God speaks!

Finally!!!  37 chapters later and God speaks!  I'm sure Job was ecstatic!  Now...now his friends would see.  God would vindicate him and tell the faltering musketeers all about their friend Job and how he was a great man.  Now God would explain what was going on.  I can see it now, Job has his arms crossed on his chest and his left toe is tapping, with a smirk on his face just waiting for God to tell 'em. 

But wait...what's this???  God doesn't jump to Job's defense.  Nope.  That wasn't at the top of God's list.  The first thing He does is basically tell Job - listen buddy, I'm God and you are not.  Seriously, that pretty much sums up chapters 38 and 39.  God is "questioning" Job but all He is really doing is telling Job and his friends and anyone else around who was listening that He was God and they were not.

And I really do think God was speaking audibly.  The first verse in chapter 38 says that "the Lord answered Job out of the storm".  Storms are loud and chaotic and get attention.  God "answered out of the storm" - I don't think He was whispering or that Job was hearing God only in his head.  I think God was speaking up so that He was sure to be heard.  He is God and they are not.

Job's friends could theorize and debate and offer opinions and try to define what was happening to Job all they wanted.  Job could defend and plead and whine and stand firm all he wanted.  Bottom line - God is God and they are not.  God doesn't have to explain Himself.  He doesn't have to tell Job or his friends anything.  He doesn't have to tell them that Job was tested because of his righteousness.  He doesn't have to give reasons for His actions.  He is God and they are not. 

He created the heavens and the earth and all who walk upon it.  He created the birds of the air and the fish of the sea.  He created the trees, the sun, the moon, the mountains, the flowers and even the weeds.  He controls lightening and hail and rain.  He calms waters and tells eagles when to take flight.  He is God and we are not. 

We forget that fact.  We don't forget it down in our knower...we just forget it for moments.  We want God to explain things to us in a way that makes sense to our limited human mind.  We want to understand.  We don't want to just blindly trust.  So we question and we debate and we argue. 

Luckily, He is a big God and He can take it but just like He told Job - He tells us too that He is God and we are not. Sometimes we need to turn off our logic and amp up our knower and just trust - He is God and we are not.  He created everything and we did not.  He parts seas and causes lame people to walk and feeds 5,000 with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. He deserves our praise just because He is God. 

So, when you don't understand and have no answers as to why and it seems that God has left you and no matter how many questions you ask or arguments you start God remains silent...in times like that just remember....

He is God and you are not!