Background Passage: Job 11:7-9
As a celebration of our 40th anniversary, my wife and I are today enjoying a cruise on the Baltic Sea. We spent our first 36 hours at sea. The expanse of God’s creation and the endless waves outside our stateroom window remind me of a verse in Job as the suffering one is challenged by Zophar, one of his friends. Zophar chastises Job saying,
“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper that the depths below—What can you know? Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea. (Job 11:7-9)
I look in amazement at the expanse of ocean before me. Stare in wonder at God’s creation. Its magnificence…his magnificence…can be overwhelming. Yet, like Job, I question at times why things happen the way they do. Raise my fist in frustration at times when life turns tragic, asking the same question Job asked. “Where are you, God?” Life and its vagaries seldom come with explanations.
At other times, I think long and hard about how he constantly blesses my life. Cry out in complete joy because I know he carries me through my darkest nights and my brightest days. Shudder at the thought of any moment lived without his presence.
It is those times, I know what I need to know.
Since I cannot fathom God’s mysteries, nor probe the limits of his mighty power, I simply enjoy this life for what it is. His power expressed in the beauty and glory I see around me. His love exalted in the laughter of a child and the feel of a grandchild’s hand in mine. His joy evident in family and friends who continue to make my life more glorious each day. His work encountered within the context of my life that places me where he needs me to be at any specific moment in time.
I don’t need to know everything about how and why God interacts with my life. I just need to accept his grace for what it is.
Longer than the earth.
Wider than the sea.
Unfathomable.