Make A Way
Job 38:1-7
We all face times when we feel overwhelmed. Too much suffering. Too much disappointment. Too much opposition. Whatever the flavor, the result is often the same. We feel like there’s no way out.
The book of Job is a great source of inspiration for times like these. That’s right, even with the central character experiencing horrendous levels of suffering – not just once or twice, but four times over – Job’s story can help us when life has hemmed us in.
Because once the dust has begun to settle and Job has listened to a whole load of misguided, guilt-laden advice from his three foolish friends, he finally hears the truth: God is a teacher, leading Job on to greater wisdom through his suffering. God is not the enemy. God is beyond our petty, squabbling ways.
But there’s more to it than this, and the big reveal comes when God, after a silence that lasts the whole book, finally speaks.
God asks Job questions, the sort none of us could answer. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Job does no better than we would, but standing face to face, hearing of all that God has done, recognizing once again his place in the universe, Job bows down and worships (42:6). He is restored, and while the first three friends are criticized, Job is held up as a righteous man.
When Job was faced with the most unbearable suffering, God was a not absent. When Job was confused, or proud, or just worn down by all the weight of pain and grief, God was not wondering how to rescue the situation. God was simply waiting. He was waiting for Job to find Him. Waiting for Job to realize the truth about what it means to serve and love our heavenly Father. Waiting for Job to bow down and declare his love and trust and service to God.
Whatever we’re facing, God has made a way out. No matter how painful our sobs or how deep the wounds, God has made a way for us.
And it looks exactly like Job’s way--on our knees, declaring that He is great, choosing to trust Him, no matter what. After all, isn’t that exactly the way Jesus led?