Job CCXLIX

 Who we run to in our time of distress says everything about where we place our faith, hope, and trust. We can say we are fully trusting in the mighty arm of God, but if every time we find ourselves buffeted, we run to everyone else but God, then our actions belie our words and prove us to be either double-tongued or outright liars.

Job had not given up on God. He had not sought answers from another, and even in the protracted silence he was experiencing, wherein he did not hear the voice of God nor feel His comforting hand, God was still the one he ran to, and yearned for answers from.

“Oh, that I knew where I first met Him, that I might come to His seat!”

God’s silence was new to Job. It unnerved him, and having his three friends insist it was because of wickedness in his life didn’t help matters any. He was going back through his memories, trying to pinpoint the environment in which God’s presence was felt, thinking that if he could replicate it, then he would be able to present his case before God and know the words that He would answer.

When one is persecuted for their faith, whether imprisoned or tortured, it may not be easier, physically speaking, but from a psychological standpoint, at least they know the why of it. I am being beaten because I will not deny Jesus. I am in prison because I am a believer. Job didn’t know why he was suffering the things he was, and that was adding to his already monumental pain.

When my youngest was old enough to walk, she got into her exploration stage with much more enthusiasm than her older sister. If you have children, you know what I’m talking about. They want to touch everything, explore everything, stick pencils, forks, and anything that has a chance of fitting into outlets, and be, in effect, a human hurricane during their waking hours.

One day, my wife had a roast in the oven. The glass door gets hot whenever the oven is above 350 degrees, and wouldn’t you know it, that was when Malina decided to waddle over to the oven and explore that particular piece of kitchenware. She reached out to touch the glass, and my wife slapped her hand away for fear of her burning herself.

That was a new experience for Malina, so much so that it shocked her, because Momma had never done anything like this. She was maybe three at the time, so she knew enough words to communicate, but as the tears started flowing down her cheeks, the only thing she would say on repeat was, “Why, Momma? Why?”

My wife picked her up, sat her on the couch, and explained that the oven was very hot, and she would have hurt herself. Once the why of it was cleared up, she wiped at her face and said, “Okay, Momma”. The explanation had sufficed, and she could bear the burden of having her hands slapped by her mother because the intent had not been to do her harm, but to keep her from harm.

There are countless situations when understanding why something is occurring gives a sense of relief and lifts the weight threatening to crush us into the dust. We want rational explanations for why something is happening, but wanting something doesn’t always mean we’ll get it.

The question of why is never truly satisfied. Unless you are a toddler, with full faith and trust in your mother or father, you are always bound to have follow-up questions relating to why, as well as justifications as to why the answer you received is not to your satisfaction. When Jesus said that unless we become like little children we would never enter the kingdom of heaven, it went beyond innocence or the absence of guile and duplicity, to exhibiting the trust and faith exclusive to little children.

The only time my daughters would go on a protracted campaign of ‘why’ was when they were trying to get a rise out of me, and they knew that if they kept it up long enough, they eventually would. Why do I have to eat the broccoli? Because it’s good for you. Why? Because it has fiber, and it will make your life a whole lot easier when it finally makes its way through your colon. Why? Because that’s the way God designed the human body. Why? Because He didn’t want you to needlessly suffer every time you went potty. Why? And no matter your answer, the question would always be why.

Even as grown-ups, we have the same tendencies, asking God why, even though He’s already given the answer in His Word. Whether we’re hoping for a different answer or just being obstinate for reasons known only to ourselves, unlike little children, we should possess enough wisdom to understand that sometimes we will not receive the answers to the questions we are posing.

It doesn’t mean we never will; it just means that, for the moment, we must trust God and His sovereignty and continue walking in faithful obedience. Trials are temporary. Suffering is temporary. The valleys we must traverse in order to reach our destination are likewise temporary. Our reward for faithfulness and obedience is not. They are eternal just as the God who will be faithful to reward us is eternal.

Job knew how he’d lived. He knew he’d been faithful, so the explanation Eliphaz had proffered for why he was suffering rang hollow and untrue. He knew he could find no resolution with his friends, no satisfactory explanation as to why he was suffering in the manner he was, so his response was not targeted to Eliphaz, or the other two who were present, but to God Himself, for Job knew that only God possessed the keys that unlocked the mystery of why.

Job wasn’t looking to quarrel with God. Would He contend with me in His great power? No! But at least I would know that He knows, that He sees me, and hears my cries. At least I would know that He is aware, and all of this isn’t happening without His knowledge.

Consider the level of faith and devotion Job had toward God, in that as long as he knew God had allowed these things to come upon him, he would be satisfied in that knowledge. Yes, he would make his plea, yes, he would attempt to reason with Him, but that, to him, was a secondary issue. His primary desire was to know that God had not turned from Him or was somehow ignorant of what he was enduring.        

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.