God Speaks...and He Doesn't Say What I Think He's Going to Say

Day 103: Job 38-42

"Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm..."

This is how chapter 38 opens. Job is in his "storm." He is in the depths of despair. He is at his worst moment. And God comes to Job at his worst moment. Interesting.

The rest of what God says really surprises me; it wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting some compassion; some understanding; some empathy. But that's not what God begins with. He basically tells Job that is his bigger than Job. He is the creator of the world and the sustainer of humankind and no human can do all that God does, not even Job. And God is sure to point to Job that He is God and Job is not.

Wow. Is that how God would respond to me? Although we honor and fear God today, we still feel a sense of entitlement in how we talk to God. We are honest with him. We ask him why he's making us go through negative times. We blame him for unhappy or hard times we may experience. We basically do what Job does. And now we should listen to what God says to Job. We are not God. God is God, and we should be mindful of this point. Go read these passages and be reminded about who God is. I wonder if you will be as humbled (and surprised) as I am. 

In spite of how the Lord responds to Job, He admonishes Job's friends for not speaking rightly of Him. He then tells them that Job is the one who has spoken correctly about him.

The Lord then gave Job half as much as he had before, and Job was comforted by his friends and family. The Lord then blessed the latter half of Job's life more than the first half, and Job died a full life.