Job 38:1-3

Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

“Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.

If you don’t know the story of Job, here it is in a nutshell:  Satan wants to try to show up God that there are no faithful people on Earth.  To prove it, he takes nearly everything from Job with the exception of his wife and a few friends, none of which really turn out to encourage him.  Job literally loses everything.  It doesn’t happen over time. It happens all at once.  In a moment’s notice, everything he has, including his family, is taken from him.  He is a patient man. But eventually, he does start to question God’s ways.  In chapter 3, we even see Job ask why he was even born.  Job has reached an emotional and physical rock bottom of his life.

Have you ever reached these periods in your life?  When all hope seems lost.  Or, perhaps not all hope is lost, but you are in a bleak situation with not much of a way to escape.  Maybe you are in a financial crunch, perhaps the loss of a job, or maybe even the loss of a child?

I was preaching at a church last Sunday and I stated to the congregation, “If I asked everyone to put their hands up who is going through something, every hand would be raised.”  However, we have a tendency to think that when we are going through difficult times that we are completely alone.

This is where one of my favorite Bible verses comes in, “Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm.”  Did you notice it didn’t say, “Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the bright, sunny day” or “The Lord spoke to Job out of the rainbow filled sky.”  Instead, He speaks to Job out of the storm; clearly representative of how everything in Job’s life, including the weather, is at its worst.  The Lord then reminds Job that He and only He is Lord as He begins to question him on things that only God could possibly know.  And, if only God can know those things, then how can a human ever understand God’s ways?

We have probably all been in Job’s position where we ask God why something has happened.  God reminds us in the oldest book in the Bible that He has His ways and we must trust that He will always do everything for our own good out of His everlasting love for us.  Are you in a storm right now?  When you’re in the midst of your storm, are you trusting God?  Are you remembering that He is there? Or, are you, instead, questioning His ways?

Father, we remember today that You are the everlasting God.  You are the one who is mighty to save.  You are the Holy one.  You are unmovable and unshakable.  Remind us that you love us, that you care for us, and that you are always there in the midst of every storm; no matter how big or small, no matter how short or long.  You are there.  Give us faith and remind us to trust in you. Speak to us in the midst of our storm.  We love you, Father. In Jesus’ name, Amen.