“Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
twice, but I will proceed no further” (Job 40:4-5)
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
For about the last six weeks or so, I’ve had this passage echoing constantly in my mind, which means that, in all likelihood, I am speaking only to myself today! So please bear with me just for a moment.
These are, of course, the words of Job. And they were uttered in the presence of the Lord near the end of his terrifying journey through the valley of death’s shadow. As you well-remember, he had known an unimaginable degree of suffering at every level of his existence, and every bit of it at the hand of God. And while the physical trauma that he endured was surely bad enough, the spiritual pain that accompanied his prolonged and excruciating time of travail must have exceeded it many times over.
As you know, the Book of Job contains a lot of talk! There are many ‘explanations,’ frequent sermonettes, and much pontificating over the meaning of all that this poor man was dealing with. Job speaks. His friends speak. Everybody’s got something to say about Job’s personal crisis. And everyone seems to be assured that they know what God is up to in all of this suffering! There is certainly no shortage of words expended in making sense of the seemingly senseless.
But then, we eventually arrive at the place in the book where the Almighty does the talking. The Lord’s answer to all of this human verbal clamor is initiated in chapter 38 with these memorable words:
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.”
Following this gripping introduction, the Lord explains to Job that he, a mere mortal, knows nothing! All of Job’s talk, and that of his friends, is worse than cheap! All of the attempts to explain what God’s purposes were in Job’s suffering are shallow ‘sound and fury.’ Not even the wisest man among men can probe the secret recesses of the Divine Mind, much less anticipate His plans and purposes! As the Apostle Paul would later exclaim, “ For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” (Romans 11:34).
That Job finally understood this, and accepted his place before God, is made evident in the verses quoted above. His only appropriate response was to stop talking.
Now, to be sure, this does not mean that Job no longer cried out to the Lord for grace and mercy, or never used his voice in prayer and praise. But only that he stopped his tortuous explaining and speculating. He ceased from his densely verbose attempts to delineate all that God was doing in his life, and in the world at large.
And in this we discover our lesson and our encouragement for this new week.
Could it be that one of the greatest evidences of a true and vibrant faith in God is silence in the midst of our sufferings and tribulations?
Scripture teaches us that faith in times of adversity does not seek to explain what God is doing. Faith in such a season is not verbose. It is quiet. It is calm. It is cautious about offering explanations as to all that God may be doing in any unpleasant time of life. It simply rests in God’s wisdom and grace. It repents of the sin of placing the Almighty under the microscope where He is subject to human scrutiny. Faith says, “You are the Potter, I am the clay.”
So, while the world around us is literally drowning in a vast ocean of words, tweets, memes, opinion-pieces, complaints, accusations, assumptions, conspiracy theories, and explanations, we who belong to Job’s Lord and Father can “ be still” and “ know” that “ He is God”!
For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).
I love you all so very much,
Mike