A Perfect God to Help You Cope in an Imperfect World – Part Three
Philippians 4: 19
Job suffered and demanded of God an explanation. He extensively questioned God asking why. Thereby, he implied God was inadequate and didn’t have an answer. Inherent in Job’s demand for an answer was the implication God didn’t have love or wisdom.
God didn’t give Job an answer. Instead He asked Job a question: “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?” (Job 38: 4, 5).
What is God saying? He is saying, “Job, turn on the Discovery Channel. I have the wisdom, power, and love to do what is right and I always do.”
To properly relate to God is not to get the right answers to our questions. It is to learn to ask the right questions. Such questions as:
“Does God have the right to govern as He wills?”
“Do I believe that all of God’s actions are born out of love and knowledge and are always right?”
“Do I trust Him even though I don’t understand His working?”
Sometimes we ask “Why” hoping an answer will prevent a recurrence. When a bad thing happens to a friend we are sometimes motivated to pray for that one in hopes we can formulate a prayer of correction and knowing it use it to help prevent such a misfortune in our own life.
Those reputed friends of Job who questioned him didn’t see him as a friend to be helped, but as an embarrassment they desired to avoid personally.
Why is often posed because something has disrupted our smooth running life to which we feel entitled. God motivates faith and encourages prayer as means of doing His will. We want to use them as means for controlling our lives. Occasionally we use them as magical incantations or rituals like primitive people who feel they can please or appease their gods. They become a means by which we attempt to control our world. In reality they are means of submitting to the God who does control the world.
Because Christ suffered He can relate to us in our suffering. Conversely, because we suffer we can relate to Him. In our suffering we have fellowship with Him.
At the time of Paul’s salvation the Lord said, “I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
Amid his trials Paul wrote that they were allowed “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings…” (Philippians 3: 10). Forewarned of his pending sufferings Paul nevertheless resolved to accept even them as a means to an end.
When things bad or good happen question God. However the question to ask is not why, but rather how. How can this be used to help me conform to the likeness of Jesus.”