I’ve been writing some devotionals for our church that are being sent out via email. I’ve affectionately dubbed them “Ronavotionals.” I’ll be sharing some here from time to time. I hope they are an encouragement to you.
“With Him are wisdom and might.” – Job 12:13
If you know the story of Job, you know that he experienced great suffering during his lifetime. But something that Job understood about his suffering was that it was intended by God for a good purpose. He said things like “the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away” (Job 1:21) and “Shall we receive good from God and not evil?” (2:10), but with both of these statements, the author of Job tells us that “in saying this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrong” (1:22), and “in saying this, Job did not sin with his lips” (2:10).
Later, in chapter 12, Job is responding to his friends who are telling him that his misfortune must be due to some hidden unconfessed sin in his life. But Job responds with “the hand of the Lord has done this” (Job 12:9), and follows that statement up with several statements regarding the wisdom and might of God (you should read the chapter. It’s great!)
But why God’s wisdom and might? What is it about these two attributes of God that brought comfort to Job? I think it’s because God being both perfectly wise and perfectly sovereign entails two things:
1) God knows what’s best for us (wisdom)
2) God can make what’s best for us come about (might)
If God lacked either of these attributes, then the suffering that Job experienced would be meaningless because it couldn’t possibly have been brought about by the God who “works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). If God is not all wise, He wouldn’t know what’s best for us. And if He wasn’t all powerful, He wouldn’t be able to bring about what’s best for us.
In these times, we’re all experiencing pain of some sort: financial strain, loneliness, hopelessness, uncertainty about the future, sickness, fear, etc.. But just like Job found solace and peace in the perfect wisdom and might of God, we too can find hope there. Our pain and suffering during this time are not for nothing. The evil that exists in this world at the moment can be used by God for good (Genesis 50:20). If we can grasp on to this hope, just like Job and the countless others throughout history who have fared far worse than us, then perhaps we can walk through this current situation with a calmness and demeanor about us that causes people to ask for a reason for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15), and this troubling situation could be turned and used for good, rather than for harm.
With God are wisdom and might, so walk in that truth today with the confidence that God knows what’s best for you and is actively working to bring it about, even now.
Photo by Aron Visuals on Unsplash