Is it in the Punctuation; the Exclamation Point or the Question Mark?

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.” Job 42:5

Just over a month ago my son went out one evening to a concert. None of his buddies were available but he decided he would just go alone. The band he went to see had an opening act that was playing when he got there. He sensed immediately that there was something not right. But, it was a light crowd so he moved up to the front and began taking a few pictures.

From out of nowhere, there came a crushing blow to the side of his head. He went down into a ball as six guys jumped on him, pummeling him with punches and kicks. When they stopped, he was taken by ambulance to the hospital. I was away but my wife got the call all parents fear. She rushed to the hospital to find him with black eyes, lumps all over his head, beaten and bloodied, with broken bones that would require surgery.

Now, more than a month later, we thank God that the physical damage is healing. But, the emotional and spiritual wounds linger. The shocking randomness of the violence continues to haunt him. The confusion circles in his head. Why did these guys do this? What did I do to deserve it? And the inevitable – Why me?

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Pastor Stephen J (not to be confused with Pastor Steve) gave an absolutely awesome message a few Sunday’s ago about the goodness and righteousness of God in the midst of our trials. I agree with all of it 100%. However, there was one thing in his message that I have had some different thoughts about. It has to do with the issue of asking “Why?” about the trials we go through.

The reaction of “Why me!” to our trials is almost always raised with a major dose of either cynicism or a moralism. We reject God for allowing or imposing the trial on us or we determine that God is punishing us for some crime and we must win back His favor. Mostly, like Job, we are certain we don’t deserve it.

Most people cry out when bad things happen, “Why me God!” In most cases it is not a genuine question but a declarative statement using an exclamation point rather than a question mark. We are saying, “This is not fair!” or “I don’t like this!” or “Why have you done this to me! I have done nothing to deserve this!” or “You’re being mean. Just stop already!”

No, God does not owe us an explanation and if demanding an answer from God is all we are after then it is unlikely to lead us to where God wants to take us. Ultimately, as Christ-followers, do we need to know the reason for the bad things that happen to us? Isn’t it enough to be certain of God’s love and his majesty to know that He is in control? I would say that most Christians consider this to be the appropriate response – don’t ask, but trust. However, is this what God intends for us in our relationship with Him? Is there actually a right way to ask the question?

In the book of Job, Job repeatedly declares the unfairness of it all and according to the story there seems no good reason he deserves all the terrible trials other than God proving a point to Satan.

I find Job a challenging read. But, what I do grasp is that through most of the book, Job believes that what God is allowing is beyond his understanding. He’s sorting through all the voices and the many opinions of men but mostly declaring that He (and we) can’t know what God is doing. Is that true?

Does God desire that we should have wisdom about the trials we fall into?

Let’s look at James 1:2-8. These verses are often split up into separate thoughts/teachings. Verses 2-4 about joy in trials and verses 5-8 about asking for wisdom. I believe that the verses 2 – 8 could be taken together. In other words, we do not have to struggle with trials without God giving us wisdom as to what they are about and how to experience victory.

James 1:2-4 reads: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” The verses conclude that we would ‘lack’ nothing if we count it all joy and persevere through trials.

Verse 5 picks up with the same Greek word, Leipo asking if there is one thing you do ‘lack’ is wisdom. Wisdom about what? I am certain that it is about wisdom in more general terms but there is no doubt in my mind that it is about wisdom concerning the trials we are going through. It reads: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

The question is, “Do we bother to ask God for wisdom about our trials?” Or, are we too busy groveling in our misery? Are we too busy declaring “Why me!” Not really asking a question and not wanting an answer. Or, perhaps we are actually following the scripture – counting the trial as joy while being patient, but deciding it is enough to be confident that God is good and righteous. We don’t need to know or can’t know why. That’s good enough, right?

However, if we don’t come to God asking for wisdom and understanding about God’s purpose for the trial, then aren’t we lacking? And if we are “lacking” can we be made perfect and complete by the trial? Might we miss a fuller understanding of what God can do in our lives?

What God is looking for is the sincere question of the heart, desiring to know “Why?” Lord, please give me insight as to what this is about? How can you make something good out of this horrible situation? How do you want to meet the mutual desires of our hearts? He wants us to be confident that He will lovingly answer.

Just like how God answers many of our prayers, He may appear to be silent. Sometimes He is, but it may only be because we don’t know “when” He will answer. Personally, I think God wants us to have wisdom through the trial. But, He may decide that we cannot fully understand His wisdom until we are at the end of the trial or even further down the road. It is always in His perfect timing which ties back to the critical importance of “patience” in the development of the Character of Christ in the Christ-follower.

I can easily understand that there would be plenty of occasions of devastating experiences where people can accept that there is no good answer. This is a fallen world and Satan appears to run rampant devouring who he wishes. Pastor Stephen made an excellent case that God is in control of all things good and bad. (Read my blog post of August 8, 2018 – Testing our Faith or Bustin’ our Chops? about God’s involvement in life’s trials.)

The problem is that James’ Epistle seems so definitive about God generously wanting to give us wisdom – as if it is a certainty. Perhaps it is not about His desire to answer but about our asking – honest asking that requires faith with the assurance God is true to his word that He will respond. I know I’m not alone, when in the midst of a trial, I do not always take the time and effort to ask and wait on the response with certainty that God will respond.

How did things end up with Job?

The final chapter of Job 42 is often titled “Job’s Repentance and Restoration”. What did Job have to repent of? Even when God is debating with Satan, God knows that there is something within Job that Job himself does not fully comprehend.

At the beginning of the book, with his initial losses, Job concedes to God’s sovereignty. But then he goes into a steady stream of arguing and complaining. About 20 times Job asks “Why?” But in every case, it is either addressed to another person or more about declaring the injustice of it all and not about the sincere question for God to answer. Job often acknowledges that he calls out to God as in Job 30:20 “I cry out to You, but You do not answer me;” but he never sincerely asks, “What is this is all about?”

Job repeatedly declares it all hopelessly beyond understanding as in Job 17:14 – “Where then is my hope? As for my hope, who can see it?” and in Job 28:12-13 – “But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man does not know its value, Nor is it found in the land of the living.”

In fact, in Chapter 9, Job acknowledges that he can’t know what God is doing. With verses 10-12 Job declares, “He does great things past finding out, Yes, wonders without number. If He goes by me, I do not see Him; If He moves past, I do not perceive Him; If He takes away, who can hinder Him? Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’’

But, James seems to refute the idea that all of God’s ways are beyond our understanding. If we sincerely ask for understanding, as much as we are able to comprehend it can be imparted through God’s wisdom.

I would say that what Job didn’t fully understand was that all he had was from God and was God’s. Beyond that there was a lack of intimate understanding and knowledge of the magnitude of God’s goodness. Job did continually cry out to God, but even if he never really asked the right question, God finally speaks through the young man, Elihu to clarify God’s greatness and goodness and correct Job’s misunderstanding. It’s then that God directly jumps in to speak to Job and imparts His wisdom. Job finally learned from God the reason for his trials and he has this exchange with God in the final chapter 42;

‘Then Job answered the Lord and said: “I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”

When Job says of wonderful things that “I did not understand” and “I did not know” it implies that he now understands and now knows. Job confirms that the Lord answered the “Why Me?” plea of his heart when he concludes with, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.”

Job had certainly known of God’s greatness. He was a man who feared God and shunned evil. But now, through the trials He comes to intimately know how great His God is and how small he is in comparison. His God is a God who wants to be intimately known. And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning.

I would actually challenge us as Christ-followers in intimate relationship with God, while going through trials, to ask, “Why me God?” (not with an exclamation point but with a sincere question mark). Ask having no doubt that he will give you His wisdom. Don’t prejudge His response. Take the time to listen for His reliable answer.

And, you’ll know that it is indeed a response from God if what you hear is lovingly filled with edification, exhortation and comfort. (1 Corinthians 14:3)

And like Job, may the Lord then bless your latter days more than your beginning.