At first, when reading the book of Job, I felt like it wasn’t a story I needed to be reading right now. I’m already aware of the downward spiral our country is currently experiencing, and I prefer to have my heart encouraged during times of uncertainty. For some reason, I kept reading even though it was incredibly sad and heavy on my heart. I could even put myself in his wife’s shoes in that she took out her pain and anger on him. His friends were no help, and Job’s God seemed nowhere to be found.
According to the Word, Job never sinned in the midst of his trial. I had such a hard time processing the loss of my husband that I wanted to look closely at Job’s story to see how a human being can lose every single one of his children and all that was familiar yet not sin in his pain.
I question my ability to withstand the inevitable persecution that is coming for the Church. Is my identity secure enough in the One whom I profess? Am I sold out for who God truly is? Do I really and, I mean really, really believe that God is who He says He is, even if I’m refused access to food, clothing, gas, prescriptions, etc. … if I do not take the vaccine or the mark?
While reading these passages, my heart wrestled with my ability to not fail Christ and all He died for. What would it mean if I’m made to feel it’s my fault if my children and grandchildren do not have what they need for a basic life? Will my heart stand under the weight of saying no to anything other than Christ, especially if my family is used as leverage?
But then Job’s story became beautiful and not only in God restoring and increasing all that Job had. In chapters 38-40, God answers Job’s attempts at trying to wrap his mind and heart around what had happened to him.
God states facts about His intimacy with His creation. He asks questions that only He can answer. He shares things that only He has knowledge of and talks about things that only He could have witnessed.
As He simply states the facts about who He is, He also reassured Job that He is trustworthy and will fulfill all He has promised. I am deeply encouraged that Job humbled himself before the Lord and didn’t run and hide. Clearly, Job knew that God was speaking to him out of love and kindness. Job’s ability to listen to God and not melt in His presence shows us that Job knew God’s heart for him. Job knew there is no one else who holds the words of life.
At this particular time in history, it’s good to be reminded of the intimacy with which God is involved in every aspect of creation. Below I’ve shared Job 38 through most of 40. Take your time and absorb the details. God is entwined with all that we are aware of, extending far beyond our ability to comprehend.
God is majestic, high and lifted up. God is tender and attentive to the details of our lives. No matter the circumstance, He’s on watch and takes note of what we need. Nothing is amiss or delayed but on time according to His kingdom calendar.
Sweet woman, you are seen, heard, and adored. The God of heaven has an immense, deeply rooted love for you that will never stray, fade, or walk away. He invested His Son’s blood, and He will surely see you from here into His arms in heaven.
See for yourself how invested God is. I cut and pasted this scripture from the online website: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+38-41&version=NIV
The Lord Speaks
Chapter 38
Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’?
12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken.
16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this.
19 “What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years!
22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,
26 to water a land where no one lives, an uninhabited desert,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?
28 Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
30 when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen?
31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades? Can you loosen Orion’s belt?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom or gives the rooster understanding?
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38 when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together?
39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket?
41 Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?
Chapter 39
“Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
2 Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth?
3 They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labor pains are ended.
4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return.
5 “Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied its ropes?
6 I gave it the wasteland as its home, the salt flats as its habitat.
7 It laughs at the commotion in the town; it does not hear a driver’s shout.
8 It ranges the hills for its pasture and searches for any green thing.
9 “Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will it stay by your manger at night?
10 Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness? Will it till the valleys behind you?
11 Will you rely on it for its great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to it?
12 Can you trust it to haul in your grain and bring it to your threshing floor?
13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and feathers of the stork.
14 She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand,
15 unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them.
16 She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain,
17 for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense.
18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider.
19 “Do you give the horse its strength or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
20 Do you make it leap like a locust, striking terror with its proud snorting?
21 It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength, and charges into the fray.
22 It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; it does not shy away from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against its side, along with the flashing spear and lance.
24 In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground; it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
25 At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’ It catches the scent of battle from afar,
the shout of commanders and the battle cry.
26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread its wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle soar at your command and build its nest on high?
28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is its stronghold.
29 From there it looks for food; its eyes detect it from afar.
30 Its young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there it is.”
40 The Lord said to Job:
Chapter 40
2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!”
3 Then Job answered the Lord:
4 “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.
5 I spoke once, but I have no answer—twice, but I will say no more.”
6 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:
7 “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
8 “Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?
9 Do you have an arm like God’s, and can your voice thunder like his?
10 Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.
11 Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at all who are proud and bring them low,
12 look at all who are proud and humble them, crush the wicked where they stand.
13 Bury them all in the dust together; shroud their faces in the grave.
14 Then I myself will admit to you that your own right hand can save you.
Spend a few minutes and linger on what you’ve just read. Dig into exactly what it means to know and attend to the things that God cares for. Ponder the weight and size of the task. Ask God your questions and listen to His responses. Take note of the ways in which God shows Himself faithful.
NOW LIVE LOVED and THRIVE!
Self-Reflection
These questions are in no way a substitute for healthcare professionals or any level of professional counseling. I’m an advocate for taking care of oneself mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. These questions reflect my heart, NOT my profession.
This questionnaire is an opportunity to journal your thoughts and feelings. It can serve as a launching pad on which to evaluate your heart condition as you understand it. My hope is that you will take the truths you discover about yourself and hold them up to the Light to evaluate them against who God says you are.
After reading Job 38-40, answer these questions:
- What caught your attention and why?
- How would you describe God?
- What part encourages you and in what way?
- In what way do you need God to see you, show up for you?
- Which of God’s responsibilities do you feel qualified for?
Talk to God about your answers. Give Him praise, ask Him questions and then listen for His gentle response.
Take Action
Use God’s word to take control over the traumas in your life. Whenever you feel terrorized by your thoughts take them captive by replacing them with the truth of God’s promises in His word.
Here is a scripture for you to print, cut and carry with you and/or post in places where you will see it often. Ground yourself in God’s truths not Satan’s attacks. Encourage your heart and mind every time you are reminded of His great love for YOU!
Here is what God’s Word says about His unfailing, relentless, unending love for you:
“Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm…” Job 38:1
Translation: God sees us and answers us. He has control over the storms of life. He is not threatened, overwhelmed, or confused. The God of the Holy Bible is the God who sees us, who hears us, and who answers us.
