a study in Job: answers out of the storm (part 7)

"Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm." (Job 38:1)

I once read that the mark of a good teacher is that the teacher patiently begins at the level their student currently is at and then moves them up to where they want to bring them. With this in mind, please note that I love getting to chapter 38 in the book of Job. I love that after all the horrible experiences, after all the "hoo-ha" of debate, judgement, and human counsel Job faces... God shows up. And not only does He show up, God comes to teach Job (and us) right where Job is... right in the center of this man's worst... right out of the storm. Furthermore, our good Teacher has every intention of moving Job up to a higher level of understanding, and thus, changing Job's perspective to the correct holy perspective.

You see, no matter how awful we may begin to to think our lives are, we are still alive for one purpose alone... to rejoice and glorify the Lord. Why? Because we have been given the honor to do so! Think about it. What right do we as humans have to complain about anything? None! Not only are we sinful, broken, and corrupt - but as much as we wish it weren't true, we don't control anything! We have no authority. We have no power. So good or bad, happy or sad, we must understand that all circumstances are sanctioned so that we might fulfill the purpose of the One who does have all the authority... who does have all the power! That One is God. And here's the kicker... if we rebel against God... if we choose to blatantly disobey His way... He is still able to use our defiance to achieve His good plan. It doesn't sound all that fair, does it? But it is. God is quite fair. In fact, better than that... God is merciful and good. Hallelujah! Best yet, God loves us more than anything else! His love is why Jesus came to die for our sins... so that we could remain with Him rather than be destroyed for our corruption. I can't even fathom such a wonderful gift!!! But such a gift is ours for the taking. Jesus is here... ready... able... offering to teach and restore!

With this higher perspective in mind, really stop and consider some of the questions God asks Job through his suffering... "Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place? Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle? What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth? Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm, to water a land where no man lives, a desert with no one in it, to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass? Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew? From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen? Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens? Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’? Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket? Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food? Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth? Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread his wings toward the south? Does the eagle soar at your command and build his nest on high? Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?"

Oh my! What right do we have to question God's sovereign reign? None! He oversees our entire universe. He determines every moment in time. So again, oh my! Who are we?... Who is anybody to question the comings and goings of life? Clearly every experience we face is approved by His hand and intended for His purpose! Every moment, every joy, every hardship, every second is His! God, our good Teacher, answers BIG out of Job's storm and raises our level of understanding to see a glimpse of His higher ways. There is no place for us if we are not under His rule. Everything is His. Yet, graciously, He gives every blessing to us - for our benefit. Why? Because this astounding God... LOVES!

To this, I am speechless. There is nothing (no loss, no hardship, no sickness, no pain, no relationship, no agenda... nothing!) that triumphs over such magnificence and glory as His!!! What an honor that He even takes time to answer. What an honor that He loves us enough to not only save us from corruption... but personally offers to guide us safely back to His throne. His ear is inclined to hear us. His arms are ready to embrace us. His heart is betrothed to us... for we are His beloved, His bride. Again, I am speechless to ponder over such an honor. Jesus, you are everything!

Today is indeed the day to rejoice and be glad in Him!

What a blessing is Jesus!!!

~Victoria

© The Devoted Woman | Victoria Anderson