Do you ever find yourself asking God, “why?”

Last April Reggie Hodges, a former Cleveland Browns player, presented a message at our church, and the question “Are we trying to be God?” caused me to spend some time in through afterwards.

Reggie’s message was about the holiness of God and how you and I may have begun to feel so comfortable in our relationship with our Lord, Jesus, that we may have lost the big picture, the awesome holiness of God.

I continued my pondering and thought of Bible verses that remind us of God’s holiness.  Here’s one I’d like to share.  Consider the moment Job just had to ask God “Why?”  He has lost everything, his sons and daughters had been killed, his servants had been killed, livestock had been stolen, and even his own body was in torment from sores.  He just has to know why, and he wants God to answer him.  God does.

“Who is this who darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me?  Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations?  Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions?  Surely you know!  On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?  Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’?” Job 38:1-11.

God was talking to Job, a man who had worshipped and served God faithfully all his life, but whose life had fallen apart, and was begging God to know why, and God answered him by reminding him of his greatness, his power, and that his plan is often beyond our understanding.  He reminded Job that faith in the God he cannot control, and often cannot understand, is all he needs in the moment.

I have found myself in similar circumstances, and my guess is you have too.  God’s answer was to remind Job who he was. It helped Job, and it helps me too. It is when I remember who God is, that I can withstand the toughest of times. All life’s problems seem small when I consider the largeness of God and His steadfastness in my life.

God was and is and will always be the source of all life, of all that is, and of all that ever will be. God is greater than all our problems. God is bigger than we can fathom in our finite minds.  God is greater, stronger, more loving, and more just that we can imagine.  God is holy, and there is none like him.

 “Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other.” Joel 2:27a

God was reminding Job of who he was questioning when he asked why.  In that reminder, Job found peace within his pain, and he replies, “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted…Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know…My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.  Therefore, I despise myself and repent in ashes” (Job 42:1-3, 5)

No matter his circumstances (and they were very grave), Job now grasped the understanding that God is bigger than his circumstances, and God is aware of his circumstances, and God has even the circumstances in His control.

We can find comfort, strength, and endurance during the tough times if we understand that there is a bigger picture than out pain, which only God can see. But even though that is so, God cares about the minutest detail of each life, and is with us in it.

It is such a comfort to have peace and joy even while suffering. It is a gift that believers share and non-believers ridicule.

I stand with believers with a thankful heart that we know, really know, the one true God, and that we know, really know, that He knows us and loves us as well.

So, like Job, we can fall down and worship. We can lift our hands in praise. And we can marvel at the glory and greatness of the God who has blessed us with the knowledge of Himself.

Oh yes, our God is holy.  We should not need the tough times to remind us of that fact.

Most merciful, Lord God Almighty, thank you for loving us even when we forget all about you.

Most Holy Lord God, worthy of our praise, I am in awe that from your Holiness you can look at such lowliness and pour out grace and mercy.

Praises and honor to you Oh Lord most high.  I worship your holy name.  Amen