There is a question that I’ve been pondering for quite some time. Okay lets be honest here this question has been on my mind for a long time. That not even one cup of coffee would be able to cover it. So if your brave enough, then you might want to pull up a seat. So the reason this question I’ve been pondering for so long is because, I’ve always wondered why Job is tested and the way he is tested as well.The story of Job has always been intriguing, because he went through so much and remained faithful to God. Even though Job didn’t understand completely nor could he see everything God was doing or the purpose he had. Job still remained faithful. Thus the question would be; Why would God test someone like Job when he knew he was a faithful man? Also does he test us in the same ways? Is it because human beings yearn to be known and to have control, or to have the recognition of being known by people? Is it because human beings want to be sufficient in their own flesh and because they want to chase after the control or they chase after the unknown? Angie Smith makes a great statement from her book Chasing God. She states, “It was more about wanting to control an outcome than it was about wanting God. Bad idea. And this is the nature of the God-chaser. We want to know we are the hunters and not the hunted, don’t we?”(Smith, 2014, pg.107). There is probably not one Christian on this earth who has not gotten distracted by chasing after the control of an outcome then wanting God. So what’s so mind boggling is, everything Job had fell away. He lost everything and everyone around him, yet he did not sin against God. He kept his faith and his integrity even if he did not understand or realize God’s purpose or what God was shaping Job into. He may have been chasing after what God’s purpose was, or what was unknown to him. So there is a verse in chapter thirty-seven of Job that pretty much sums up how God does great things we cannot comprehend or understand. Also, it shows that God does things we should not know or that we cannot know in certain times for our own good. It says,“God thunders wondrously with his voice, and he does great things that we cannot comprehend.”(Job37:5ESV). For example, we should trust God in the unknown and stop chasing after what we cannot see or understand. Yet this is easier said then done, myself included in this. Trusting God with the unknown is hard, because there are times I would love to know the outcome or what is to come. There are also times I would love to have the whole plan laid out before me with huge neon lights in front of me so that I do not miss it. So that I don’t miss out on God’s amazing plan. On the other hand trusting God is about trusting him with the unknown and with our longings. Yet, God is whispering into my heart that his timing is perfect and that he is worthy to be trusted with the unknown. But it is not unknown to him. That his way proves true, and that he is enough for me. Okay to be perfectly honest have you ever had a time when you thought God might be speaking to you and then you think or believe that you missed what he said? Although a short time later he speaks again only this time its kind of like a spiritual awakening only expect for it seems you got knocked over the head with the truth. Well, this might be one of those times without even realizing it. There is a quote from Tim Tebow’s book that I can’t help but share. He says that,“Know that your questions, your whys, may be answered on this side of heaven, or they may not be. But don’t let that stop you from fighting the good fight and keeping the faith. Don’t let that stop you from trusting in His plan for your life. God will come through in some way or another. Sometimes in the form of an answer to prayer, other times in the form of comfort, peace, and perspective far above what’s possible in our human strength.”(Tebow, 2016, pg.95).
References English Standard Version Study Bible(2008) Crossway Publishing, Wheaton IL, Smith, Angie (2014) Chasing God, B&H Publishing, Nashville Tennessee, Tebow, Tim, With A. J. Gregory (2016) Shaken, Discovering Your True Identity In The Midst Of Life’s Storms, WaterBook Publishing, New York,
Photo Credit (2017) wix.com