A Question With No Answer

"You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know." — Job 42:3

There are many different reactions to tragedy, but one response is universal — asking why. Job, like everyone else, tried to understand God’s ways. Why do bad thing happen to good people? Why do the wicked experience so much good?

While Job’s friends insisted that Job must have sinned, he knew, and we know from the text, that he hadn’t. Most of the book is dedicated to Job and his friends trying to answer the timeless question for which an answer has never been found.

Finally, God Himself appeared to Job and answered his question with another question: “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand” (Job 38:4). Translation: “Why in the world would you expect to understand My ways? You are finite, I am infinite! I am the creator, you are the creation. Can a painting understand the artist that painted it?” Job acknowledged his limited knowledge and said, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” And with these words, Job found comfort at long last.

THE ONLY LIMIT TO FAITH

Romans 10:17 - Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

When people struggle with their faith in God, it's not because their faith-object is insufficient. It's because people have unreal expectations of God. They expect Him to operate a certain way or answer prayer a certain way--their way, not His--and when He doesn't comply they say, "Forget You, God." But God doesn't change; He's the perfect faith-object. Faith in God only fails when people hold a faulty understanding of Him.

 If you want your faith in God to increase, you must increase your understanding of Him as the object of your faith. If you have little knowledge about God and His Word, you will have little faith. If you have great knowledge of God and His Word, you will have great faith. Faith cannot be pumped up by coaxing yourself, "If only I can believe! If only I can believe!" Any attempt to push yourself beyond what you know about God and his ways is to move from faith to presumption. You choose to believe God according to what you already know to be true from His Word. And the only way to increase your faith is to increase your knowledge of God, your faith-object (Romans 10:17).