Simply Unable to Understand

Scriptures:
But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
    or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
    or let the fish in the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In his hand is the life of every creature
    and the breath of all mankind.
Job 12:7-10

Observation: As Job repeats his defense, it is based on the idea that God is punishing him, yet it cannot be because of a sin he committed for he is good. The friends keep telling him to repent of his sin, and Job's primary fight is that he hasn't sinned and therefore the reasons for God's actions are unknown and thus unresolvable. Both Job and the friends, then, begin with the same premise ... God is doing this to Job, maybe for a reason.

The concept of bad things happening in the world remains one of the most complicated mysteries of God. In general, we get it ... mankind removed God from being central in our lives, God allows freewill, hardships condition us for good work, etc. That's all good, but even collectively all the explanations leave us with an incomplete understanding. In the case of Job, we even know that God has NOT done these things to Job, God himself has promoted Job as upright, yet God allowed this to happen.

Application: God is in full control. Bad things happen to good people. God loves us and wants the very best for us. Again, I get all that, and I totally get that I will never fully understand it because it is beyond my human understanding. And here is a context I need ... "bad things" is even relative. There are people who have such terrible lives that my worst day would be their unimaginably best day. And there are bad acts perpetrated against others I cannot image. Even Job's conditions - loss of wealth, dead children, disease - were things others suffered from.

So for me, I must simply have faith. I am unable to understand this aspect of God, and I am not meant to understand it. In fact, I am not meant to question it (which is the ultimate point of Job, too). I am meant to have faith regardless of any situation. That I can strive to achieve daily.

Prayer: Dear Lord, today and every day my faith is in you alone. I seek only your provision and whatever you decided I should have. Please forgive my sins, for I know I am not worthy of your blessing, and yet I have faith that you love me  and will provide. I hope to be better than I have been in your eyes, not to earn your love but to simply return your love in some small way. Amen.