Unfathomable Grace

Job is blown away by natural disasters. Winds blow, rains come, and houses fall down.

Job is abused by hostile thieving neighbors. Pagan nations line up to plunder his family’s wealth.

Job is pained by horrific physical disease. How bad is the hurt that makes him want to scrape his flesh with broken pottery shards? It is the sort of pain that causes one to curse the day of his birth.

Job is misled by the counsel of his sinful wife. His “helper” encourages him to go ahead, curse God, and die.

Job is troubled by the counsel of his sinful friends. Their motivations are kind. Their message is wrong.

Job is harmed by the counsel of his own sinful mind, emotions, will, soul, spirit, or heart. Like many, he comes to the conclusion that God has abandoned him. Ultimately, he lusts to end his life.

Behind all this pain and suffering, Job is terrorized by the Evil One. With greater intensity and wicked delight, Satan longs to damage Job and dishonor Job’s Creator.

Above all this pain and suffering, Job is hurt by his omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, and largely silent God who …

• Never slumbers or sleeps
• Never misses a moment of the action
• Sees everything because he is everywhere present
• Knows all the bad actors, for he created them
• Hates all the bad actors, for he excommunicated and created the Lake of Fire for them
• Reads the minds of his evil adversaries
• Immediately or mediately has power to restrain the powers of darkness.
• Can easily, with the blink of his eye, humiliate his foes and rescue his friend
• Despite having such knowledge and power, allows the Evil One to crouch, prowl, roar, steal, kill, and destroy.
• Remains largely quiet
• Seems to sit back and do nothing.

So Many Questions

Job, like us, is confused. He has so many questions. Like us, he wonders …

• Why did God create Satan if he knew Satan would fall, harm, and damn so many people?
• Why did God fail to immediately vanquish Satan to the Lake of Fire?
• Why did God allow Satan to roam the earth?
• Why did God allow Satan to enter the sacred Garden of Eden?
• Why did God create Adam and Eve with fallible free-wills?
• Why did God not enter the garden at the time of temptation and win the day?
• Why did God create a world that glorified him by including sin, sentence, and suffering?
• Why did God create a world that glorified him by including the crucifixion of his Beloved Son?
• Why does God allow the wicked to thrive?
• Why does God allow the righteous to suffer?
• Why does God allow deformity, disability, disease, mental illness, and slow agonizing death?
• Why does God allow persecution, abuse, war, and genocide?
• Why does God not show himself and answer?

In the book of Job, chapter runs into chapter as God remains quiet behind the scenes. Even at the end of the story, as the uncomfortable unveiling happens, Job’s questions are still not answered by his Heavenly Father.

So Many Words

However, though God be largely silent, there is no lack of counsel from Job’s friends. Everyone seems to understand God’s mysterious plan. Everyone seems ready to speak in God’s name, explain Job’s problem, and explain to him the best solution going forward. Yes, all God’s people seem to have all the answers, and none of them know what they are talking about. All of them need to repent.

So What Now?

Because God is the same — yesterday, today, and tomorrow …

Because God remains omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent …

Because God decrees, ordains, foreknows, causes, allows, and governs all that comes to pass. Immediately or mediately, all things flow forth from him. This includes the delightful and the disastrous. This includes the heavenly and the hellish. No one gets an “escape out of suffering” card. In some way or another, everyone encounters the suffering of Job. He gives and he takes away. It’s what God does …

Because God is quite often silent regarding the “why.” He rarely grants anyone the reason and/or purpose for their pleasure or pain.

Therefore, I will be more humble, helpful, and silent. Yes, as a fellows sinner, elder, pastor, counselor, and friend, I will walk with you. I will sit with you. I will hurt with you. I will cry out in prayer alongside and for you. I will listen well. I will practically serve and assist you. I will hope and wait for better days. And in addition, I will love you better by keeping my opinions to myself. I do know the “Who” behind the “what.” But I do not know the “why” of the “Who” for the “what.” Therefore, with greater love, expect me to more and more say, “I’m sorry; I haven’t a clue.”