Daily Reading
Daily Thought
Elihu, a young man, waited until his elders and Job were done talking, then he had something to say, “It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right. Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me; let me also declare my opinion’” (Job 42:9-10). He comes off as a typical young know-it-all: he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know, yet he thinks he’s got it figured out. It would be easy to write him off.
That would be a mistake. What if he is right?
Job’s three older friends had God figured out. Job was suffering, therefore, Job had sinned. God will answer when Job repents. It’s a formula God always answers. It may be “yes” or “no” or “not yet” (another formula with three options). Isn’t that how God works?
But what if God doesn’t answer?
This was Job’s dilemma and Job’s demand, “Oh, that I had one to hear me! Let the Almighty answer me! (Job 31:35). Ultimately, this was Job’s sin, not something he had done (as Job’s three friends claimed), but something he was doing, something he was demanding of God. Elihu called him out on it, “Hear this, O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of God” (Job 37:14). To know God is to trust him, so stop questioning God. Worship him, for “God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice” (Job 34:12).
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me. ~Job 38:1-3
It is not that God does not answer, but that he does not answer to you (or me). In God’s silence, he seeks our trust. We answer to him.
Daily Prayer
Sovereign God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Your ways are good, right, and just. They are also loving. You are, at the same time, my Loving Father and my Righteous Judge. Why would I want to live in a world not ruled by righteousness? And yet, I do.
Your Word seems foreign to this world, because this world would rather rule itself, and the results are not good. I can serve the kingdom of man or the Kingdom of God, but not both. The choice is clear, and I choose to be ruled by righteousness. I will follow You.
Amen
Daily Question
Does your faith grow or weaken when God is silent?