Job 38:1

‘Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind’
(Job 38:1)

Life can be hard and confusing. We might well find ourselves crying out to God, and we should. Answers can be difficult to find though, but He does speak, in His good timing. This verse is about one such occasion from the life of Job, recorded for us in scripture. Through it God continues to speak even today, that ‘we might have hope’(Romans 15:4) in our perplexing troubles too.

Job was an extreme example. Pretty much everything imaginable went horribly wrong for him, for no apparent reason that he could discern. His friends, on finding out, ‘raised their voices… wept… and sprinkled dust on their heads… for they saw that his grief was very great’(Job 2:12-13). His troubles had included a literal stormy ‘“wind”’(Job 1:19), and his mind soon followed suit, becoming overwhelmed by stormy mental ‘“darkness”’(Job 3:4ff.) and despair. An increasingly tempestuous debate ensued between Job and his hapless ‘“comforters”’(Job 16:2), in which they were ‘tossed back and forth’(Ephesians 4:14) trying to discern the ‘“cause”’(Job 9:17) of his troubles.

Then a ‘“blast”’(Exodus 15:8) from a different level spoke into the situation – God! The first important thing to realise, when caught up in the storms of life and any associated dark tempestuous thoughts, is that they’re mere puffs to God. His ‘stormy wind’(Ezekiel 1:4ff.) is on a different scale entirely. He blows through and orders even ‘“the constellations”’(Job 38:32ff.) and beyond, which is both awesome and also reassuring, when rightly perceived.

We should note though that God often waits to reveal Himself, like here, after many chapters of pain and turmoil, in ‘the fullness of time’(Galatians 4:4), both in our own lives and more generally. His reasons are often beyond ‘tracing out’(Romans 11:33) and mysterious. Nevertheless, we’re encouraged to ‘“seek”’(Jeremiah 29:13) Him in our troubles, and paradoxically might even find Him in the gentle breeze of a ‘still small voice’(1 Kings 19:12), if we’re listening carefully.

In whatever way He does reveal Himself, His awesome presence is everything, as Job discovered here. God doesn’t explain to Job the behind the scenes plotting of ‘Satan’(Job 1:8ff.) that led to his troubles – they’re nothing compared to the mighty power of ‘the Lord’(2 Timothy 4:17). When we ‘draw near’(James 4:8), we too won’t necessarily find answers, but rather the right perspective, strength and hope…

First we’ll realise this truth that God is more than capable of solving our various problems, as the maker of ‘heaven and earth’(Psalm 121:2), if it’s His purpose and ‘“will”’(Luke 22:42). He can calm a literal ‘storm’(Mark 4:37ff.), halt any turmoil amongst the ‘nations’(Psalm 65:7; Isaiah 17:13), and overcome all forms of ‘evil’(2 Timothy 4:18) that might disturb us, whipped up either directly by ‘the devil’(1 Peter 5:8) or delivered by the hand of ‘“man”’(Hebrews 13:6) – until we reach ‘His heavenly Kingdom’(2 Timothy 4:18). Nevertheless, it might be our Lord’s mysterious will for us to suffer various forms of ‘peril’(Romans 8:35ff.) along the way, like Job, before we get there, always quietly enveloped by His ‘love’(Romans 8:39).

As we begin to grasp this, as God’s ‘“hand”’(John 10:28ff.) grasps us, we can even experience ‘joy’(James 1:2ff.) in our ‘sufferings’(Romans 5:3ff.), through appreciating the potential for ‘good’(Hebrews 12:10, cf. Romans 8:28-29) in them. Either way, we can know His ‘peace’(John 14:27; Philippians 4:7) in the midst of any ‘trouble’(John 16:33) we might face. As the psalmist said when contemplating such things: ‘In the multitude of my thoughts within me, your comforts delight my soul’(Psalm 94:19, cf. 1 Peter 5:7). Such comfort and peace of ‘“mind”’(Isaiah 26:3) derive from a steadfast ‘trust’(Proverbs 3:5) in this power, love, willingness and ability of God to direct our ‘paths’(Proverbs 3:6) aright.

Job was very early, so couldn’t benefit from knowing many of these scriptures, which were yet to be written. However, we can learn from his pioneering response to being confronted by the mysterious reality of God –  His almighty power and awesome presence.

First we must adopt Job’s frame of humility and repentance: ‘“Behold, I am of small account”’(Job 40:4), ‘“I know that you can do all things, and… no purpose of yours can be restrained… I have uttered that which I didn’t understand, things too wonderful for me … I… repent in dust and ashes”’(Job 42:2-6).

Then, alongside that we can share his awestruck wonder and silent trust, resting in God’s care: ‘“now my eye sees you”’(Job 42:5, cf. Ephesians 1:18) ‘“I lay my hand on my mouth”’(Job 40:4, cf. Ecclesiastes 5:2, Matthew 6:7-8) – for our Lord ‘Yahweh is good to those who wait… the soul who seeks… hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Yahweh’(Lamentations 3:25-26, cf. Psalm 131).

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