Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. ~Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Many of us were taught early on that God is good, just, loving, and merciful. But as we grew up, we had experiences that caused doubts in our heart. Have you ever doubted the goodness of God? Have you ever wondered why you had to go through something that seemed completely unjust? Sometimes we aren’t given any understanding for the questions of “why”. When this happens, we have to remember a very important truth that the Lord gives to us in 2 Corinthians 5:7, He says “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (ESV) Our limited perspective cannot fathom the ways of Almighty God. Though we groan, struggle, and mourn within ourselves, we can still be confident in the goodness of God. But this is only possible when we submit to God’s sovereignty. It can only happen when we acknowledge that God is on the throne and His purposes are going to prevail. Those purposes include teaching us to overcome, and we will never overcome if we are not faced with circumstances that need to be overcome. Growth doesn’t just happen. Growth is forged from pressing in and pressing on. That was the example we were given by our Lord. Despite His circumstances, He overcame. He fed the hungry, healed the sick and delivered multitudes from bondage. We cannot just put Jesus in the box of being that kind of minister for His brief walk of 33 years on this earth. He rose from the grave to forever be the Savior of the world. Jesus is still doing those very same miracles in the lives of people all over the world today!
We can gain a new view of our place on this earth and God’s sovereignty from what is known as the oldest book in the bible, the book of Job. The book of Job is not about patience, though in the New Testament James uses Job as an example for patience. It is not about suffering or vengeance or even faith. The book of Job is about the sovereignty of God. It’s about God’s right to rule and to enact His will any way and anywhere He pleases. The book of Job shows us that patience in suffering is possible, and that God doesn’t mind or oppose our questions, but we need to remember who He is when we ask those question. It also reminds us that suffering is a part of our walk here on this earth. Nobody gets through without it. The Lord tells us in Job 38 that we are nobody to question His wisdom. He wants to know where we were when He laid the foundations of the earth. He asks if we are able to command the morning to appear or cause the dawn to rise in the east. The point being, we are miniscule compared to His greatness and abilities. We have been given powerful words from a Mighty God and that very same God says I love you all day, every day. He says, “you are mine, I chose you not vice versa”. If we cannot rest in God’s sovereignty, then we need to read the book of Job until we can. God is God and God is good, our limited perspective will never change that truth.
Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’ I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” ~Job 42:2-6 (NLT)
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