In the face of uncertainty, we might be tempted to demand answers or explanations for our suffering or the hardships we face. We want to understand why things happen the way they do, why our prayers seem unanswered, or why evil and pain exist in a world God created. We are not the first nor will we be the last to ask such questions.
This Sunday, the Old Testament lesson comes from Job Chapter 38; it is the passage where God responds to the pleas of Job. God speaks from a whirlwind and asks Job, “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” (Job 38:4) God challenged Job to consider the vastness of creation—how God formed the earth, set the boundaries of the sea, and set the stars in place. God’s questions are not meant to diminish Job’s suffering but to remind him of the bigger picture—of the infinite wisdom and authority of the Creator. The Apostle Paul echoes this sentiment when he writes in Romans 11:33, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”
We see only a small piece of the puzzle. Our perspective is limited. God’s greatness is beyond human understanding, and His ways often seem mysterious to us. Our inability to fully comprehend God’s plan is not a cause for fear but instead it is an invitation to trust in God’s infinite goodness and love.
We trust with blessed assurance that God is in control. As the hymn we learned in Vacation Bible School says, “He’s got the whole world in His hands”. Just as God provides for the creatures of the wild, as described in Job 38:39- 41, God provides for us as God walks with us through our struggles. Even when we don’t understand, God is still good, still faithful, and still in control. We can face the mystery of God’s greatness as a source of peace.
God is walking with us in these uncertain and mysterious times. Thanks be to God.
In Hope, Joseph