For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:6.

Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 1 Corinthians 13:6.

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called…I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time – God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. 1 Timothy 6:12-16.

In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. Job 1:22.

Each of the above verses I read this morning and each one spoke to the majesty and sovereignty of God. And how we need that understanding as we read our next book, Job. I love this book. It condenses and brings to a fine point our misunderstandings of our God. If only we can let God lead us, can we begin to understand God is not the storm. God is the whispered voice leading us through the storms to the truth of His love for us.

The introduction gives a lot of speculation as to who wrote Job and when it was written; but we do have a people mentioned, the Sabeans and Chaldeans. In the notes below: (The location of the land of Uz is uncertain. We only know that Uz had plentiful pastures and crops (1:3), was located near a desert (1:19), and was close enough to the Sabeans and Chaldeans to be raided (1:14-17). Uz is also mentioned in Jeremiah 25:19, 20. Most scholars believe Uz was located east of the Jordan River near Canaan (Israel), where the Jews (those to whom God first revealed himself) lived. Job probably knew about God because he knew God’s people).

The description of Job: blameless, upright, fears God, shuns evil, v. 1. He was in the habit of offering sacrifices to God for his 7 adult children in case they sinned and cursed God in their hearts, v. 5. He is wealthy with vast numbers of livestock and servants and in one day his children, animals and many servants are killed or taken in raids. Why? Because Satan believes Job loves God because of the abundance God has provided for Job, v. 9-10. Do we believe that of people? That if they are wealthy they are blessed by God and better than everyone else; if they are poor or afflicted they are cursed by God because of their sins and worse than everyone else? One after another, a servant who witnessed calamity runs to tell Job his children are dead; oxen, donkeys, sheep, camels, many servants are dead and others taken in raids. Can you imagine? Even in his shock, what was Job’s response? He fell to the ground in worship and said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. v. 20-22.

Can we go forward trusting God? When what is familiar ends and we are not sure of the way to go, can we stop and in quiet remember Who alone is Sovereign and Who alone holds us in His love? Sometimes we need the quiet and peace to take stock and think about our lives and all we have lived and learned up to this point. And sometimes we need to admit we don’t know the way forward. That’s okay. God, our Sovereign Creator God, does know the way and He will lead you faithfully. Don’t believe me. Believe God. He’s here. Always. He’s ready to take your hand and walk with you. He already knows your heart. And guess what? You can know something our accuser, Satan, cannot grasp. God is Love and He loves you.