
Photo by Callum Skelton on Unsplash
How do you develop a close relationship with a friend? You question, argue, sometimes even fight. There needs to be some of that with GOD as your relationship deepens.
- Am I aware that He is GOD Almighty and I am not? This is something pointed out often in Job. (See below.)
- Do I want to know GOD better? vs. Have Him tell me all His motives before I decide whether to trust Him?
- Am I willing to trust Him even if I don’t understand all the reasons for the actions of this Infinite GOD?
- Am I not asking questions because I don’t want to go to those places? ie. doubt, fear, seeing that I don’t trust GOD, even anger at GOD for what He has/hasn’t done? etc.
- Am I being spiritually lazy in not pursuing GOD with my questions during this difficult time?
When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket,
and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.”
But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”
Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,
for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.”
But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him.
So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying,
“For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.”
The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.Genesis 32:25-31 ESV
Often, this is what we fear when we don’t ask our questions or don’t pursue GOD…that He will answer us like He did Job.
This is often what we fear when we don’t ask our questions or don’t pursue GOD. But I don’t think He is belittling Job as much as He is showing Job how huge He is and how small Job is. Well, belittling in the healthy sense. “Yes, Job. You really are small. You have no idea how small. But you also have no idea how huge I am either! That’s why we need this conversation.”
Rather than talk to each other only, we need to talk to GOD more during these hard times. We need to struggle more with Him and be reminded of how huge He is. This chapter in Job goes on beautifully to describe in the same way, His massiveness. You will find reading it through will be encouraging when it comes to thinking of who GOD is. It is certain that Job was struggling with that!
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?“Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,
when I made clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
and prescribed limits for it
and set bars and doors,
and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?Job 38:1, 4-11 ESV
Yes, the psalmists questioned God all the time. But after they vented–even sometimes during–they remembered the faithfulness of God and turned their trust to Him. God can handle our own negative emotions. But there is a point where it leads to disrespect and disobedience. Both Zechariah the father of John the Baptist and Mary the mother of Jesus asked, “How can this be?” Mary was blessed while Zechariah was punished with muteness. So the motivation behind their question must have been different.
yes Lila, that’s why i put in many cautionary words. we have 2 sides where we fail. we can fail on one side with being too careless about who we are talking to when struggling with GOD and think of ourselves as being more important and the final arbiter of decisions. but we can fail on the other extreme by being too lazy and become too robotic, not asking GOD the hard questions, maybe not even acknowledging them to ourselves.
i remember realizing this was my area of failure after the stillbirth of my first daughter and a few years later, the sudden heart attack death of my dad. i was not allowed the safety of asking many questions after the death of my infant back then in 1970. my pastor did not encourage it. so my husband and i struggled along together. there were no support groups and few others i knew had ever been in that situation.
frankly, it is much more common today than it was then. so her death just sat in my soul for awhile until my dad died. then i had to deal with both deaths at the same time. i had to acknowledge those questions to GOD that i didn’t allow myself to think about before then. He was totally up to it. and you are right. in the end, it deepened my faith. but without dealing with all that stuff, it never would have happened.
In Job’s case, GOD points out to him how big and grand He is in the final analysis. (that chapter goes on in much more detail. it is quite beautiful! but it rarely takes place in one sitting. I find when i am writing about something like this, the writing might take place in one sitting, but what led up to the writing has taken months for me to process. often years later, i get an even better perspective on what happened. reminds me of the radio program by Paul Harvey many years ago called, “The Rest of the Story.” That’s when you find out the story behind the story.