Job 42:2. Don’t Ask “Why?” Trust God

Some things are just beyond our understanding

There are moments in life that we just are not able to understand. In those moments it is hard to just trust God. Life feels out of control and you can’t stop it. But those are the very moments that we need to trust God and know He has everything in His control.

Job found himself in such a situation. Even though he was a righteous man, God allowed Satan to bring about utter destruction in Job’s life. It’s only natural to question such a thing and want to know why. Job was not different. He wanted to know why so much suffering had been heaped on him. 

In Job 16:12-14 Job questioned God’s actions. But as God informs Job about His ordering of the world, Job capitulates and he comes to understand the powerfulness of God and understands that there is nothing God cannot do. When we know this, it can be even more difficult to wonder why God doesn’t heal our loved one or doesn’t seem to answer a certain prayer request. Or why he allows world-wide pandemics. We, like Job, want to ask “Why?!” Instead, we need to trust God who is both omnipotent and omniscient.

God’s got it! He doesn’t need help.

Whenever we begin to wonder if God is at work, we are tempted to step in and help God achieve His plans and His purposes. In other words, we don’t trust God. We think that because things are out of control in our lives, that God doesn’t have control. So we cry out asking “Why?!” and we go to working trying to help Him fix our problems. However, when we do, we just make a even bigger mess of things.

Abraham and Sarah

Sarah and Abraham did this when Sarah told Abraham to have a child by her maid. Abraham agreed and Ishmael was born – but that wasn’t God’s promise. His promise was that Sarah would have a son and through her son all the nations would be blessed. It would be through her son that the nation of Israel would come to be and through that nation, David would rule and through David’s family tree, Jesus would be born who would save people from their sins. That was God’s plan.

Rebecca, Isaac, Jacob, and Esau

In Genesis 27, we find four Biblical characters that tried to accomplish God’s plan their way. God told Rebecca that when she gave birth to twins, the older would serve the younger, but instead of trusting God’s plan, they get sneaky. Isaac, despite what God had said, tried to bestow the family blessing on Esau. Esau tried to take back what he had already sold to his brother Jacob. Rebecca deceives Isaac and tricks him into blessing her favorite son, Jacob. Jacob lied to his father and outsmarted his brother. As a result, Jacob has to flee from his brother’s wrath and he never sees his mother alive again.

Omnipotent and Omniscient God has a plan and a purpose

We need to learn, like Job, that God can do anything and everything. He doesn’t need our help. We may not understand what God is up to or why He allows certain things. But we can trust God has a plan and purpose. We don’t always have to know why. God wants us to trust Him.

We need to learn, like Job, that God can do everything. There is no impossible for Him. He doesn’t need our help. We don’t always have to know why. God wants us to trust Him.

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When we cry out to God, “Why!?” God says, “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19). And in Isaiah 46:11  God says, “I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.” We can trust that God always has a plan and He will see that it is carried out. He doesn’t need our help to accomplish His plans for us. In fact, if something is God’s plan – there is nothing that will stop it from happening and if it isn’t His plan, He will intervene to stop it. Whatever life brings us – every single moment and every single event – must pass through the hand of God before it ever reaches us.

We can trust that God always as a plan and He will see that it is carried out. Every single moment and every single event in our lives must pass through the hand of God before it ever reaches us.

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Nothing happens in our lives without it going through God first

We know this is true because the book of Job opens up with Satan appearing before God. God asks Satan what he’s been up to and Satan says, “Roaming back and forth throughout the earth.” Now, God is omniscient (all-knowing). He doesn’t ask because He doesn’t know what Satan’s been doing and He also knows exactly why Satan is there.

God says, “Have you seen my servant Job? There is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil.”

Satan responds, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” In the verse that follows God allows Satan to tempt Job by doing whatever he wants to Job, only He can’t touch Job’s person. When this doesn’t work to make Job curse God, Satan comes back to God again and then God allows Satan to touch Job himself, but Satan cannot kill Job. Through all that Job goes through – he does not curse God. But he does ask why. He wants God to explain why all this happens, but He does not curse Him

God Reveals His omnipotence

It is not until we reach chapter 38 that God reveals His omnipotence to Job. He begins with a round of questions to Job that challenges his understanding of the Lord’s creative power (verses 4-15). He then challenges Job’s experiential knowledge of the earth based on Job’s limited travels could not include going into the depths sea. Nor had he seen the gates of death and he had not passed through them (verses 16-18). God then reminds Job that Job was not yet born when God commanded the light into being (verses 19-21).

God’s questions and challenges to Job continue through chapter 39 and then in chapter 40, verse 2, God says, “Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?” Job’s only response is to admit his criticism was groundless. He says to God, “Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.” God continues to challenge Job. And then we come to chapter 42 where we find that Job repents.

Job learns that God can do everything

In verse 2, Job says, “I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from you.” Job confesses God’s rightful sovereignty over all matters – even the situation Job found himself in. He learned that in all of God’s wise handling of the physical and natural worlds, his questioning of God was beyond his understanding and experience and it is beyond ours too. In verse 6 of Job 42, we find that Job was humbled that the Lord of the universe had granted him his greatest wish and spoke to him, reestablished fellowship with him, and with genuine repentance, he stopped relying on himself and began fully relying on God.

Job’s questioning of God was beyond Job’s understanding & experience & it is beyond ours too.

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Stop helping God manage your situation and rely on your omnipotent God

Whatever you are trying to help God accomplish or whatever you are asking “Why?” about, let it go and learn to rely on the God who ordered the universe and holds it all (including you) in the palm of His hand. He has everything in control – even when it all seems out of control. Sometimes we don’t ever get the answer to “Why” but we can always know that God is working everything out for our good because He has good plans for us.

When Job stopped relying on himself, he began fully relying on God. We also need to rely on the God who ordered the universe and holds it all (including you) in the palm of His hand.

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What’s Inside God, Love and Marshmallow Wars?

This book includes 365 daily activities and takes you on a guided journey through Biblical principles about Godly marriage that you can then apply to your marriage, as well as helping you talk through concepts that can help you develop a solid relationship. Inside you will find simple, quick activities that include:

Couple activities include:

• Scripture to memorize and meditate on.
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