Understanding is Not Faith

Scripture:
I know that You can do everything,
And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.
You asked, 'Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?'
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
Job 42:2-3

Observation: After God corrects Job, Job does in fact answer him, and this is that response ... He knows and believes God is the almighty creator, that his will and purposes are just and right, and God alone has all wisdom and authority. Therefore, he has spoken incorrectly out of ignorance.

And ... this was the point from the beginning. Job was God's example of a man who fears and honors the Lord, and in the very end Job - despite the emotional words he has spoken in response to both physical and personal attacks - still stands as a man who fears and honors the Lord. He knows God is the Lord of the universe, and that he himself is nothing in comparison, and yields his life, his thoughts, his will, his emotions, and his all to the Lord.

While it was never said, that was the original conflict between God and satan: That Job would rebel against God when attacked. Job did not. Job, his wife, and all his friends have no idea why this all happened, and it is never, ever revealed to them. There is no explanation for his suffering. Yet God saw the outcome, and even Job's suffering served the Lord's purpose of an example of how faith in the Lord advances his kingdom.

Application: Again, it is important that Job never has any of this explained to him. Just like none of us ever have anything associated with our pain and hardship explained to us. Instead, I am simply to trust God. For all I know, in that way I may serve God's great purposes even more than if I accomplished some mission here on earth.

When God was looking for a great man, his measure was ... would that man still honor God even after having all blessing removed. This is God's measure of greatness. May I try, to the best of my ability, to have that kind of great faith.

Prayer: Lord, I trust in you in all things, and I trust in you alone. May I not lean on my own understand. May I not lean on any understanding, for understanding is meaningless. May instead I lean on faith in Jesus Christ. Amen.