Moving from Why to What For
God knows.
That is perhaps the great source of peace for all who follow and trust Him. Now there are some hurdles we have to continually jump to get there and stay there. First - we do not always know. Second - we regularly think we do know when we do not know.
And that is where Job lays his heart out in Job 23.
First Job expresses his deep and profound confusion about where to go meet with God.
Job 23:3–5 (ESV) Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat! 4 I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. 5 I would know what he would answer me and understand what he would say to me.
Then Job expresses his utter faith that though God could justifiably put him to shame, he believes the Lord will not do this.
Job 23:6–7 (ESV) Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; he would pay attention to me. 7 There an upright man could argue with him, and I would be acquitted forever by my judge.
Job then considers that in life and especially now it seems as though God is absent from Job's reality.
Job 23:8–9 (ESV) “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; 9 on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.
And in verse 10, Job utters another one of those golden lines from this book:
Job 23:10 (ESV) But He knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.
Notice those two bold words, "HE KNOWS." The point is that while we may be confused with God, God is well aware of our place and our path. He knows what He's doing and even when we are lost, He's not.
Then notice that Job considers for the first time, that this ordeal is indeed a trial from the Lord. For up to this moment, Job has been bemoaning that the Lord is simply punishing him for no reason. Here, the conversation from his lips begins to change. This is a trial and Job is learning to trust that God knows what He's doing.
Just four verses later, another wonderful confession:
Job 23:14 (ESV) For He will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind.
This is the process of enduring suffering. We first question "why", then we start to ask "what for". Those two questions are very different. One seeks to find the blame or cause, the second question seeks the purpose and outcome. Job still does not understand the answer to either question but he's progressively moving toward purpose and outcome. Job knows God knows and the things Job does not understand are not in control, the Lord is and that's all that matters.
When we travel through the dark places of our lives the Lord is seeking to get our eyes off of what happened and on to what will be. I know this can be frustrating in the process but its part of what makes us human. The refiner's fire is hot but holy and the end result is gold. Embrace the change as God burns away the propensity to find blame. Because when you let go the cause, you can find the purpose and enjoy the result.
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