Thursday Job 38:1-11

Prayer: O God, give us a portion of the faith of Job. Speak to us through your Word, in Christ. Amen.

God speaks in surprising ways

(Adapted from Christ in Our Home – daily devotions)

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind (v. 1).

OH, to have the faith of Job. He was a good man whom God had richly blessed. If you have read the book of Job, you know the terrible suffering that he experienced, a terrible illness, the death of his children and the accusations of his friends. Yet Job remained faithful to God.  He said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” When God finally responds to Job’s prayers, He speaks through a whirlwind which was symbolic of God’s mysterious ways, especially when reasons for hope are not visible.

Summer Is near and the weather as usual is unstable. Will we have more good days than bad? Can we predict the weather? Remember that God speaks in surprising ways. It could be in the roar of heavy rain, thunder and lightning. Maybe in the roar of the ocean, or the starlite sky in the mountains. Or like Job, in a whirlwind, or a song, hymn, or sermon. With our faith we have hope that God will reveal His love.

Prayer: “God of wisdom, empower us with faith that endures in every season of our lives. Amen.”

Job 38:1-11

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

The Lord Answers Job

38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:

² “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
³ Gird up your loins like a man;
    I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
    Tell me, if you have understanding.
⁵ Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
    Or who stretched the line upon it?
⁶ On what were its bases sunk,
    or who laid its cornerstone
⁷ when the morning stars sang together
    and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?

⁸ “Or who shut in the sea with doors
    when it burst out from the womb,
⁹ when I made the clouds its garment
    and thick darkness its swaddling band,
¹⁰ and prescribed bounds for it,
    and set bars and doors,
¹¹ and said, ‘Thus far shall you come and no farther,
    and here shall your proud waves be stopped’?