By David ReayWednesday 4 May 2022LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him. I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I look to the south, but he is concealed. “But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. (NLT)
Many of us have the unnerving experience of wondering whether God has lost interest in us. We pray and read the Bible and attend Christian gatherings but sometimes sense not God’s embracing presence, but rather his elusive hiddenness.
This was very much Job’s experience. His whole struggle is not about the philosophical problem of evil and why it exists. He wants assurance of the presence of God, not some intellectually satisfying explanation of why he suffers.
In the end, God does assure him of his presence. He is truly there. He may have seemed to be hiding himself, but that was only Job’s perception not the true reality. We have to come to grips with the contrast between what we feel and experience and what is objectively true.
Job himself hints at that. He seems to believe there will be a good outcome. He seems to believe that even if he feels lost and alone, God knows where he is and what he is experiencing. This is important for any who struggle. We may be ignorant of just what God is doing right now, but he is well aware of us.
Faith is ultimately not about knowing what God is doing but trusting that he knows what he is doing.
Blessings,
David