How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? John 5:44.

We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. Psalm 33:20.

The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I have hope in Him. Lamentations 3:24.

It’s good to remember what God said of Job, that Job was blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. Job 1:8, 2:3.

And now we come to Job 4. Eliphaz, the Temanite speaks. But who can keep from speaking? v. 2. He speaks for the next 2 chapters. He first commends Job for the good he has done in helping others. He asks, “Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless ways your hope?” v. 6. He seems to connect that thought with the thought that the innocent never perish, the upright are never destroyed. v. 7. Really? Innocents die. In this world the upright are destroyed. He asks, “Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?” v. 17. I’m not sure I understand the relation between “strong man” and pure in relation to our Maker, but I can’t help but think Eliphaz goes into dangerous ground when he affirms, If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error…v. 18. How does he know? As we read Job, it’s helpful to remember that God rebuked the 3 friends (42:7). It’s so easy to trust in our own reasoning isn’t it? And yet, God listened and succinctly spoke truth to them. I’m jumping ahead, but I can’t help but wonder how that affected the 3 friends. Can we begin to understand that we don’t know, we don’t understand? It’s a good starting point.

What do I know? God is love. God creates and He is love and He loves His creation. He has made a way…from before the foundation of the world…that we can be included in His love for us and it is good. Trust Him who knows. Reading Job reminds me to be careful. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6. The whole chapter of Proverbs 3 is so beautiful.

I hope if I am ever with someone hurting, that I will remember to sit in silence with them and pray that God will give comfort that only He can give. And then trust God’s loving timing and profound love for that person because it is good. What we each of us need more than anything is God’s love for us and for others. His love heals us and restores us and redeems us to life as God intends for us. It is good! My hope and confidence is in my Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit – who cares for us and is faithful. We, humanity, have not been faithful because we, humanity, don’t understand…Job’s friends are an example of our misunderstandings of God…but thanks be to our Creator God, because He does understand and He is working for our Good in Him. Thank You, Lord, for so great and so amazing Your love for us. It is Good! Thank You for Your wisdom so vast and without limit. It is Good!