Job had a great life, and then he lost it all.  He became terribly sick.  It finally became too much for him.  He questioned God.  Why was all of this happening to him?   

God answered from within a whirlwind.  Imagine how scary that must have been!  He asked Job where he was when he was creating all the world and all the animals in it.  Many people have felt that this was the divine putting down Job.  However, Professor David Dorsey sees this differently.  He found that over thirty of the nouns and verbs that were used in Job's  complaint were used in God's response over 140 times.  He sees this as God taking Job's complaints seriously, and giving a serious, well-thought-out answer.  Job is humbled before God's answer.  God, from within the whirlwind, asks Job where he was when God created all the world and the heavens.  God asks Job where he was when God created all the animals, some of which humans cannot even approach.  Job realizes that he has always talked with God, but that he can also see God in the nature that is around him.  Job takes comfort in this and cannot go on complaining. 

Job's friends had assumed that Job's suffering came from some sin he had committed.  But the fact of the matter is, both good and bad things happen to God's children. Job suffered misfortunes and questioned God on it.  God answered Job, and Job realizes that even in the midst of tragedy, the world is not bereft of God's creative presence. 

Get out this week and enjoy



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