“Today also my complaint is bitter;
my hand is heavy on account of my groaning.
Oh, that I knew where I might find him,
that I might come even to his seat!
I would lay my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.
I would know what he would answer me
and understand what he would say to me.
Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?
No; he would pay attention to me…
and I would be acquitted forever by my judge.
“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there,
and backward, but I do not perceive him;
on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him;
he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.
But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.
My foot has held fast to his steps;
I have kept his way and have not turned aside.
I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.
But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back?
What he desires, that he does.
For he will complete what he appoints for me,
and many such things are in his mind.
Therefore I am terrified at his presence;
when I consider, I am in dread of him.
God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me;
yet I am not silenced because of the darkness,
nor because thick darkness covers my face.” Job 23:2-6,7b-17
Job has suffered with unspeakable circumstances and pain, even now under his friend’s accusations of broad, callous evil. His bitter complaint echoes his inner misery, yet is wholly turned Godward because he knows his God. Though he cannot understand his present trials, nor feel any comfort, nor the hope of relief, He trusts the Almighty knows his agonies and is achieving redemptive purposes by them. To whom else would he go? He claims God’s omniscience, immutability, sovereignty, and goodness, and is sustained. (Job 12:13; 13:15; 16:19-20; 19:25; 22:1, 5-11; Psalm 73:23-26)
In much of our lives we will not know all the reasons behind hardship. Calamities happen, people sting, health declines, and relationships change. Caught under the heavy hand of the difficulties, we cry out, but often don’t even know what to ask for or what relief would look like. But when we know Christ, we can know His nearness, His abiding presence as a palpable comfort in distress. Flesh and heart and dreams may fail, but He is our hope and strength. The gift He gives in these times is the knowledge of Him, not the whys and hows.
Where are we presently weighed down, beaten up, or drained out? Have we come to the end, where no prescription or manipulation works, and all we can do is trust the all-knowing One? This is exactly His design, His invitation to trust who He is more than what He will do. Admitting our helplessness against His faithfulness and power will transform our perspective.
“Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
in you do we trust, nor find you to fail.
Your mercies, how tender, how firm to the end,
our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend!” ~Robert Grant (1833)
Invisible Lord, help me trust implicitly that You are near and in control.
As the rain and snow 