Raw Prayers: Praying Through Our DoubtНамуна

YOU ARE GOD

Job suffered. He lost his children, his livestock, his servants, and his wealth. Job suffered. And he didn’t understand why he had to suffer. He was a righteous man- just, kind, good. He didn’t deserve the suffering he endured. Why, God? How long, Lord? Where are you, God? For thirty-seven chapters in the book of Job, his friends try to comfort him and try to persuade him to repent of whatever he had done to deserve all of this. For thirty-seven chapters, Job finds no answers. And then God speaks. Not gently, not compassionately, but out of the whirlwind. And God has not come to give Job answers. In fact, God has some questions for Job,

Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
for the day of battle and war?
What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?

Job 38:22-24

On and on, God questions Job, making it clear that God is God and Job is not. A reminder that the whole creation, and time itself, belong to God alone. Man did not create himself. Man has no claim to control. And all of this leads Job to a right and humble posture, as all of us must take before Almighty God. He knows that God can do anything. And he knows that he, Job, will never understand all the things that God does.

Does God ever answer any of Job’s questions? Does Job get a full understanding of why he had to suffer? No! As finite, created beings, we must at some point surrender our “right” to understand God and how He works. Instead, we must trust that He is good. Of that, there is no doubt.

“If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.” -Francis Bacon

Ask Yourself:

-Which circumstances cause the most doubt in you: your own suffering (like Job)? Or the suffering you see in the world (like Asaph)?

-Compare Asaph’s response to Job’s. What are the similarities and differences?

-How have past experiences, doubts, and questions, led you to find certainty in the Lord?

Pause to pray through your doubt: Begin by proclaiming where you have seen and experienced God’s goodness, “Truly You are good…”

Take a Next Step: Continue exploring God’s nature and character. Read Job 38-42. What does God reveal about Himself?