The Unseen Why: How I Learned to Trust God When I Don't Get a Say
The Flaw in Being Blameless
Welcome to the start of our wrestling match. I chose the book of Job to begin this journey because, to be honest, it’s one of the most frustrating, terrifying, and ultimately essential books in the Bible. It speaks directly to the moment we look up and ask, "Why me?" The first few chapters of Job show us a man who has done everything right. He is called "blameless and upright"—a righteous person whose life should have been a blueprint for God’s blessing. Yet, in the space of a single chapter, Job loses his health, his family, his business, and his wealth. My first thought reading this section was pure outrage. God pointed Job out to Satan, essentially saying, "Go ahead, see what he does when it all goes wrong". I cannot even imagine how that feels. It reminds me of an innocent man being put in jail for something they didn't do. Job was minding his own business, living his life. And Job’s friends? They show up and deliver the worst theological advice in history. They believe that God rewards the good and punishes the bad. Therefore, they insist: Job, you must have done something really bad to suffer this much. Ask for forgiveness and God will restore you. But Job sticks to his honesty: I am righteous and I don't deserve this. God is acting unjustly. This is where the tension breaks.
The Question That Pissed Me Off
Job cried out to God, asking what he had done to deserve this. And in Chapter 38, God finally answers—but not with a word of comfort. My initial, gut reaction to God’s response was pure anger. It came off as God being an arrogant dictator demanding: “HOW DARE you question ME?” Honestly, I believe God should have simply given him a hug. Yet, I realize that in my own trials, I have had this same arrogance and anger. I have believed that God is like "a kid on a hill with a magnifying glass just burning us the ants". Job crossed a line, too, accusing God of being negligent or malicious, saying things like, "It is all one; therefore I say, He destroys both the blameless and the wicked" (Job 9:22). The question for us, the readers, is this: Why does God seem to skip the comfort and go straight to the cosmos lecture?
The Pilot and the Promise: Reframing Comfort
God's answer isn't addressing Job's pain; it’s addressing Job’s arrogance. God is challenging Job's competence to judge His actions. He asks Job about the foundations of the earth, the boundaries of the sea, and the nature of Behemoth and Leviathan. This isn't a harsh lecture; it's a strong display of endless knowledge and wisdom. The logic is: "If you cannot even explain the mechanics of a thunderstorm or the wild nature of a mountain goat, how can you presume to explain and judge the ways I govern the entire moral universe?"
Here is the analogy that finally changed my perspective:
What I want (The "Hug"): I am small child on a turbulent flight. I want my parent (God) to hug me and say, "It's okay, sweetie, I feel your fear." This is a request for Empathy and Explanation.
What God gives (The "Cosmos Lecture"): God takes me to the cockpit and shows me the vast array of instruments and the Pilot's certifications. He is saying: "I am the Pilot of your entire life and the whole universe."
The comfort of the Pilot's (God’s) knowledge, though less emotionally satisfying in the moment, is ultimately more reliable.
Stability: The comfort of God's power is the guarantee that the storm has a boundary. As Job 38:11 states: "Thus far shall you come, and no farther". The one running the universe knows what He is doing.
Faithfulness: Job feared God was arbitrary or unfair. The greatest comfort is knowing that the all-powerful Pilot also loves and knows Job. God's greatness guarantees His faithfulness.
The Book of Job pushes us to accept God's mystery and sovereignty first, so that when the comfort (the "hug") finally comes, it is resting on the unshakeable foundation of an all-wise and all-powerful God. We can bridge the gap by reframing the power: when you read God's cosmic questions, you should not hear a yell but a pledge of competence. "The one who can harness the ocean can certainly see me through this small life".
Grace Flows Through the Cracks
”Love isn’t what I have the opportunity to get from this world. Love is what I have the opportunity to give.”- Lysa TerKeurst
The Book of Job pushes us beyond asking, "What can I get?" and toward the faithfulness required by God: "What can I give?"
My Identity: I am created to be a vessel. A vessel exists to hold and transport something else. My purpose is not self-containment but delivery of God's love to the world.
The Power in Weakness: My anxiety, my limitations, and my pain are the cracks in the vessel. These cracks are not disqualifications; they are the required condition.
My Pain is necessary for ministry and a source of deep empathy. It turns me into a "comfort expert,"allowing me to carry God's love to others with authenticity (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
My Anxiety forces me into dependence. I don't have to be strong; I just have to be willing to be carried by God's strength. The love flows out through the crack, and the love is so brilliant that it illuminates the crack itself.
God's power is perfectly displayed in you when you love anyway. You persevere by reading the Bible and praying even though the feelings don't instantly improve. The power is in the action of giving love that overcomes the paralyzing feeling of anxiety.
Join the Wrestling Match
We are just beginning our journey through Job, and there is so much more to uncover about the purpose of suffering.
Next time, we’ll dive into the painful, misguided counsel of Job's friends and how to be better comforters.
In the meantime, let's practice the prayer of the anxious vessel:
"God, the anxiety is here. Fill me so completely with Your love that it flows out to [Name a Person/Task] despite my trembling."
The power is displayed in the contrast between your internal state and the external love you manage to give. Let His grace flow through your cracks today.
