God’s Answers and Timing

Job 38

Monday, July 4, 2022

It is no secret that we come to times in our lives where all we want are answers. All we want is for God to bring us some incredible miracle and clash of thunder and then, BOOM! Everything makes sense. God is full of miracles. They may not always be what we were expecting or at the time we expected them, but they are incredible just the same.

Job 38:1 says,

“Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind. He said: Who is this that obscures my counsel with ignorant words? Get ready to answer me like a man; when I question you, you will inform me.”

This is Job’s first-time hearing God speak to him. After all he has been through, and all the struggles, Gods first words are not what you would expect. God’s answers reflect the point he is making to Job, that we cannot demand answers from God, BUT he is also letting Job know that he is still there, and he is listening. The times when God is silent are the worst times to us. But something to remember is that, even though he is silent doesn’t mean he isn’t there. He is watching and waiting to show us his grand plan.

Sometimes all we need in life is to understand, that there are no great answers for our situations, but that God has a plan in every situation we face that is for our ultimate good. As God continues to speak in Job 38, we see God asking Job tons of questions that no one could possibly answer, and we aren’t meant to answer them. We are meant to simply sit back and trust that God knows the answers and he has our life in his hands.

            Job 38:12 goes on to say,

            “Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, or assigned the dawn its place so it may seize the edges of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?”

God is using the morning as an example to explain to Job and us, that we are not in control of the things that will happen. We are to trust him and his timing for the answers or outcomes we are seeking. Sometimes it is the waiting that grows our faith the most because we have a moment to sit and wait for the next door to open. We can sit peacefully with God.

-Hannah Eldred

Reflection Questions

1. Is there a place in your life where you are begging God to speak? What is it, and how can you let go?
2. What does God questioning Job mean to you? Could you imagine the Lord speaking to you that way?
3. What does a time of waiting mean to you? What are you waiting for in your life? How can you grow closer to God in this time of waiting?