And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father address his son? It says, My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son. Hebrews 12:5-6.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:13-16.

I can’t help but think about all Job has questioned in the chapters before and all he thought he knew about God and the life he ordered around that certainty. And now our chapter, Job 41, and God asks Job a series of “Can you…” questions. God talks about one of his creatures powerful in body and spirit, the Leviathan. Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope?…Can you put a cord through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook?…Can you make a pet of it like a bird…Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears?…v. 1, 2, 5. God goes on…I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form…Nothing on earth is its equal – a creature without fear. It looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud. v. 12, 33, 34. 

I kept wondering why God spoke of this animal at this time to Job. And then I read the verses cited at the beginning of this blog. There are changes in each of our lives we have absolutely no control over. The changes Job experienced and by extension his friends were witness to, were a dramatic upheaval. The changes in our own lives, unique to each of us, may not be as dramatic an upheaval but they are real and disconcerting. There are changes we cannot control. We cannot control life. What we can do is walk with the One who is faithful always. As we take His hand and begin to trust His love for us, we begin to see moments of clarity. We are on a journey unique and different from every other person. Embrace that uniqueness because our Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit – does. When I am confronted with changes I cannot control He tells me to let go. Trust Him. Job experienced a powerful encounter with our God and Job’s understanding of God would forever be changed in that encounter. Why would Job ever want to turn back? Can we be changed as we read of these encounters of God? When Jesus walked this earth as the Word made flesh, people encountered God. He showed them a better country, a heavenly one – God’s Kingdom. It was not what many expected living as they did in the kingdoms of men. I can’t help but think it will not be what I expect either. So I want to be ready for what God has in store. I want to take His hand now and walk with Him on this journey with Him unique to me and in our journeying together, learn what it is to trust my God who has always been right here beside me. He is right here beside you. After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:14-15. The good news of God’s love for us. You can read about God’s love for you and you can experience it for yourself in your unique walk with Him. He’s here. Always.