READING: Job 8:1-11:20
There are times in life when we recognize who God is, but we just don’t understand His ways. And, sometimes His ways are painful ones that cause us to raise questions about His care. Job certainly experienced that.
In the midst of his real struggle to understand what was happening to him, Job nevertheless spoke in a way that indicated he still understood God was the Creator. Look at the numerous phrases he used in Job 10:8-12: “You formed me with your hands,” “you made me from dust,” “you guided my conception and formed me in the womb,” “you clothed me with skin and flesh,” “you knit my bones and sinews together.” Job’s understanding was that the God he was now questioning was still the one who created him. It was God who gave him life, showed him his “unfailing love,” and cared for him.
Now, though, Job did not understand. God had made him, but it felt like God was destroying him. God made him from dust, but now it seemed God was going to return him to dust soon. The potter seemed to be crushing into pieces what he had made. It all just seemed irrational and inconsistent to Job, a righteous man who had lost everything and who bore the sores of disease. It’s just tougher to trust God when the bottom seems to have dropped out.
Yet, as Job will be reminded, God is still God who doesn’t have to explain his ways to us; yet, He is still worthy of our trust.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: Are you questioning God in any area of your life today? If so, talk with a trusted friend.
TODAY’S PRAYER: “Lord, help me to trust Your goodness and love even when I don’t understand.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Job 12:1-14:22