Giving Thanks

GIVING THANKS

Ephesians 5:19-20

I read the true story of GIs stationed in the Philippines during World War II. Although the region was secure, sometimes the enemy tried to infiltrate their food storage area. One enemy soldier, dressed in GI clothing, had worked himself into the noontime chow line. But the camp cook spotted him, pulled a pistol from under the serving table and yelled for the MPs to come and arrest the man.

After it was all over, the soldiers asked the cook how he knew the man wasn’t one of them. He said, “I figured it wasn’t one of you guys because he was coming back for seconds.”

This enemy soldier “looked” like the other GI’s.

He was dressed like them.

He walked like them.

He behaved like them.

But something gave him away…something made him stand out.

What gave him away? He was grateful for all the food he could get. He was thankful for the food no one else wanted. Being thankful was what set him apart.

Those American soldiers had all the food they could want; they just didn’t want it all that bad. They weren’t thankful for what they had…but the enemy soldier was.

Here in Ephesians 5, God tells us He wants us to stand out. He wants us to be known for something. He wants us to be known for being thankful.

Paul’s main subject here is praise and thanksgiving. He sounds like he is talking about a church service here…”Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart…” But he isn’t. He is talking about a continual attitude for Christians – an attitude of the heart…how we are to be to each other…we are to be grateful…always and for everything.

The way you and I enter into the presence of God in prayer is by giving thanks. The first thing that should come out of your heart and therefore the first thing that should come out of your mouth when you pray is, “God, I want to thank You. I want to thank You for Your goodness. I want to thank You for who you are.”

In fact, the single greatest act of personal worship that I can give God is to give thanks. I believe it is the highest, the best and the ultimate in worship…to have a thankful heart. Why? Because giving genuine thanks gets self out of the way and recognizes God as the source of everything good in your life.

Even in what we would call the bad things, even in the difficult times of life, thanksgiving looks beyond the circumstance, looks beyond the pain, looks beyond the suffering and the difficulty and thanks God that God can bring good things even out of the worst circumstances of life.

Giving thanks moves my self out of the way and it magnifies God. It moves God to the very focal point of my life and it magnifies God that He is the One who can use everything in my life for my ultimate good. And God loves this! God loves it when we are willing to say, “Thank You” in the midst of every circumstance. I believe He is a God who will bless that.

What kind of thanksgiving is Paul after here?

Body

I.                   WHEN ARE WE TO BE THANKFUL?

I am to be thankful ALWAYS. I don’t think God ever told us to do anything that is tougher but more necessary.

This is a tough verse for many people,

·         For the person recently divorced.

·         For the person who had a miscarriage of a baby they wanted badly.

·         For the person who feels they are barely “existing” in the Nursing home.

·         For the person who is overwhelmed by financial demands.

·         For the person who has to helplessly see their child suffer.

·         For the person who lives with a cloud of depression over them.

·         For the person who recently stood at the freshly dug grave of someone they love.

·         For the person who feels suffocated by their loneliness.

In each of these cases, the idea of giving thanks is very difficult and seems impossible.

You say, “But Pastor Gary, you don’t know my problems.” It still says, “Always.”

“Pastor, you don’t know my husband! You don’t know my wife!” It still says, “Always.”

“You don’t know my children. You don’t know my family.” It still says, “Always.”

“You just don’t know what a lousy job I have. You don’t know the way they treat me where I work.” It still says, “Always”.

Why does it say that? It is because to always say, “Thanks” is to recognize that God is in control of my life and that God is always seeking to conform me to the image of His Son and He will do that through ALL THINGS that occur in my life. So the fact is, I can say, “Thank You” in the midst of every circumstance of life.

I believe there are at least 3 attitudes that steal away our gratitude. 3 things that keep us from being thankful.

1.      PRIDE. This is the attitude that says, “Nobody ever gave me anything. I worked hard for everything I have.” With this kind of attitude, we feel that we have no one to thank but ourselves.

2.      A CRITICAL OR COMPLAINING SPIRIT. Instead of being grateful, this person will always find something to complain about. My Dad told about a man in his hometown that was always unhappy about something. One spring day Dad said something to him about the beautiful day and the man said, “Yeah, but summer will come soon and it will be hot!” Dad said, “But the shade of the trees will feel nice.” The man said, “But you sit under them and the ants will get you!” Dad was determined to stick it out with him so said, “But the leaves are beautiful in the fall.” The man said, “But you have to rake them!” Dad gave up.

3.      CARELESSNESS. Someone once said that if the stars only came out once a year, we would stay out all night to watch them. But they are there every night and we have grown accustomed to them. The Israelites grumbled because they had no food so God miraculously sent them manna to cover the ground each day except the Sabbath day. Then they started to grumble because it was the same thing every day. They had a miracle – straight from God every day but were no longer satisfied.

Because of pride, carelessness or a critical spirit we will never be truly thankful for all that God has given us.

Think how God must feel when He allows difficulties, trials or tests to come into your life and gets the response that He often gets. We gripe, we complain and we don’t claim what we read in James 1:2-4. (Jas 1:2)  Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

(Jas 1:3)  because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

(Jas 1:4)  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

So when the trials come into your life, God says to count it joy because out of those trials God is going to make you stronger and more mature.

We want to second-guess God all the time. We want to grumble, gripe and complain when the Bible says we are to trust God with these trials and tests and express that trust by being grateful. And in being grateful, God can do His maturing work in our life.

There are 3 categories of thankful people. Each one of us find ourselves somewhere in these categories.

1.      THOSE WHO ARE THANKFUL AFTER THE BLESSING. After God has blessed you, you are thankful. That is the easiest kind of thanksgiving. God unloads some kind of blessing on you and in response, you say, “Lord, I want to thank You for Your blessing.” That is a good virtue to have because we are all blessed by the hand of God and God expects us to be thankful after the blessing and many people are still not thankful after the blessing. So it is good to be thankful after God blesses you with His goodness. Yet that is the easiest kind.

2.      THOSE WHO ARE THANKFUL BEFORE THE BATTLES OF LIFE. This is a harder kind of thanksgiving, because it takes some faith. These are people who say, “Lord, I know some battles are coming in my life and I ‘m going to believe you for the victory. Therefore, I’m going to thank You in advance for the victory You are going to give me even before the battle comes.” This is saying, “God, I thank You for what You are going to do, not for what You have done.” I believe this is a deeper level of spiritual maturity.

3.      THOSE WHO THANK GOD RIGHT DOWN IN THE MIDST OF THE BATTLE. It looks like you are losing, but you’re still thankful. This is really tough. You can do it after the fact; you can do it in anticipation of it, but can you be thankful right in the midst of a very trying time? Daniel did it. In the midst of the pressure brought on by the king who said, “Daniel, I want you to pray to me and not your God, or else.” But right in the midst of that trial, 3 times a day, Daniel got on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to God, just as he had done before. That is what Jonah did. Swallowed by the whale and floating in the whale’s stomach, Jonah gets his spiritual act together and sang a song of thanksgiving. God liked that prayer so much He poked that whale and it spit out Jonah!

I believe that how you give thanks reveals your character and how you are with God. If the only time you give thanks and worship God is after the blessing, that’s good, but that’s kind of a superficial level of spiritual maturity. If you can thank God before the battle even begins in your life, I think that is getting there. But if you can thank God right down in your heart and in the midst of the pain and the trial and the loss, then you’ve reached a level of spiritual maturity that very few Christians really experience.

Joni Erikson Tada said, “Giving thanks is not a matter of just feeling thankful; it is a matter of obedience.” I don’t have to FEEL thankful to BE thankful.

Thanksgiving is a recognition that my life, my circumstances and my future are in the control of God and that everything that happens is working for the purpose of conforming me to the image of Jesus Christ.

So when are we to give thanks? We are to give thanks ALWAYS.

II.                 FOR WHAT ARE WE TO GIVE THANKS?

We are to give thanks for EVERYTHING. David Clay described the time he served as a youth minister in a small farming community in Kentucky. The people of the church were very generous with their garden produce – including their squash. However, his wife and he didn’t like squash. They tried every recipe they could think of to use the squash anyway.

They got more than they could eat and began storing the squash in a storage room at the house. Before long the rotten smell of squash permeated the entire house. There was no garbage pick-up and they didn’t feel they could sneak the squash away. In small communities, nothing is a secret. They were afraid someone would see them and think they were ungrateful.

So they did the only thing they could think of – they buried the squash one night in a flower bed behind the house. But the next spring, the squash was coming up in the flower bed!

Here’s what he learned. He writes, “What happens when life brings you squash, too much squash? What happens when you have more problems than you can handle?”

God wants us to give thanks in the good times because giving thanks promotes God’s glory and develops humility in us. We all have a tendency to usurp the credit for the good things that God does. We must give thanks in the good times because it reminds us that every good and perfect gift is from above. We call a child that takes without giving thanks, a spoiled child.

Giving thanks in good times makes us appreciate what we have been given. When we take time to count our blessings, when we make it a point to focus on the wonderful things we have been given, we appreciate life more.

Someone has written about the extravagance of God.

God has given more sky than man can see.

More sea than he can sail.

More sun than he can bear to watch.

More stars than he can scale.

More breath than he can breathe.

More grace than he can comprehend and more love than he can know.

God also wants us to give thanks in the difficult times because it is an act of faith. When things are tough, it takes faith to thank God for our circumstances. We must really believe that God has a plan we do not see. We must really believe that His wisdom is beyond our own.

Let’s be honest, when tragic times hit, it is tough to thank God. It doesn’t mean our heart isn’t breaking. It doesn’t mean we feel as if our world is caving in. It’s o.k. to hurt. It’s o.k. to confess our pain and even our anger. We can confess that HE is good.

We give thanks for a God who is working beyond the circumstances. Does a football player feel grateful for hard workouts? No. It seems like cruel and unusual punishment. But is it good…yes, it is. Do we feel grateful when money is taken out of our paycheck for retirement? No. But is it good…when it comes time to retire we will be glad for the circumstances we grumbled about.

We give thanks because we affirm, trust and even celebrate the character of God even when the circumstances make no sense. We give thanks that God is good. He is not evil. He is not arbitrary. God has a reason for everything He does…whether we understand it, or not. We give thanks that the world is not as chaotic as it often seems.

David said that we should give thanks because, “The Lord is good and His love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Ps. 100:5) The Lord is good. What an important statement this is. The world is often evil. But God is good. His love never wavers. We may waver in our love for Him but He never wavers in His love for us.

Max Lucado has written, “How wide is God’s love? Wide enough for the whole world. Are you included in the world? Then you are included in God’s love.

            It’s nice to be included. You aren’t always. Universities exclude you if you aren’t smart enough. Businesses exclude you if you aren’t qualified enough, and sadly, some churches exclude you if you aren’t good enough.

            But though they may exclude you, Christ includes you. When asked to describe the width of His love, He stretched one hand to the right and one to the left and had them nailed in that position so you would know He died loving you.

            But isn’t there a limit? Surely there has to be an end to this love. You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But David the adulterer never found it. Paul the murderer never found it. Peter the liar never found it. When it came to life, they hit bottom. But when it came to God’s love, they never did. They, like you, found their names on God’s list of love.”

We give thanks for a sure hope beyond the grave.

We give thanks for the Savior who made this hope possible.

We give thanks for a supernatural strength to get through devastation.

So when should we give thanks? We should give thanks ALWAYS. For what should we give thanks? We should give thanks for EVERYTHING.

III.              HOW ARE WE TO BE THANKFUL?

We are to give thanks IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

That is, I ought to give thanks consistent with who Jesus is; and I ought to give thanks the same way HE gave thanks.

The fact is that no matter what happens, I can always give thanks for who Jesus is and for what Jesus has done for me. No matter what happens in my life, I know that it will turn out for my ultimate good and for His glory. I could not be thankful apart from Christ.

It is because of Christ – it is what He has done for me as He died on the cross for me – that even in the bad and trying things of life become a part of conforming me into the image of Jesus Christ. So, because of this, I have cause to be thankful for all things.

Grumbling is forgetfulness. Maya Angelou, African-American poet, tells of whiners who would come into her grandmother’s store in Arkansas. Her grandmother would always quietly beckon Maya to come closer. Then she would bait the customer with, “How are you doing today, Brother Thomas?” As the complaining gushed forth she would nod or make eye contact with her granddaughter to make sure Maya heard what was being said. As soon as the whiner left, her grandmother would ask Maya to stand in front of her. Then she would say the same thing she had said at least a thousand times: “Sister, did you hear what Brother So-and-So or Sister-Much-to-Do complained about? You heard that!” Maya would nod.

Her grandmother would say, “Sister, there are people who went to sleep all over the world last night, poor and rich and white and black, but they will never wake up again. Sister, those who expected to rise did  not…And those dead folks would give anything, anything at all for just 5 minutes of this weather or 10 minutes of plowing that person was grumbling about. So you watch yourself about complaining, Sister.”

Then her grandmother would conclude. “What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t complain. Grumbling is forgetting the blessing of life itself and of life’s simple benefits. Grumbling can become a habit of life. We can make a habit of ignoring or forgetting God’s goodness.”

We are to give thanks the way Jesus gave thanks to God. Jesus had everything in glory, but He came to this earth and became a servant. The Bible says that ultimately Jesus was spat upon, rejected, ridiculed, despised and crucified on a cross. He didn’t deserve any of that, yet He was thankful to God.

Though He was worthy of glory, He got humility.

Though He was worthy of love, He received hate.

Though He was worthy of worship, He received rejection.

Though He was worthy of praise, He received scorn.

Though He was worthy of riches, He was poor.

Though He was worthy of holiness, He received our sin.

But in the midst of all that trial and testing of life, Jesus never lost sight of thankfulness to God because He would see the end. The Bible says, “For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame.” (Heb. 12:2)

When you consider Christ, look at yourself. Look at us.

·         I am worthy of humility; I receive the glory of God.

·         I am worthy of hate; I receive the love of God.

·         I am worthy of rejection, but God make me His son.

·         I am worthy of scorn; God gives me affection.

·         I am worthy of poverty; God gives me His riches.

·         I am worthy of sin’s curse; God gives me His righteousness.

And then, if everything doesn’t work out the way I want it to, I gripe and complain. I confess that doesn’t make sense! It is pride. It is sin that we deal with. We are so long on our request and so short on thanksgiving. It ought to be the reverse. We ought to be long on gratitude and thanksgiving and short when it comes to the requests of God.

So when do we give thanks? We give thanks always. For what? Everything. How? In Christ’s name.

IV.              TO WHOM DO I LIFT UP MY PRAISE?

A fourth grader stood up in his public school class, giving a report concerning the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday. Here’s how he began: “The pilgrims came here seeking freedom of you know what. When they landed, they gave thanks to you know who. Because of them, we can worship each Sunday, you know where.”

I am to give thanks TO GOD THE FATHER. It is always to God the Father. I think Paul used this word, Father, because God is the gracious Father who is always giving us gifts. He is always giving us gifts!

The Bible says, “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift comes from the Father.” (James 1:17) So the Father should be thanked for all things because He has given all things. Even those things that come through others come from God. We should be grateful for what anyone does for us and we should thank them for it. But thankfulness to others will be little more than flattery if we don’t acknowledge the true source of the gift is God. Being filled with the Spirit means you will sing, you will worship, you will get out of your heart through your mouth expressions of love and admiration to God.

So being filled with the Spirit means that we are a thankful people. As a way of life, we are abounding, we are overflowing with gratitude.

This is so revealing as it indicates where our heart really is in terms of being filled with the Spirit of God.

Romans 1:21 is a sad verse. It characterizes the attitude of most people. “For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him. But their thinking became futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

It tells me that if we fall into this pattern of ingratitude, we run the risk of our thinking becoming very warped and futile and our foolish hearts becoming darkened to the goodness and grace of God.

CONCLUSION – Henry Frost served for many years as a missionary to China. In his journal, he wrote of a very difficult time in his life. He said, “I had received sad news from home, and deep shadows had covered my soul. I prayed but the darkness did not vanish. I summoned myself to endure, but the darkness only deepened. Then I went to an inland station and saw on the wall of the mission home these words: TRY THANKSGIVING. I did and in a moment every shadow was gone, not to return.”

Yes the Psalmist was right, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.”

Sometime when you are alone slowly look around your home and notice the things you have to be thankful for. Look at the pictures and thank Him for the memories that those pictures represent. Notice the possessions and thank Him for the ways He has provided for you. Notice the things others have given as gifts and thank Him for the blessing of friendship. Notice the things that remind us of those who have already gone on to their eternal reward, and thank God for the way you were enriched by those lives. Look at the stains on the carpet and furniture and remember the things that caused them. Notice the wall where you marked the height of your children and give thanks for them. Notice the things left lying around and give thanks that signs of life surround you.

In some quiet night, sit in the dark and list as many things as you can in God’s character that you can be thankful for. Remember where you were when He changed your life. Remember the times of crisis you thought you could not survive, but did by His strength. Recall some of the life changing lessons you have learned or some of the Bible passages that have become your foundation for living. Dare to think about the place that He is preparing for you and thank Him in advance for the riches He gives.

Make it a point to say thanks to those you cherish. Be specific. You may need to write it down. You may need to make a phone call. You may need to go to a gravesite, but make it a point to be grateful. It will mean a great deal to your soul and even more to those who receive your words.

Before you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, look around the table. Really see the faces that are there. Focus on those who share the meal with more than the food. Thank God for the food and for your family.

And if this is a hard Thanksgiving. Take the time to talk about the Lord. Remind yourself and those around you that He is good, His love endures forever, and His faithfulness will never cease. Remind yourself of when days were better. Tell stories of the past. Remind with fondness and maybe with tears…and then look forward to the future day when the tears will be dried, the pain will be gone and the smile of Jesus will bring a joy this world has never known.

John MacArther, Commentary on Ephesians

Gary Harner, sermon, “Don’t Sit on the Thorns”

Bruce Goettsche, sermon, “Being Grateful in Good Times and Bad”

Illustrations from Reader’s Digest and Timothy Report

Job series #7

Following Jesus When You Suffer7:

“BECAUSE I’M GOD, THAT’S WHY!”

                                                                             Job 38-42        

A mother is running errands during a busy day, accompanied by her 2 small children. All morning the children have been pestering her: “Can we go to the new toy store? Let’s get some ice cream. We want to go home now!” Pretty soon their pestering turns to complaining, and then to angry questions. “Why can’t we go where we want to go? Why do we have to go in that store? Why can’t we eat lunch now? Why do we always have to do what you want to do and never what we want to do?” Finally, the mother stops, stoops to face here unhappy children, chin-to-chin, and says, “Because I’m the Mommy, that’s why!”

That scenario reminds me of the way God responds to Job in this passage. Job has digressed from acceptance of his suffering to complaining to questioning to bitter accusations. Job demanded that God explain Himself. Why did God allow him to endure so much pain? He wasn’t perfect but he was more righteous than others whose wealth hadn’t been stripped, whose children hadn’t been killed and whose health hadn’t broken. Why was he the victim of so much suffering and injustice? Job didn’t deserve this so he specifically requested an audience with God, but there was no reply. “I cry out to you, O God, but You do not answer; I stand up, but You merely look at me.” (Job 30:20)

Most of us have felt that way at times. We’ve gotten angry with God for allowing us to hurt and we’ve demanded an explanation. Even though God has warned us that His ways are not our ways, we try to make sense of it all. We want an explanation for broken relationships, financial hardships, premature deaths, brutal wars and physical pain. Like Job, we cry out, “Why me? Why this? Why now?”

Now at the climax of the book, God appears and Job could let his questions fly and present his case before God. At long last, he could tell God how unfair things had been over the last several months or years or however long Job’s suffering lasted.

There’s just one little catch. Before God would answer Job’s questions, He had a few of His own. Essentially, God had one question. He asked it of Job and it still echoes down to us in the silence from heaven in our times of suffering: WHO ARE YOU, A MERE MORTAL, TO QUESTION THE ACTIONS OF GOD? In essence, God’s answer to Job is, “Because I’m God, that’s why.” That is harsh, to the point, and precisely what we need to hear.

But God’s questions to Job sound like what I DON’T need in my darkest hour. I want some tenderness. I want some mercy. I need some grace. Thankfully, the book of Job isn’t the only book in the Bible. Other passages overflow with God’s comfort to the hurting.

Psalm 34 tells us God is close to the brokenhearted. Psalm 103 says he is tender and compassionate. The book of Revelation shows God wiping every tear from the eyes of His children.

But we also need to hear this: GOD IS GOD AND I’M NOT. And neither are you. So trust Him!

Ted Turner had a 15-year-old sister who died of lupus. Their family was a God-fearing family when she became critically ill. They prayed but she got progressively worse and died. A Christian friend told Ted’s dad that God’s ways were mysterious, but it would make sense in the end. Ted Turner’s father’s response was to abandon his faith. He never set foot in church again. His son made the same decision. Would you?

This marvelous passage of Scripture shows us some practical principles that will help us remain faithful to God through difficult times.

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I.                   BECAUSE OF GOD’S MAJESTY, TRUST HIS TIMING.

Job still had to learn that he could not dictate the way or time in which God speaks. Job demanded a courtroom setting with a legal contest over his innocence. Instead, he got a whirlwind in the desert with God asking the questions – over 65 questions.

38:1 THEN, When? Whenever God was ready, whenever God knew Job was ready and not before. When the voices of all others were stilled. When Job had failed to receive any help from his friends and was still left with upsetting questions. When Elihu helped Job take his eyes off his problems and focus them on the character of God…it was then that God spoke and not before.

Why does God speak now when He has been silent so long?

·         Not because Job talked God into it;

·         Not because God decided He owed it to Job. God hasn’t placed Himself under obligation to Job at any point in the story.

·         No, God speaks now, only because He chooses this moment to speak.

It is only by God’s choice that He chooses to reveal this to Job. Many times we will pray and plead and then wait endlessly for an answer from God. But God will not be coerced into acting before His time.

Have you ever read that verse in the Psalms that says, “My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning -- Yes, more than those who watch for the morning" (Psalm 130:5, 6)?

Two things about waiting for the morning:

1.      You can’t hurry it up!

2.      It will surely come!

God is never late, but He is also seldom early. Trust God’s timing. You cannot hurry God up. You cannot order God around. You must trust His timing when He seems to be deaf to our cries and doesn’t come to our rescue. Can you still believe He is in control? Can you still believe He is listening and has heard?

Notice God spoke to Job out of the storm. Drenched and clutching his dripping sackcloth, still shaking from the awesome crashes of thunder and the brilliant blazes of lightening, Job crouches on the ground and hears God’s voice.

We prefer that God speak to us in the sunshine, but sometimes He must speak out of the storm.

Not only does God not appear to Job on demand, but when He does speak, God doesn’t answer any of Job’s questions. Job wanted God to explain His actions and defend the justice of what He had allowed to happen to Job. Instead, God appears and begins to question Job. Job demanded an answer to the questions, “Why me? Why this? Why now?”

God knows that what Job really needs is a fresh vision of the majesty of God. Job was really asking 2 questions:

1.      Does God really know what He is doing?

2.      Does God really have control over all circumstances of life?

The first lesson to learn is that God is in charge of the universe, so trust His timing. Here’s a fact we often miss, but it is so important in coping with trouble: the universe doesn’t revolve around us. God is in charge! We are His creation and not vice versa. He is not our servant. We are His servants. Once you accept that God is in charge, your attitude about your problems change. When we understand this is God’s world and we exist to bring honor to Him; we quit complaining and we start making the most of our circumstances.

We might not always like it, but God is like the parent who says, “As long as I provide the roof over your head, the clothes on your back, and the food on your plate, I will also make the rules and decide what is fair.”

Because of His majesty, Trust His timing!

II.                 BECAUSE OF GOD’S MYSTERY, TRUST HIS WAYS.

38:2-3 God is not on the witness stand. Job was. God didn’t question Job’s integrity or his sincerity. He only questioned Job’s ability to explain the ways of God in the world. I love the way the Message paraphrases this, “Why do you talk without knowing what you’re talking about?”

God says, “Get your helmet and buckle up, little man, because you and I are getting ready to go one-on-one!”

God demands, “Who are you, to tell Me I don’t know how to run the world?” Then God gets sarcastic. “Let’s check out your qualifications to criticize Me. I assume, since you think you know better than I do how to create a universe, that you have some relevant experience. What was your role in creation? Do you recall the blueprints, the measurements? Refresh my memory, Job – were you the design engineer or the construction supervisor?”

A bunch of leading scientist came to God and challenged God to a “man-making contest”. God said, “What do you mean?” The scientist said, “Well, we have learned enough about the working of DNA and biochemistry and cell transfer and manipulation that we think we can do a better job than this out-dated version you made.” God said, “Okay” and picked up a handful of dirt. The leading scientist then picked up a handful of dirt and God said, “Hold on. What are you doing? You have to get your own raw materials!”

God asked Job questions about the physical world. He starts with creation. He moves to the seas and the sun. “Job, how many sunrises have you made?” The earth is orbiting around the sun at a speed of 66,000 mph while at the same time it is spinning around at about 1,000 mph so that one part of the globe is facing the sun and the other is in darkness. And every morning the sun rises again! Can you do that Job?

He moves to the dimensions of the earth. (38:16) “Job, have you ever taken a walk in the depths of the sea?” The greatest depth measured so far is in the Pacific Ocean – 35,810 feet or almost 7 miles!

He asks questions about the weather – snow, hail, wind, floods, thunder and lightening, rain, dew, ice and frost. So far Job hasn’t answered a single question because he can’t. Not even a bonus question would help at this point.

God’s point is that if Job can’t command the sun to rise each morning, why does he think he can command God or understand God’s ways? If Job cannot understand the underground springs in the earth, how could God possibly explain what He is doing in Job’s life?

Don’t you hate it when you ask a question and the person answers it with a question? Have you ever had this type of conversation? “You give me one good reason why I shouldn’t be allowed out till 3 am?” The answer is the most frustrating response. “You tell me who is in charge here?”

That’s not an answer! Sure it is. You can rail on as much as you like about how valid your question is. You can rail at your parents. You can go to school and your friends agree you have a fair question, but the reality is you have to learn to live with an answer you don’t like! An answer that gets at the heart of the real issue. “I’m the parent. You’re not.”

“Why is there such injustice and unfair suffering?”

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (38:4)

“Why is a good father killed at the hands of a drunken driver?” “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?” (39:1)

“Why was I abused when I was so young and innocent?” “Have you given the horse strength? Have you clothed his neck with thunder?” (39:19)

“Why do I have a neuro-muscular disease?”

“Does the hawk fly by your wisdom…does the eagle mount up at your command, and make its nest on high?” (39:26,27)

It just doesn’t sound rational. We have legitimate questions and we deserve legitimate answers. We ask, “Why do the innocent suffer?” and God questions us about an ostrich! It’s like God says, “Don’t ask Me to explain suffering to someone who doesn’t even know how to make a sunrise, let alone how to build an ostrich!”

One of the wonders of our faith is that while God reveals Himself, God very rarely explains Himself. But that is what faith is all about. We may not know the “why” but we certainly know the “Who” of our faith.

Once Job sees who God is, he lays his questions down at the feet of the Lord and kneels there in worship. Ruth Bell Graham wrote this poem:

I lay my “whys”

Before Your cross

In worship kneeling,

My mind too numb

For thought,

My heart beyond all feeling.

And worshipping,

Realize that I,

In knowing You,

Don’t need a “why”.

God turns Job’s attention to another category of questions. “Job, do you know anything about how I care for My creation?” God parades animals before Job’s mind’s eye. He speaks about the lioness, goat, deer, wild donkey, wild ox and horse. He asks about the birds. The providence of God is remarkable. In His wisdom and power, God supervises the whole universe and makes sure His creation is cared for.

In effect, God asked Job how much he even understood of the animals. Could he control them? Did he design their life cycle? Did he make them what they are? We never hear Job’s answer, but we know what it is. No, no, and no. God is saying, “If you can’t understand why I made the animals the way I did, how can you even begin to understand why I do what I do in your life?”

God doesn’t have to come out and say it, but we can still hear Him. He tells us He knows what He is doing even if we don’t. About the time we think we have Him figured out, we need to step outside. We think we have life and the world figured out, but even with all the modern technology, we can’t even accurately predict the weather a few days in advance. Something as simple as the wind and the rain still go beyond our understanding. How much more so does God? And if we can’t understand the workings of the physical universe, why would we assume we could understand the workings of the spiritual universe?

40:1-2 Do you demand answers when things don’t go your way? When you lose a job, someone close to you is ill or dies, finances are tight, you fail or unexpected changes occur? Suffering hits and we want answers. God gives only one: I am God and I know what I’m doing.

“Job, if you have to trust Me for running the world, can’t you trust Me with the small details of your life?”

One of the notable things about the book of Job is the absence of explanations. God never answers why. He just says, “Look at My majesty. I am God, not you, so trust my timing. In my wisdom, there will always be some mystery to this thing we call life, so trust My ways.”

God says, “Trust Me and wait till eternity and I’ll explain it.” God provides answers in His time so be willing to wait till eternity if necessary.

A college student took a final exam at the end of the semester. When he got the test, he was stunned! He didn’t have a clue to the answers! Not a single one. Trying to win the professor’s favor with humor, he wrote on the top of the page, “Only God knows the answers to these questions. Merry Christmas!” Over the break, he received the exam in the mail, graded by the professor. At the top the professor wrote, “Then God gets 100, and you get a 0. Happy New Year!”

How do you maintain trust in God during difficult days? Because of God’s majesty, trust His timing and because of God’s mystery, trust His ways. The fact is that we just don’t have the whole picture do we?

A father and his young daughter were riding in a crowded elevator. Suddenly, a woman in front of them turned and slapped the father’s face. The elevator stopped and the woman stormed off, looking back, shooting hated looks at the man.

The father was obviously shaken and confused. He looked down at his daughter and said, “I wonder what her problem was?” His daughter said, “Oh, she was just a mean lady who likes to hurt people, Daddy. I didn’t like her either. She kept stepping on my toes. So I pinched her bottom as hard as I could. That’s when she started picking on you!”

Sometimes it helps to wait till you know the whole story.

III.              BECAUSE OF GOD’S MERCY, TRUST HIS LOVE.

Job is sitting there, stunned. He answers the Lord, 40:3-5. “I have no right to open my mouth, God! You’re in the Big Leagues and I’m just in T-ball. I’m not going to say another word.”

But it is not silence God wants. He wants trust. Job admits to God’s power and God’s wisdom, but not God’s justice. God doesn’t want Job’s silent rebellion. He wants Job! So God continues.

“Let’s imagine you are running the universe, Job. Would you crush the wicked if you were God?” Job is caught in the trap of logic. If he were to play God and bring immediate judgment to the wicked, how would he himself escape? Job had complained that God isn’t being fair, but if God were to dispense immediate justice, Job would suffer also because he shares the sin of humanity also.

If God were to wipe out evil from the earth, we would never understand the meaning of grace.

God closes out chapter 40 and uses chapter 41 to focus on 2 unusual creatures – the behemoth and leviathan. What are they? We don’t know. Some suggestions have been given that the behemoth is the elephant, a water buffalo, many think it was a hippopotamus and some say it was a dinosaur like a brontosaurus. It has been suggested that the leviathan has been suggested to be a whale, a crocodile or another dinosaur. God’s point is that you cannot control them and you cannot control God.

We think we can control God. From time to time, I’ll hear some evangelist on TV telling how God will bless me if I’ll just mail in a check. Most of us aren’t that crass, yet deep down we assume we can get God to bless us if we live the right kind of life. We just know He will smile on us and shower us with good things if we are sincere enough in our faith.

We want to force God to do our bidding. If we just pray enough or believe enough or live a good enough life, we think God must act in a certain way. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you can’t get your dog to stop barking, what makes you think your actions can in any way force the Sovereign Lord over all creation to do anything?

42:1-6 Job gets the point. He is humbled by God’s greatness, and he sees hope in God’s goodness. He does not get the answer he wants, but he gets the answer he needs.

In 1992, after Hurricane Andrew struck south Florida, a 7-year-old girl asked her father why God let it happen. Andrew’s 160-mph winds had ripped the roof from their house while they huddled in a stairwell. The girl’s father found himself wanting to defend God. He said that he didn’t want her to think badly of God, but he had no words. Finally, he said, “I don’t understand why this happened. But sometimes you have to lose the roof to see the sky.”

Job had become so familiar with God that he argued with Him. He scolded and accused God as you would a fellow man. Job needed to be reminded that He is God and Job was not.

As a child, our family was in a car accident. I was thrown from the car and I skidded on my face on that gravel road. I had a pretty good cut on my forehead that required stitches. They took me to the hospital emergency room in an ambulance. In that cubicle, strangers cut my clothes off. Strangers came in and went out in a rush, asking questions of me. I was in the 5^th grade and scared. Doctors and nurses came and went. I was scared and struggled to get up. I was held down by nurses and told to lie still. I remember struggling to get up. Then another familiar voice came to my ears and hands rough from carpenter’s work held mine and I stopped struggling and I knew it would be all right. Why? My father had arrived.

Job is knocked down. He’s deeply hurt. He’s lying flat on his back and struggling. Then he hears this familiar voice and he ceases to struggle because in that moment, Job knew it was going to be okay.

God didn’t answer one of Job’s questions, but Job still came away from his encounter with God more than satisfied. He didn’t need to present his case before God. God didn’t have to explain Himself. Even though God never said one thing Job longed to hear, simply coming face to face with the majesty and sovereignty of God was enough because he knew God cared.

I know Your POWER can do anything for me.

I know your PURPOSE will be fulfilled in me.

I know your WAYS are too wonderful for me.

I know your WILL is good for me.

I know your LOVE is hope for me.

So Job could get up from his pile of ashes, put his regular clothes back on and go forward with his life. He still hurt. His children were still dead. All his wealth still lay in ruins, but his life could now go on. God spoke. Job found himself in dead silence before God’s power and might…and it was enough.

God could explain everything to you of His workings behind the scenes of our trials, but chances are we wouldn’t be able to understand it. How could His infinite wisdom possibly fit into our finite brains? What we do need to know is of His majesty so we can trust His timing, of His mystery so we can trust His ways and of His mercy so we can trust His love.

The book of Job ends with the Lord turning Job’s circumstances around by giving him twice as much as he had before. And 10 more children were born and their happy squeals filled the rooms of his house. What a great ending to 41 chapters filled with pain! Does that mean I can promise you a happy ending? No. There is a mystery in suffering and a mystery in restoration.

Even though Job and his wife enjoyed 10 new children and later a house full of grandchildren, 10 graves still lay behind the main house. The joy of his family would always be tempered by those who died and the thoughts of what might have been. Job didn’t go back. He went forward.

That’s really what you have to do. Suffering leaves a huge void in our lives. The pain intensifies and all we want is to go back to the way life used to be. But we can’t. Life never goes in reverse. Either we can sit and wish for days gone by or we can go forward.

The only way we can go forward is to come face to face with the Sovereign Lord and discover like Job that just knowing He is God is enough. There are no assurances that tomorrow will be better than today. Jesus said in the world we would have trouble. He didn’t say how much and He never explained why.

But there is one assurance we have: God is God. Because of His majesty you can trust His timing, because of His mystery, you can trust His ways, and because of His mercy, you can trust His love.

The book of Job offers a choice. Will you respond to life’s trials and pains as Job’s wife recommended: “Curse God and die?” Or will you follow Job’s example and proclaim, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”

The story is told of a young husband who lost his wife to cancer. He was left all alone in the world to raise their young daughter. The first night alone in the big house was not an easy night for father or daughter. The dinner table was desperately lonely. As bedtime came, an electrical storm broke out. The power went out and it was dark, still, and empty. When daddy tucked the little girl into bed, the room was pitch dark.

“Daddy, are you there?” “Yes, Sweetheart, I’m right here.” “Daddy, I can’t see you.” “Sweetheart, even though you can’t see me, I’m here. I’m talking to you, aren’t I?”

“Daddy, I’ve never been this scared before.” “Honey, I’m here. Trust me. Everything’s going to be okay.” With that word of assurance, holding to her father’s hand, the little girl put her head on her pillow and fell asleep.

The dad made that long, lonely walk down the hall to his own bedroom. The storm blew and howled against the house. It was so dark. Lightening would flash across the sky, lighting up the whole room, and then plunging it into darkness again. Getting into bed, that dear man stared up at the ceiling. His heart felt like that room – dark, empty and stormy. He turned his broken heart toward Heaven.

“Father, are you there?” He felt the assurance of God, “Yes, Son, I’m here.” “Father, I can’t see you.” “My son, I’m here even though you can’t see Me.”

“Father, I’ve never been this scared before.” “Son, trust Me. Everything’s going to be okay.” With that assurance, the dad put his head on the pillow and fell asleep.

Will you trust Him even if the night is dark? Will you trust Him even if you don’t know why? Because when you don’t know, you can rest in the assurance that you know that God knows.

Mark Tabb, Out of the Whirlwind

Jerry Bridges, Trusting God

Philip Yancy, Disappointment with God.

David McKenna, The Whisper of His Grace

Stephen Lawson, When All Hell Breaks Loose