In the midst of his struggles, Job looks for God but cannot find Him. Job 23:2-4, 8-9 says:
“Today also my complaint is bitter; my hand is heavy on account of my groaning.
Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat!
I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments.”
“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him;
on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.”
As I read these passages, I was struck by the implication that Job could not find God in the middle of his struggles. He cannot find God even as he searches for Him. Have you ever felt the same way? Compare this to what David says in Psalm 139:7-10, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”
Why the difference? Job cannot find God anywhere, but David finds Him everywhere. Looking further at the context, we see that Job is an innocent man who wants God to explain why he is suffering. David is a guilty man who knows he cannot run away from God.
God used His silence with Job to bring him to the realization that He knows what He is doing. Through Job’s struggles he searches for the truth. Job eventually comes to the point where he knows God is sovereign and he is content even if God doesn’t explain the reason for His conduct in letting Job suffer.
We so often cry out to God, “Why Lord? What did I do to deserve this?” But look at Job’s conclusion as he accepts the trial – “He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold” (Job 23:10). Isn’t that what we all want – to come out as gold? To hear God say, “Well done.”
David knew he was guilty of sin and He felt God’s presence in his life – urging him to confess and to repent. To search his heart and see as God sees. We learn from these two passages that God is always present with us, working in our life, helping us understand Him so that we too may come out as gold.
For Further Thought:
Have you gone through times like these? Have you come to the realization that God knows what He is doing? Or are you angry that God has let troubles and trials into your life? Do you feel God searching your heart?
