. “I am of small account,” Job begins, and then he says, “I will proceed no further.”
Coming to grips with trouble is what makes us who we are. We must remember God’s words to Job: “Let him who made [the mightiest beasts of all creation] bring near his sword.”
It’s Job’s reply that’s monumental: “What shall I answer you?”
Mankind didn’t form the T. rex, the great whale, or the elephant that roams the African veldt. Job gained great wisdom when he listened to God. Let’s take Job’s lesson to heart, and trust in our Father and not in our hands of clay.
Our best insurance policy is our faith in our God to lead us safely to the other side.
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Code: FGO.F.14.16b.vp.esv