Job’s Faith in God Was Challenged, but not Changed
When God has questions for you, everything changes. The easy thing for most Christians to do is to run to God for answers, and He is faithful to send answers according to His will. (Philippians 2:13) But it’s a difficult thing to be questioned by God and have Him demand the answers. In fact, if you have gotten God’s attention to the point where He turns and has questions for you, He already knows they are well beyond your ability to answer. But He has a point to make. Understandably, Job had a number of questions, complaints and demands he launched at God. Job’s faith in God was challenged through a series of terrible circumstances as he experienced the absolute worst aspects of life any human could have. We are no different today. We all experience trauma and pain and then turn to demand answers from God. We all rage at God at one time or another. But guess what? God can handle it.
We cry out to God for answers and when He does speak, many miss the sound of His voice because we cannot distinguish His voice over the sounds of the storms raging around us.
The Lord understood that Job’s faith in Him was being challenged. He observed Job’s rage from His throne in heaven and then responded, speaking “out of the whirlwind” (Job 40:6) with His some questions of His own. God is always faithful to answer, but we aren’t always faithful to listen to what He has to say. Here’s the thing about when God speaks in the whirlwind: You really have to be listening in order to hear Him. A “whirlwind” in the Bible is a hurricane. Have you ever had a hurricane hit you in your life? We cry out to God for answers and when He does speak, we miss the sound of His voice because we cannot distinguish His voice over the sounds of the storms raging around us or the sound of our own screaming.
Job’s Faith in God was Challenged BY God
We all read Job’s story and see that Job’s faith in God was challenged amid his terrible situation, but the real challenge came not through life’s difficulties. Those are to be expected! The real challenge to Job’s faith in the Lord was when the Lord challenged Job! Do you realize that when God spoke to Job, it was during a hurricane? Who can possibly hear someone speak while hurricane, gale-force winds are screaming and raging? Answer: Someone who truly knows God’s voice.
“Will he who argues with the Almighty instruct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it,” the Lord said. (Job 40:2) “Who has preceded Me that I should repay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.” (Job 41:11) God doesn’t owe you anything. Everything that He does is out of pure love and He is always speaking. The real question is this: Can you hear Him above the noise of your hurricane? The best way to discern the voice of the Lord is to be close enough to hear it, in spite of the storms. Worship is what brings you the closest to God that you can be because when you minister to Him, you enter into the place of His dwelling. (Psalm 22:3) Worship “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24) is the weapon of warfare that is forged through ministry to the Lord from your spirit, based on the power of His own Word. We all face faith challenges and difficult times, like the destructive power of hurricanes in our lives and sometimes we wonder where God is as the winds blow, the waters rage and threaten to overwhelm us – He is there, within the storm and He is speaking a Word of faith that will challenge you if you’re willing to hear it. You are not alone!
Thought for today: Job’s Faith Faltered, but Did not Fail
God is always speaking, but you may not receive the answers you were hoping for. Why? Because those who are in submission to Him are seeking His answers, not the fulfillment of our own expectations. We can never expect for ourselves anything better than the Lord has planned. God’s answer may not look like what you were expecting. His answer may come in the form of a question, and He may speak from within the noise of a hurricane in your life, but if you have ears to hear and a heart to understand (Matthew 13:16-17) then whatever it is that God needs to speak – either a question or an answer (or a question that is the answer!) it will be exactly what you need. He is worthy, matchless, holy and perfect in all of His ways! Job’s life is a testimony to his faith in the Lord. Even though Job’s faith in God was challenge in a trial by fire, that didn’t change the facts for Job.
God was not on some high and lofty throne, but was with Job through the fire and the flood and had questions and answers of His own that took Job to a deeper understanding and revelation in his faith. Worship Him. Minister to Him and draw closer to the sound of His voice. He has important questions for you and through them you will find a deeper revelation of Him, and of yourself. You will see His power on display – within the storm, and within your life – and you will not be the same.
