God Where Were You? Part 2

Posted On: Jan 10, 2019By Mike Genung

Then Job answered the Lord and said, “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted… Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand…”Job 42:1–2

From the first two chapters of Job, we read that the Lord allowed Satan to attack Job. This resulted in the loss of Job’s family, servants, friends, business, and health.

Many will struggle with the idea that God allowed Satan to crush Job; that He would allow an attack so brutal and unyielding sounds cruel. But let’s dig a little deeper:

God limited what Satan could do. He was in control.
God knew all of what Job went through and how he responded. This was evidenced in how God showed up on the scene to “answer Job out of the whirlwind” (Job 38:1).
God used Job’s trials to burn off his unrealistic expectations. Many Christians assume life will be a joy ride to Heaven—and Job did have it easy at first. However, the only guarantee we have in this life as a Christian outside of God and Heaven is that we will suffer (John 16:33). Untested faith is weak. It is when all we have left is God that we discover that God is enough. Fire–tested faith is rock–solid.
God didn’t leave Job to Satan’s whims. His time of testing had an end.
Job knew God more intimately as a result of his trial. He understood that God was in control, faithful, kind, patient, and had purposes that were far beyond Job’s understanding. As a result, Job recanted his accusations toward God (Job 40:1–5).
God used Job’s trials to bless many. Think of the tens of thousands who have found comfort in the book of Job by realizing they’re not alone, that God is in control, and He has meaning and purpose for what they’re going through. While Satan accuses God of being cruel, the truth is that without God, there is no hope, help, or purpose.
God used the response of Job’s wife and his three friends to show how we should not react to another’s suffering and how serious it is in God’s eyes. When someone shares their pain with us, we should never point the finger of judgment.
God greatly blessed Job for his endurance. While some of us may not see the financial blessings that Job did, the peace and joy that can come from knowing God far outweighs this. We also have the ultimate gift of knowing we will enjoy His presence for all of eternity.
Job’s wife may have initiated his greatest temptation when she told him to “curse God and die” (Job 2:9). If Job had bought in, he might have fallen into a deep pit of bitterness from which it would have been difficult to recover from.
Just as God never answered Job’s questions as to why he suffered, we may never understand the “why” of our trial this side of eternity. Knowing “why” brings little comfort.

Understanding God’s character, faithfulness, and the truth are key. Job loved the Lord and had a strong relationship with Him prior to the disasters that overtook him. I believe this is why Job could say, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him” (Job 13:15). His knowledge of God and His character carried Job through the shock and trauma of Satan’s attack.

If you’re struggling with the “where” and “why” of something that happened to you in the past, consider rebooting with, “Okay God, I want to know You. Please reveal Yourself to me as You did to Job. I may never understand what happened, but I’m going to choose to trust You and seek You until You reveal the truth to me.”

Excerpted from Mike Genung’s book, 100 Days on The Road to Grace, A Devotional for the Sexually Broken