“‘Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know!’” (Job 38:4-5).
The majority of the book of Job is made up of Job’s complaints and his friends’ rebukes. Job just wants answers for why all this is happening to him, and his friends keep telling him to repent of whatever grave sin he committed that brought all this calamity upon him. But in the last few pages of the book, God takes the stage. In a few skillfully-uttered words, He proclaims His power in a way no one can refute. He reminds Job of just how powerful He is, and in the end, Job realizes that he has meddled in things far above his understanding.
Though God never directly answers Job’s questions as to why all this has happened, His answer still leaves Job speechless and repentant. God draws back the curtain of the universe ever so slightly, revealing how He personally oversees every facet of creation. The sun rises every morning because He commands it to do so. The sea stays within its boundaries at a single word from Him. He pours out rain upon the earth and sends out every bolt of lightning. The animals are under His direct care, receiving their food from Him. He watches over their young, even when the animals themselves couldn’t care less about their defenseless children. Not even the awesome, mysterious creatures, Behemoth and Leviathan, compare to God’s greatness.
The things God revealed to Job are barely a fraction of a hint of His power. We complain about our lives as if we were the most important creatures in the universe—but God is the One who laid the foundation of the universe. We don’t even know how He keeps the earth running every day; how then do we expect to dictate to Him how He should run our lives? Even when we don’t understand, we can still trust God, remembering that He is the Creator and Sustainer of the entire world. Literally everything, from thunder to baby mountain goats, is under His direct supervision. He knows what He’s doing. If the world itself answers to Him, do we really think He doesn’t have our little lives under control?
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