Trusting in Times of Tragedy

All right, good morning, everybody.

Let's go ahead and we'll find our spots here for the Sunday School Hours.

We just continue in our series here,

!

Lord, we just thank you and praise you for the day,

for the opportunity we have to meet together even in this new year.

Lord, help us just to draw close to you.

Lord, help us to understand the reality and the necessity of faith

and just the dynamic of trusting you even here today,

even in times of tragedy and walking through those things practically in our life.

And Lord, we pray just have your hand upon each one here today

that we might be encouraged and strengthened through the truth of your word.

And we just ask it all in your precious name.

Amen.

All right.

As we see here, you know, we've been looking here at a faith that triumphs,

you know, overcoming life's challenges with the courage from God's word.

You know, as we understand that courage that we need

to trust the Lord in the midst of those challenges.

And the book of Job, you know, I think could be one of the most,

when you look at it from the worldly perspective,

it could be the most depressing book in the Bible.

You know, when you read chapter one, man, it's pretty depressing.

You know, I mean, it is like downhill after downhill.

It's like when Job got on the slide of misery, man,

he greased it up and went off the end.

You know, it's like he just runs through.

It would be except for the fact we have the blessing of seeing the end,

of seeing what God did through it,

how God matured Job.

You know, we're talking this morning about practical sanctification.

You can look at the book of Job this way.

Job was a righteous man who loved God,

but God grew him through the tragedy.

Because Job is more mature in his faith at the end than he is at the beginning.

Those things come about and, you know,

and oftentimes I don't think we really consider all the details of the book of Job,

the suffering that is really present.

But it teaches us, though, that it's just not about suffering,

but God triumphs even when we suffer.

We can mature and grow and become conformed to his image as we can be changed through those things.

And, you know, we find here there's so many elements we could talk about in the book of Job.

You know, it's just some of the preachers of the past spent significant time preaching from the book of Job.

It said the 17th century Scottish preacher George Hutchison preached 316 sermons from the book of Job.

You know, I've yet to reach that point yet.

I think I've hit 75 in the book, but I've never hit 300 and some.

And everybody said amen, right?

Time to move on, preacher.

Another one of Joseph Carl in London took 23 years to preach through the book of Job

that he published as a massive 12-volume set, you know?

So I want you to understand it's not how much, but, you know, there's a lot of things in here to learn

and apply to our life.

Job's friends could learn to be quiet.

Like I said, when you think about the message this morning in the book of Job

and the practical application, there's a lot of things that cross over

of how all those elements come together.

You know, you could gleam a lot from the book, but, you know,

like suffering in our own lives, there's much that we can't fully understand.

And, you know, the book of Job is one of the old records in Scripture,

and it's a found group with the other poetical books in the Bible.

But chronologically, Job would be placed next to Genesis

as the events occurred sometime before or during around the time of Abraham

is what most have figured out or walked through.

And, you know, if you grew up in church, you're probably familiar with the story of Job

and, you know, where a righteous and wealthy father of 10 children lost everything in an instant.

You know, the headline for Job would be devastating.

But we understand that what Job records for us is important because, you know what?

We're going to encounter similar situations in our own lives.

We're going to encounter situations that may not be as tragic as Job's, but yet they may be.

They might not draw us through the challenges in the same way.

But, you know, what we can learn is that we can trust God.

We can trust God in tragedy.

And we look through for that here.

You know, we find here the first thing we're going to look at here is the devotion of Job.

Because, you know, there's a misconception today that if you just serve God, life's going to be great.

You know, there's people who stand up and preach that.

You know what?

As soon as somebody says that, I know they're a false teacher because they haven't read the book.

Will God be with you?

Will God help you through everything in life?

But no place in the Bible that says, trust me and everything's going to be perfect.

Matter of fact, Jesus tells us otherwise.

You're going to have suffering and trials and tribulations.

Because you live in a fallen world.

But God says, I'm going to use those things for your good.

You know, look here this morning at the devotion of Job.

Look here at verse 2.

In Job chapter 1, it says this.

Job 1 · chapter mention

Let's just start at verse 1.

It says, there was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job.

And there's a man that perfect and upright and one that feared God and eschewed evil.

And they were born unto him seven sons and three daughters.

You know, if your children are a heritage of the Lord, Job was rich.

He had ten kids.

He had a vibrant family.

Job was blessed with a large family.

We learn that he was blessed by God.

You know, when we understand that his children were not a burden, but a blessing.

But we see he had a large family.

We see that he was a wealthy man.

Look at verse 3.

It tells us this.

In other words, Job was what everybody wanted to be.

You know, everybody knows today people take wealthy people and people that are on the pinnacle of society and say, that's who we want to be.

You know, everybody knew who Job was.

Job was the guy everybody aspired to be.

Look how God, look what Job had.

Large family.

Large possessions.

Everything's going good in Job's life.

You know, the Bible tells us that he was the greatest in the East.

And he had substance and status.

But you know what God noted?

He made a side note of his substance and his status.

But God made the biggest deal about Job's faith.

Because Job's faith is what made the difference.

It's clear Job's faith was a central component of his life.

You know, notice there in verse 1.

And it says, whose name was Job.

And the man was perfect and upright and one that feared God.

And he skewed evil.

You know, Job was said to be perfect and upright.

Now, I want you to understand, it doesn't mean Job was sinless.

Nobody other than Jesus Christ has ever walked this earth that was sinless.

He is the only one.

But we understand that Job was upright.

This verse is very clear that Job loved the Lord and wanted to do what God had for him.

You know, when we understand Job's significance came from his faith in God.

You know, one of the important things that we can learn about trusting God in tragedy from the life of Job is this,

is make your devotion to God the priority of your life.

Make your devotion to God the priority of your life.

Job's life was not centered around his kids.

It was not centered around his possessions.

As you read through chapter 1, you'll find Job's priority was his relationship to God and his family's relationship to God.

Those other things had to take oversight and had to take, but they were in the right place.

There's nothing wrong with being wealthy.

There's nothing wrong with having a large family or having God's blessing in those areas.

But you know what?

Our relationship to God still supersedes those.

And Job was clear.

Job's family and fortune and health were dear to him.

And he was devastated by their loss.

But ultimately, they weren't the central aspect of his life.

Because as you read through the book of Job, it deals with men and God.

It deals with the reality of how that plays out.

And it's a good reminder even for us, if our possessions are the most significant thing in our lives,

what happens when they break or they're lost?

You know, when things get taken away?

When your position diminishes?

You know, you can have people rise to prominence and disappear into obscurity.

You know, our significance isn't in our status or what happens.

Our families, our marriages, and other important relationships are good.

But our relationship with God is the most important.

You know, Job had substance, but he honored God with it.

To honor the Lord.

You know, Proverbs 3.9 tells us this.

Honor the Lord with thy substance and with the firstfruits of all thine increase.

He had a great family, but he put the Lord before the family.

It says he feared God, you know, and eschewed evil, you know.

Let's look what this looked like.

Look at verse 4 in chapter 1.

It says,

His sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day.

And he sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.

And it was so when the days of their feasting were gone about that Job sent and sanctified them

and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all.

For Job said,

It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their heart.

Thus did Job continually.

You know what?

Job was concerned about his family.

He was not concerned about them financially as much as he was spiritually.

He wanted them to learn to fear God just as he had.

You know, and we see Job's family gathering.

But Job made a feast.

After the feast, Job made an altar and worshiped the Lord and even interceded on behalf of his kids.

You know, he did that just in case his kids said,

Lord, have mercy on them.

You know what Job knew?

Job knew that kids do things they shouldn't do.

Because he knew who he was.

He knew who his kids were.

But he wanted them.

He prayed for them.

The Bible also tells us that Job askewed or avoided evil.

And actual reverence for God and avoidance and evil are linked together.

You know, at the end of Job there in Job chapter 28, in verse 28, it says,

Job 28 · chapter mention

Unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and depart from evil is understanding.

You know, the fear of the Lord and departing from evil are connected.

You can't separate those things.

And when we understand Job's relationship with God was central to his life.

And it gave him strength for what was to come.

Because trusting God in those difficult days began with trusting God when things were going good.

I want you to understand that if you're going to trust God in the difficulty,

difficulties are going to be easier if you've already put your faith in God before you get to that point.

If you're going to walk with him.

Because we know the second part of Job's life is that we know his devotion, but how about the devastation?

You know, one thing I've learned as you read through the book of Job,

prosperity preachers get killed by the book of Job.

Just slaughtered in their philosophy.

Because you think about God, here's God building up Job saying,

Hey, here's a guy who loves me.

He fears me.

He's trying to do what is right before me.

He worships me the way he ought to worship.

He's doing the right things.

He's got the right focus.

You know, that's quite a cheerleader list from God, isn't it?

But look what happens.

There's a devastation, you know.

Most of the problem is, I think most of us want to live in the first five verses of Job.

When everything's going good.

You know, I don't know about you, that sounds pretty good.

You know, first five verses of Job, let's stop there.

But does it stop there, does it?

It reveals what's going on because unbeknownst to Job, there was something taking place.

Look at verse six of chapter one now.

It says,

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.

And the Lord said unto Satan,

Whence comest thou?

And Satan answered the Lord and said,

From going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it.

And the Lord said unto Satan,

Hast thou considered my servant Job?

For there is none like him in the earth,

a perfect and upright man,

one that feareth God and escheweth evil.

And then Satan answered the Lord,

Does Job fear God for not?

You know, we see here that in response to what's happening,

God draws attention to Job's righteousness.

You know, and then Satan asks,

now directly questions Job's motive.

You know,

Doth Job fear God for not?

You know, look at verse 10.

It says this,

Hast thou made a hedge about him and about his house and about all that he hath on every side?

Thou hast blessed the work of his hands and his substance is increased in the land.

You know what?

Job's faith,

Satan said he only trusts you because you've blessed him.

Because of all the good things he's enjoying.

It's the only reason Job trusts you.

Because look at verse 11.

Look at Satan's accusation.

He says this,

But put forth thine hand now and touch all that he hath,

and he will curse thee to thy face.

What's the accusation against Job?

What's Satan's accusation?

Yeah, it's not real.

He says,

Job's faith is a fake.

He's faking it.

It's easy to do that when everything's going good.

You know,

the devil's a master of half-truth.

Because part of what he said is true.

It is easier to trust God when everything's going well.

That's true.

I think we can all agree.

It's easy to be on board.

Well, God's blessing.

Amen.

Trust, praise God, you know.

That's easy.

But the second part that Satan said,

he says,

Hey,

Job will praise you when things are going good,

but you just stop taking so good a care of him

and put him to a test here a little bit,

and he's just going to curse you.

You know,

it's ironic that the Satan really puts forth

what a lot of people have and do in their life.

They trust God when it's easy,

and they don't trust him when it's not.

I think his accusation had some merit,

but you know what?

When our heart is right with God,

we'll trust him even in the tragedy.

Because we find here that God granted permission

for Job's faith to be put to a test.

You know,

how do you find out if something is true?

You know,

it has to be tested.

It has to be put to a test to say,

is it measure up?

Because it's easy to say something,

but it means more when it's actually done.

When we accomplish or do what we ought to do.

You know,

when those things come about,

you know,

why do we test things?

You know,

you think about all the things we test in life,

you know,

it's one of those things that,

you know,

here recently,

you know,

you see a different things being tested,

you know,

a lot of things in the news,

you see rockets being tested.

You know,

why do they not just put something on them

and just stick,

stick them on the,

on the shelf and wait?

Why do they test them?

Why they want to see if it's going to do

or perform the way it was supposed to perform.

The only way,

you know,

if it's genuine and it's going to function

is to test it.

It has to be tested to know if it's true.

You know,

how do we do science?

Somebody doesn't come up with a hypothesis

and say,

I think this is true.

So therefore we can bank on it.

What do they have to do?

They have to put it out.

What?

To a test.

Does it actually produce?

Does it come to fruition?

The same dynamic,

God allows tests in our life

that we might,

he might find

and reveal even to ourselves,

where is our faith?

What do we trust?

You know,

the true quality of our faith

can be only be revealed under pressure.

You know,

I want you to understand

there's no exemption for suffering.

You know,

we live in a generation

that wants an exemption.

You ever know,

everybody wants their exemption.

They want their carve out.

You know,

we want it.

We don't want to have to face this part of it.

You know,

we're coming up to the first of the year.

A lot of people are thinking about taxes.

Everybody wants a tax exemption.

You know,

what part can I be exempt from?

You know,

or parents want exemption

to the rules for their children.

You know,

make an exception for mine.

You know,

it's like they want things played out.

You want those things.

Employees want exemptions

for themselves in work policy.

You know,

you can name a list,

go down the list of things

people want exemption from.

But you know,

in this life,

you're not exempt

from the realities

of suffering.

We're not exempt from it.

You know,

Job was a righteous man

that didn't exclude him

from suffering.

Matter of fact,

you know what God said?

Job qualifies for it.

Job qualifies

to stand the test.

Because you ever notice

something about a test,

let's put it this way.

when you have a test

that happens

and everything goes

as you expected it to go,

how's your response?

You rejoice

when you see the right,

hey,

this is what we worked for,

this is what we laid out,

this is what we expect,

and now it happened.

You know what,

when God put Job

to the test,

God was seeing

if his faith was real

because God knew

Job's heart.

You know what,

God already knew

the answer to the question

before it was asked.

Before the devil tempted him,

you know that God

knew Job's heart?

The Bible tells us

that God knows

the inner things

of your heart.

This test wasn't

for the sake of God.

That's a misconception

of the book of Job.

God didn't do this

for his benefit.

He did this

for Job's benefit.

He allowed it

for his benefit

because you know what,

Job's faith grew

mightily

from the beginning

of the book of Job

to the end

of the book of Job.

There was a practical

sanctification

that took place

in Job's life

through the situation.

You know,

when we understand

these moments

change everything,

you know,

Job could understood

what it was like

to have devastation.

You know,

look at verse 13

in chapter 1.

Now there was a day

when his sons and daughters

were eating and drinking wine

in their eldest brother's house

and there came a messenger

unto Job

and said the oxen

were plowing

and the asses

feeding beside them

and the Sabians

fell upon them

and took them away.

Yea,

they have slain

the servants

with the edge

of the sword

and I am only

escaped alone

to tell thee

and while he was

yet speaking

there came also

another

and said the fire

of God

has fallen from heaven

and burned up

the sheep

and the servants

and consumed them

and I only am

escaped alone

to tell thee

and while he was

yet speaking

there came also

another

and said the Chaldeans

made out three bands

and fell upon the camels

and carried them away

and slain the servants

with the edge

of the sword

and I only

am escaped

escaped alone

to tell thee

and while he was

yet speaking

there came also

another

and said

thy sons

and thy daughters

were eating

and drinking

wine

in their eldest

brother's house

and behold

there came a great

wind from the wilderness

and smote

the four corners

of the house

and it fell upon

the young men

and they are dead

and I only

am escaped

to tell thee

now you talk

about a bad day

you know there's a phrase

that rings out

of each one of them

as the one

was yet speaking

another one

shows up

before he even

got done

with the worst

the bad news

the snowball effect

of problems

just seemed to show up

everything you have

including your family

is gone

now I want you

to think about this

in a single day

in the matter

of minutes

Job lost

all his possessions

he lost

his livelihood

and his family

you know

when we understand

and we know

from the rest

of the story

that was just

Job's immediate loss

as the story

continues

God points out

something about Job

you know

look here at Job

Job 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

look down at verse 3

and the Lord

said unto Satan

hast thou considered

my servant Job

that there is none

like him in the earth

a perfect

and upright man

one that feareth God

and iskeweth evil

and still he holdeth

fast his integrity

although thou movest

me against him

to destroy him

without cause

you know

think about that

for a moment

he held fast

his integrity

in other words

Job said

I'm not going to

change my faith

or my trust in God

no matter what happens

what's Satan's response

he says

well let's

let's touch his health

the only thing

he had left

and he says

Job's going to

curse you

and die

so God agrees

he says

okay go ahead

and ratchet it up

you know we find

in

look here at verse 6

of chapter 2

and the Lord

said unto Satan

behold

he is in thine hand

but save his life

so Satan went forth

from the presence

of the Lord

and smote Job

with sore boils

from the sole of his foot

unto his crown

and he took a pot shirt

to scrape himself

withal

and he sat down

amongst the ashes

you know

Job here is covered

with boils

and we find

as you read through there

the boils got infected

and you know

when your body's

covered with boils

and they get infected

it begins to affect

everything about you

you know the pain

and the agony

of that

and you know

then we find

that Job's wife

comes

you know boy

she was an encouragement

Job you're a bum

just curse God

and die

that's a help meet

for you

what a challenge

then his friends

show up

his friends show up

and initially

they did pretty good

for seven days

they just sat there

and wept with him

and comforted him

you know sometimes

you'll find something

very important here

in the book of Job

you know

his friends just came

to be with him

you know one of the best

things you can do

to help a fellow

somebody else

in time of grief

is be present

presence speaks higher

than anything else

his friends came

look at verse 11

of chapter 2

now when Job's

three friends

heard all this evil

was upon him

they came everyone

from his own place

and he lists them

out there

Ephaz the Temamite

and Bildad the Shuhite

and the Zophar

the Namahite

for they had made

an appointment

together to come

to mourn with him

and to comfort him

and they had lifted up

their eyes afar off

and knew him not

and lifted up their voice

and wept

and they rent

everyone his mantle

and sprinkled dust

upon their heads

towards heaven

so they sat down

with him upon the ground

seven days

and seven nights

now here's some good

advice for you

when it comes to

helping somebody grieving

notice what they did

none spake a word

unto him

I'll put a little

bit of thing

sometimes the best

thing you can say

is nothing

but be present

because you know

what one of the

tendencies when

something bad happens

we usually say

something dumb

you know

that's not really

helpful

if you want to

say something

say let's pray

together

or just pray for

them

because what you

say is probably

not going to

solve their problem

or make them

feel any better

anyways

you know

presence makes

a difference

presence is

important

why did they

do that

for they saw

that his grief

was very great

you know

it wasn't

long though

after seven days

they began to

theorize

okay what's

going on

this is that

helpful thing

that sometimes

people hurry

into you know

they begin to

Monday morning

quarterback the

situation you know

and we find here

through the next

chapters you know

chapters three

through thirty one

Job provided

dialogue between

Job and his

friends and the

main sticking point

in this extended

dialogue was the

repeated insistence

that Job was

suffering because he

did something wrong

you ever notice

that's our nature

to go that

direction

why is God

allowing this

well they must

have something

they need to

deal with

now I want you

to understand

that may be the

case but you

know what there's

a 50-50 shot

or greater it's

not

we find here

that Job's

friend took a

doctrinally

correct truth that

God will deal

with those that

sin he'll

chastise those

that need to be

corrected

and sometimes

suffering is a

result of sin

and turned it

into a universal

maxim that

suffering is always

the result of sin

you know what

Job didn't do

anything he

experienced great

suffering the

Bible didn't say

he was perfect

but his heart was

perfect before God

because he says

God I'm going to

trust you and

you're going to be

the priority you

know they Job's

friends did something

you know the Bible

tells us in Romans

12-15 it says

rejoice with them

that do rejoice

and weep with

them that weep

you know what

some weeks are

like that

this last week

we had two

funerals

you weep with

those who weep

but you know

what this week

we had a new

life

got a new

baby Pierce

you know what

Romans 12

explains last

week

weep with those

who weep

rejoice with

those who rejoice

you know those

are things that

are just part of

life

sometimes in the

same week

sometimes in the

same time frame

those things are

going to happen

but I want you

to understand

someone's suffering

isn't just a

generic formula

we need to

understand what's

taking place

in this you know

because reducing

that to a formula

can be one of the

most painful

responses to a

friend who's

hurting

because even

though something

may be true

it can be used

unwisely

you know we can

apply another part

of our message

this morning

study to be

quiet

we see the

devastation of

his life

but also see the

declaration of

truth

because how

did Job

respond to

the devastation

that turned

his life

upside down

you know

I don't know

about you

but I think

we can all

agree Job's

life went

from one

direction to

the other

pretty quickly

I mean

you talk about

getting kicked

out of the

pan into

the fire

I mean

it's like

life totally

upside down

look at

verse back

in chapter

one look

at verse

20

then Job

arose

and rent

his mantle

and shaved

his head

and fell

down upon

the ground

now I want

you to see

it wasn't

that Job

didn't go to

the Lord

just bouncing

and giddy

but Job

was grieving

his heart

was broken

life was

devastated

that's the

description

but you know

what he did

in the midst

of his grieving

he came

and worshipped

the Lord

he fell

on the

ground

and worshipped

and said

notice here

in the next

verse he says

naked came

I out of

my mother's

womb

and naked

shall I

return

thither

the Lord

gave

and the

Lord

taketh

away

blessed

be the

name

of the

Lord

now notice

verse

22

in all

this

Job

sinned

not

nor

charged

God

foolishly

you know

Job

understood

even though

he had

grief

often times

in our

mind

grief

and worship

are

incongruent

with one

another

when I'm

grieving

how can

I

worship

you know

no matter

what's

going on

in your

life

God

hasn't

changed

God's

still

the

same

he's

still

the

one

that

is

over

all

things

in

all

the

things

when

everything

of

Job's

life

was

stripped

away

he

chose

response

was

commendable

but you

know

what I

want you

to

understand

you can

have

faith

in

God

and

still

have

questions

roll

around

in

your

head

what we're

talking

about

here

is

not

some

blind

cheering

speech

because

chapter

three

you'll

find

that

Job

was

suffering

inside

even

though

he

trusted

God

he

didn't

understand

you

know

Job

chapter

three

he

asked

the

question

why

died

I

not

from

the

womb

in

other

words

Job

says

if

this

was

going

to

happen

to

me

why

didn't

God

just

take

my

life

he

says

naked

I

came

in

naked

I

came

out

I

could

have

stopped

right

there

I

could

have

ended

with

nothing

right

there

later

on

in

chapter

23

in

Job

we

find

that

his

complaint

was

bitter

!

Oh

that I

knew

that

I

might

find

him

that

I

might

come

even

to

his

seat

to

understand

that

declaration

of

truth

we

need

to

understand

what

God

knows

for

Job

many

of

his

questions

were

prompted

by

his

sense

of

God's

absence

he's

asking

God

I

trust

you

but

where

are

you

you

know

that's

a

legitimate

question

we

often

have

God

I

trust

you

but

why

aren't

you

showing

yourself

mighty

in

this

look

over

to

chapter

23

we

look

down

here

at

verse

a

it

says

behold

I

go

forward

and

he

is

not

there

and

backward

I

cannot

perceive

him

on

the

left

hand

where

he

doth

work

but

I

cannot

hide

behold

him

he

hideth

himself

on

the

right

hand

and

I

cannot

see

him

in

other

words

Job

says

I

know

God

is

there

but

I

don't

feel

like

he's

there

you

know

what

that's

our

feelings

sometimes

come to

the

surface

on

that

you

know

Habakkuk

the prophet

in chapter

1

verse 2

says

oh

Lord

how

long

shall

I

cry

and

wilt

thou

not

hear

even

cry

out

to

thee

of

violence

and

thou

will

not

save

Psalm

Psalms 13:1

13

verse 1

says

how

long

wilt thou

forget

me

oh

Lord

forever

how

long

wilt

hide

!

they

face

from

me

you

know

when we

experience

such

these

times

in life

it's

important

to

remember

that

just

because

God

is

not

apparent

to

us

doesn't

mean

he's

not

aware

of

us

Job

couldn't

perceive

God's

presence

but

you know

what

as we

read

through

the

book

of

Job

you

know

what

God

was

there

all

along

God

was

there

God

knew

what

was

happening

you

know

think

about

when

the

children

of

Israel

were

suffering

in

Egypt

look

over

to

Exodus

Exodus 3 · chapter mention

chapter

3

Exodus

Exodus 3 · chapter mention

chapter

3

That's

God's

perspective

of what

was

happening

what

was

the

perspective

of

the

children

of

Israel

at

that

point

God

where

are

you

do

you

know

that

we're

suffering

do

you

know

that

we're

going

through

this

where

are

you

you

know

we

understand

Job

had

questions

and he

wanted

to

know

why

these

calamities

had

befallen

him

and

throughout

the

heart

breaks

of the

chapters

of the

book

of Job

Job

questions

himself

he

questions

God

and he

questions

why

at the

end of

the

book

though

God

reveals

himself

to

Job

but

rather

than

answering

Job's

questions

he

asked

Job

some

questions

look over

to

chapter

38

Job

Job 38 · chapter mention

chapter

38

and it

says

and the

Lord

answered

Job

out of

the

whirlwind

and said

who

is

this

that

darkeneth

counsels

by words

without

knowledge

gird up

now thy

loins

like a

man

for I

will

demand

of thee

and answer

thou

me

now think

about that

God looks

at Job

in his

misery

and says

hey get

up

quit

wathering

in your

misery

there's

some more

good advice

for you

grieving

is okay

but there

comes a

point when

you got

to get

up

you got

to get

up

and get

moving

Job

God

looks

at Job

and he

tells him

gird up

thy loins

like a

man

for I

will

demand

of thee

and answer

thou

me

notice

this question

he says

where was thou

when I laid

the foundation

of the earth

declare if thou

hast understanding

who hath laid

the measure

thereof

as thou

knowest

for whom

hast stretched

thy line

upon it

whereupon are

the foundations

thereof

fastened

or who

laid the

cornerstone

thereof

when the

morning stars

sang together

and all the

sons of God

shouted for joy

he continues

on for

64 more

verses

simply this

God revealed

to Job

you don't

know as

much as

you think

you know

he's

questioning

God

who

is

omniscient

because

you know

what

all the

questions

God

asked

Job

you know

who

knows

the

answer

to

him

God

he

understood

then in

chapter

40

God

turns

his

question

toward

answers

of

application

and

notice

here

Job

40

in

verse

1

moreover

the

Lord

answered

Job

and said

shall he

that

contended

with

the

Almighty

instruct

him

he

that

reproveth

God

let

him

answer

it

then

Job

answered

the

Lord

and said

behold

I am

vile

what

shall

I

answer

thee

I

will

lay

my

hand

upon

my

mouth

you know

oftentimes

we want

the easy

answer

you know

oftentimes

the generic

easy

answer

would

satisfy

us

you know

throughout

history

people have

wanted

an answer

to the

question

of why

God

allows

suffering

but

instead

of

revealing

the answer

something

greater

because

you know

even if

God

would have

told

Job

all the

details

you know

what

let's

just put

it this

way

it would

have

did

this

to

Job

have you

ever talked

to somebody

and explained

something

and they

look at

you like

I don't

have a clue

what you

just said

you know

basically

that's

what God

is describing

to Job

he says

Job

if I

took

time

to

explain

this

to

you

you

wouldn't

grab

it

it

go

right

over

the

top

of

your

head

revealed

himself

you know

we want

our answers

tied up

in neat

packages

but there's

nothing

neat about

pain

and suffering

of the

world

and there's

no way

we can

comprehend

what God

knows

if we

demand

answers

to the

why

question

we assume

that we

and God

possess

equal

understanding

that we

can

understand

or

comprehend

why

something

happens

you know

often

in the

case

as in

the

case

of

Job

you know

what

we never

receive

the exact

reason

why

we're

suffering

most

of

the

appropriate

response

is to

simply

trust

God

a truth

that we

can hold

on to

during

these