Job 32 - An Answerless Question

“I also will answer with my share; I also will declare my opinion. For I am full of words…” Job 32:17, 18a

Need to know the population of Kyrgyzstan? Google it. Do you first need to know how to spell Kyrgyzstan so you can Google its population? Google it. When you need an answer to just about anything in the year 2021, it is as close as your cell phone. Just ask Google, Alexa, or Siri and you will have your answer within seconds. This fascinating wrinkle has brought about an interesting dichotomy in social conversations. The know-it-all no longer holds control over the group as they did, now anyone can quickly and easily find the proposed answers. What movie won best picture in 1939? (hint…we’re not in Kansas anymore) Where did the root word for orange originate? (Dravidian-Sanskrit). But in a world today where answers seem to come quickly and cheaply, what would you do if you Googled a question and the reply came back, “there is no answer to your question?” I think it would have the same effect as it did in the book of Job. It would only drive you harder, to dig deeper, to look farther, knowing that the answer you seek must exist somwhere.

Bienvenido Elihu. After 32 chapters in the book of Job we are introduced to the fifth member of our cast. We have already heard at length from Job and his three friends, Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad, but out of the blue here comes Elihu. He has been quietly standing in the background listening to the entire discussion, but he can no longer hold his youthful tongue. He will not accept that Job’s situation has no clear answer and resolution, so in his eagerness to be Google, he steps up to offer his answer. You see, the folly of Job and his four advisers is that they, in their own wisdom and intellect, assumed that there was an answer. In the deep recesses of their gray matter, they could not accept the fact that a question upon this planet could elude them. That a problem could not be solved by their lifetimes of wisdom and combined years of deep learning. But folks, when it comes to understanding the ways of God and seeking answers to the ways in which He works, there is no answer made known to man that is not made known by His Holy Spirit…and only then in God’s perfect timing.

I loved the kid’s toy that was a big wooden block with 4 shapes cut into it. There was a circle, a square, a star and a triangle. Folks, no matter how hard you tried you could not hammer the circle into the square. (believe me I tried) God’s plan for each and every life upon this planet is perfect. It was perfect the day you arrived and took your first breath, and it is just as perfect today. You do not need to understand that plan in order for it be perfect, in fact, your understanding has very little to do with it. You must only believe with great faith that God’s plan is perfect and that all He does will manifest into your ultimate good. And that great faith, at times, will not seem great. As the twists and turns of life seemingly have you way down a rabbit trail, your human reaction will be to question God, demand an answer, and hammer that circle into the square. But answers will not always come. It is in this moment that you don’t keep expending valuable energy hammering away at your answer search, but simply sit and worship at the feet of Christ. It’s never easy, but it's always rewarding. Today, whatever problem or obstacle you are facing does have an answer, but you may never know it. However, don’t let the answerless question affect how you approach, worship, and praise your living Savior. He is in charge, and He alone holds the answers to your problems and the problems of the world. Rest in the shade of your faith in Christ, it’s a good place to take a break from life.

“Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.” Proverbs 28:26

secretos dentro de sombras (secrets within shadows), Puebla, Mexico