God’s questions to Job are not intended to teach, but to stun. They are not to enlighten, but to awaken. They are not to stir the mind, but to bend the knee.
Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing… (Job 28:20-21)
What is wisdom for us humans? It is not finding all the answers but is an ongoing process of asking the right questions. There will always be a new situation that causes us to ask a new question. This gives us a new view of life.
God understands the way to it and He alone knows where it dwells (Job 28:23).
The solution to Job’s [and all our] problems cannot be found in human wisdom. Only divine wisdom can help make sense of suffering
There are questions at the jagged edge of faith. They are the queries that cannot be reached, that agitate us, and perhaps make us uncomfortable with our religious certainties. “How can I relate to God when nothing makes sense anymore?” “Where can I find God when the world looks so cold and lonely?” “How can I believe in God when there doesn’t appear to be any future for me?”
Since ancient times wise men have thought they could discover anything if they sufficiently contemplate the world around them through the eyes of philosophy. But we are vulnerable to life experiences which will make us question our answers, and force us to ask unanswerable questions. To acknowledge this limitation opens us to life in a new way.
The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding (Job 28:28).
Thus true wisdom for us humans always begins with a proper attitude: fear of the Lord.
Allow the answers to come from God. His answers are not given in trite, simplistic phrases. Rather, they bypass the mind. His Spirit touches our spirit. Our hearts discover the Presence of the Almighty One, and this produces an unexplainable calm!
[Taken in part from “Basic Bible Commentary” on “Job” commentary on Job chapter 28.]
“Faith does not comprehend the divine plan. Yet faith knows God reigns in the visible and invisible world. Though he does not understand, the man of faith can trust.” Yes, part of our human experience means accepting that everything about God cannot be understood or explained. This does not mean we look at horrific events and blindly call them “God’s will.” It does mean that we acknowledge God’s ways are beyond our comprehension. Even without a clear understanding of God, we can learn to trust Him. (Andrew Blackwood)
Trust God to lead you through your dark times. He sees the whole picture.
The intense dialogue between Job and his friends not only reflects Job’s inner turmoil, but also reveals his chief desire – an explanation for his suffering. When God breaks His silence and speaks to Job “out of the storm,” He does not answer one of Job’s questions. He doesn’t even concern Himself with Job’s heartfelt cry of “Why?”
To the casual observer this response from God seems uncaring. But if we look closely at God’s communication with Job, we find that when God speaks out of the storm, His intent is to calm that storm. In order to do so, God must go beyond Job’s questions to the core issue that forms the basis of his inquiry: trust.
God could give Job an explanation for his suffering, but Job, being human, would be incapable of really “getting it.” Understanding why will not bring Job’s children back to life, or restore his financial security, or erase the pain from his heart or the nightmares in his head.
And so, instead of giving answers, God gives Job peace by reminding him that God is in control.
Trusting God equips us with the proper perspective from which to view disappointment. Like Job, I too know the pain of burying a child. I too know what it is like to be angry at God. I too have “shaken my fist” at God. I too know the pain that gives rise to the bitter cry, “Why?” And I too have found that trusting God is more important and valuable than understanding how God works. Trusting in God’s promises and provision has enabled my wife and me to rise up from the ashes of tragedy and look forward to each new day with anticipation and joy.
In the darkness of disappointment, we can still find the path to God. Job and others like him have blazed that trail to prove that it can be done. And the first step is trust. “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him!” (Job 13:15)
[Taken in part from “Night Vision“, an article on “Finding God’s light in the darkness of disappointment” by Rusty Tugman]
In 1858 the Illinois legislature, using an obscure statute, sent Stephen A. Douglas to the United States Senate instead of Abraham Lincoln, even though Lincoln had won the popular vote. When a sympathetic friend asked Lincoln how he felt, he said, “Like the boy who stubbed his toe: I am too big to cry and too badly hurt to laugh.” When faced with disappointment, many of us find ourselves in the same position as Abraham Lincoln – unsure of our response. Do we laugh? Do we cry? Or do we simply give up?
Searching for God through the darkness.
C. S. Lewis was once asked the question that eventually appears on every believer’s radar screen, “Why do the righteous suffer?” His reply was, “Why not? They are the only ones who can take it.” From a Christian perspective, dealing with disappointment is a good news/bad news story. The bad news is that a relationship with God does not exclude us from discouragement, tragedy, heartache, pain, or suffering. The good news is that a relationship with God equips us to handle disappointment in positive and constructive ways. Yet, in the midst of distress, many of us wonder if, as C. S. Lewis suggested, we can really take it.
This is precisely why the inspired Word of God includes the story of Job, God’s faithful servant who gained the dubious honor of being the world’s foremost expert on human suffering. In his honest no-holds-barred tug-of-war between faith and suffering, Job teaches us the value of working through our difficulties instead of being dominated by them. His experience accurately reflects the observation of Helen Keller who said, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”
Those of us who have read the book of Job know that, despite his candid laments toward God, Job remains faithful and God rewards him by giving Job twice as much as he had before. Because we know the ending, many of us fail to grasp the full impact of Job’s experience. In the midst of his immense emotional and physical anguish, Job does not know how things in his life are going to turn out. He does not know that he will have more sons and daughters and grandchildren. All he knows is the incomprehensible pain of burying all ten of his children. Job does not know that he will be twice as rich as he was before. All he knows it the paralyzing anxiety of financial ruin. Job does not know that his reputation will grow and that his faith will inspire a multitude of generations. All he knows are the callous accusations of his friends who say that his suffering must be the result of some hideous secret sin. Job does not know that his relationship with God will be stronger and deeper and more satisfying than ever before. All he knows is that God seems to be absent and uncaring.
We don’t have God’s eternal perspective in which to view our life’s story. Consequently, all many of us are able to see at this moment in time is a marriage that’s failing, a family divided, a bank statement that exposes debt, an addiction that seems unconquerable, an illness that appears incurable… It has been said that “those who know the path of God can find it in the dark.” Even though Job could not see too far ahead, he did indeed find the path to God through the darkness of disappointment. Along the way, he imparted a valuable lesson to fellow travelers like you and me.
Job learned that trusting God is more important than understanding God.
[Taken from “Night Vision“, an article on “Finding God’s light in the darkness of disappointment” by Rusty Tugman]
The Holy Spirit brings me into oneness with God entirely – when once I am willing to waive my right to myself and let Him have His way. No man gets there without a crisis, a crisis of a terrific nature in which he goes to the death of something. God is never far away from His saints to think ‘about’ them; He ‘thinks’ them. We are taken up into His consciousness… How we get there we cannot say, but it is by the process of God’s training of us. God won’t leave us alone… (Oswald Chambers)
The future may look dark and foreboding, but God will see you through.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in your weakness”… Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities … pains … distresses; for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then [we are] strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
Wealth, health, and happiness are gifts from God but they are not the only way He demonstrates His love. Sometimes He allows these things to be taken away and allows us to undergo suffering so He can help us grow in wisdom. If you have been going through sorrow and trials, ask the Lord to show His mercy and compassion toward you, and bring a result of wisdom and righteousness in your life.
I will not die but live! And I will proclaim what the Lord has done (Psalm 118:13).
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised (James 1:12).
Whether the illness is physical, emotional or spiritual, a person should first seek healing from Jehovah-Rapha… Second, explore whether sin is the cause of the problem. Sin effects our spirit, and the spirit can cause sickness of our emotions and our bodies. Yet sin may not always be the cause of the problem. In fact, personal sin may not even be a contributing factor. However, we should still pray: “Search me, O God…” It is wise to have God search our hearts. (Kay Author)
When times are good, be happy. But when times are bad consider: God has made the one as well as the other (Ecclesiastes 7:14).
We should love, but we should love with the love that expects death and that reckons upon separation. Our dear relations are but loaned to us, and the hour when we must return them to the Lender’s hand may be even at the door. The like is certainly true of our worldly goods. That thought may stay us from taking too deep a root in the thin soil from which we are so soon to be transplanted into the heavenly garden. Let us recollect the frail tenure upon which we hold our temporal mercies. If we would remember that all the trees of earth are marked for the woodsman’s axe, we should not be so ready to build our nests in them. Frail flowers of the field, we must not reckon upon blooming forever. There is a time for every purpose, including weakness and sickness.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).
You may have lost a loved one. God will make it up to you – if you place your trust in Him and refuse to try and collect what you feel is owed to you by yourself. [Look at Joseph and Job.] (Joyce Meyers)
We often gain by our losses. The one who has suffered no loss is still a shallow person.
God is not concerned about our plans. He doesn’t ask, “Do you want to go through this loss?” He allows these things for His own purposes. The things we go through are either making us sweeter, better, nobler people, or they are making us more critical and fault finding. (Oswald Chambers)
The sick person who cannot sleep thinks the night is endless, yet it is no longer than any other night. In our cowardice we exaggerate all we suffer. Our pain may be severe but we make it worse by shrinking under it. The real way to get relief is to accept suffering because God sends it [or at the least uses it] to purify us. (Fenelon)
Man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upwards (Job 5:7).
Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. But, before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentler nudges. God brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him, and we begin to debate [whether we should or should not, whether it is convenient or not]. He then providentially produces a crisis where we HAVE to decide – follow or not follow. That moment then becomes a great crossroads in our lives. If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely. [Save yourself some time.] (Oswald Chambers)
Dark times come to each of us. But God always provides hope.
We can ignore pleasure; we can ignore God speaking to us in good ways. But pain insists on being attended to. (C.S. Lewis)
Dear friend, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering as though something [new and] strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed (1 Peter 4:12-13).
We know that we must suffer, and that we deserve it. Nevertheless, we are always surprised at affliction.
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it (1 Corinthians 10:13). You may even surprise yourself!
Suffering has a purpose. Look beyond the pain to find the purpose.
You shouldn’t mind the trial if you know the Judge.
Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (2 Corinthians 4:17).
A crisis will reveal whether we have been practicing or not.
The Lord gave me everything I had, and they were His to take away. Blessed by the name of the Lord [no matter what]. (Job 1:21)
If we saw where our life was headed, if we had the whole picture laid out for us, there would be no need or room for faith.
Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).
Don’t get angry with God. Use problems to strengthen your character and to bring glory to God. Difficulty and joy are not exclusive enemies; more like mutual friends.
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulations produce perseverance, and perseverance character, and character hope (Romans 5:3-4).
Why do bad things happen to good people? This is the wrong question because it is the one question God never answers: Why. The Old Testament prophets lamented; even Jesus cried out “My God, Why?” God didn’t answer. God never answers the ‘why’ because the person who asks it doesn’t really want an explanation; he wants an argument. If God answered one why, we would come up with another. There would be no end to it. The right question is: What happens to good people when bad things happen? Jesus answered: They are blessed.
Crisis gives notoriously little warning before it bursts into your life. It doesn’t call ten minutes before it arrives. It refuses to knock politely and wait for you to answer the door. More likely it simply rams the door off its hinges and there it is, unannounced, unexpected, unwelcome, and unwilling to go away. Now… what do you do with it? Does it stagger you… or strengthen you? Does it ruin you… or refine you? Does it plunge you into despair… or draw you closer to your Lord?
Important questions. Important not just for you but for others as well. The way you handle sudden crisis has a lot to say about the reality of your faith in Christ Jesus. You may talk a good faith, but the way you move through stressful situations in your life reveals to every watching eye the actual fiber of your faith. Is it just window dressing, or is it an inner power that gives you peace and perspective in the midst of pain? That’s the kind of faith that compels others to sit up and take notice – they will want to seek the source of your strength. [Wilkinson].
The Lord has chastened me severely, but He has not given me over to death (Psalm 118:18).
While God is in absolute control of all life, He is not the cause of all life’s mishaps. Rather His plan allows mishaps to train us.
God’s purpose is not to punish but to correct and nurture.
God’s questions to Job are not intended to teach but to stun. They are not to enlighten but to awaken. They are not to stir the mind but to bend the knee.
We may not know what God is doing in our lives, but as long as we have trust, God will see it works out. It’s a risk to say of circumstances “This is what God is doing,” but it is not a risk to say “God is present and active.” This we can actually rest on! [Wisdom 11:15-16]
Trust in Jesus doesn’t remove obstacles. Rather it gives strength to overcome them. So we learn even more.
When my husband died, I was stuck in a bad place mentally and thus spiritually. I had to read many things to pull myself out of that pit I had dug around me. And Jesus was with me the entire time, though there were instances I didn’t think so then. He has put it in my heart to publish the things I had found, making me hope that perhaps others will be helped by what He has shown to me. So I have put this out there with prayers that these short messages and God’s snippets from His Word will encourage and enlighten someone in need.
Many of these sayings I gathered from my many avenues of reading. I only saved a few authors names. None of these are my original thoughts, at least that I can remember, but I took them on when I needed them and may have added words to [or even reworded] some to help them become clearer in my mind. They helped me get through my tough times. I pray they help you through your tough times knowing that others experience so similar pains.
The same is true of the Bible verses. I cannot tell you what translation I used for certain passages. Many times I would read a parallel Bible to see which translation expressed the thought the clearest to me. Or I would simply write down the verse as I read it from whatever source presented it. Many of the verses are from the New International Version, for it was the version I came upon first in my journey, and is usually the one I reference first.
When it comes to the Promises that are listed in this collection, know that God’s Word is one huge assortment of promises. There are many that can be used; I only include the ones given to me while in my crisis situation. I have not placed them in any order; there are so many that repeat the essence of what is spoken. God has said over 75 times in His Word alone that we should ‘not be afraid’, much less all the verses that tell us to fear nothing but Him. Take what you need from this collection to get through your day. But know that God is waiting to show you more. God is ever present to guide you into believing and trusting Him,
I am only praying God does for you what He did for me. Pick a verse that helps you through that day. Find some comfort in others having the same fears and tears as you. Just ask God to give you understanding of His Word and to equip you by it. And pray often to your loving Father, thanking Him for the trial that faces you and the solution that will come – for He has promised.
The more severe the trial + the longer the wait = the more glorious the result.
God's Word on That 