Job utters one of the great descriptions of God's sovereignty and power. Job gets it. The Lord God is above all things. His will is displayed ever before us.
"To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; those he imprisons cannot be released. If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land. To him belong strength and insight; both deceived and deceiver are his. He leads rulers away stripped and makes fools of judges. He takes off the shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth around their waist. He leads priests away stripped and overthrows officials long established. He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders. He pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty. He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light. He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them. He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; he makes them wander in a trackless waste. They grope in darkness with no light; he makes them stagger like drunkards (13-25).
As I read Job's words and read them again I tried to allow them to sink in. I want to allow them to take root in the depth of my being.
I may not fully understand God and His ways, but I can appreciate God for whom He is… God. And His ways are inscrutable. I, a mere human being, can never fully understand or comprehend His ways.
I can, however, surrender to them.
Job maintains his innocence –maybe he is a bit too self affirming –still he understands and more importantly acknowledges that God chooses the way each person walks.
Even as I write, questions float in my thought... tensions between free will –my ability to choose my destiny –and God's sovereignty. By all accounts in this book Job was a righteous man, still all these calamities befall him. He chose well but evil befell him. God had other things in play that no human could factor in. Job had no clue he was the king in God's chess match with Satan. All may have looked lost, but the ultimate victory would be the Lord's.
I switched to my own life seeing these connections…
Live righteously, loving God and loving others.
Remain faithful through life's storms; refuse to curse God
Speak truthfully as best you can all the days of your life
And know our Redeemer lives… Yes, Jesus lives.
I surrender all. I surrender all. All to Jesus I surrender. I surrender all. Gladly and with a grateful heart for all You do and all You have done for me Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I surrender all. Amen.
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