Sermon

Click here to print this sermon.

July 13, 2003
5th Sunday of Pentecost
Job 38:1-11
Pastor Robert Raasch

God, Why Me?

1. Job's Question
2. God's Answer
3. Faith's Response

God's Word for our meditation today is recorded in a book of the Bible that is truly unique in all of Scripture. For the Book of Job deals almost entirely with one main issue. The issue is really a dilemma, a question which, I expect, we've all wrestled with at various times in our lives. Times when we've experienced personal hardships or were confronted with some really bad news. The question is, "God, why me?" As in, "God, why are you letting this terrible thing happen to me? I don't understand. It doesn't seem fair. I don't agree with what you are doing."

My friends, here in the book which bears his name, Job asks that question of God again and again. In our text for this morning, which comes from the end of the Book of Job, God answers that question. But for us to understand God's answer, we need to get a overview of the whole book. Let's do that as we consider the question,

God, Why Me?

First, we'll study:
1. Job's Question

Then, we'll hear:
2. God's Answer

Finally, we'll reflect upon:
3. Faith's Response

Now, I expect that you all remember something about this man named Job. The Bible says that he was a very rich man with a large family: 7 sons and 3 daughters, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels. More importantly, the Bible characterizes him as a man who was "blameless and upright; Job feared God and shunned evil." In other words, Job was a believer.

But what happened to this believer? With God's permission, Satan destroyed all of Job's wealth-had all of his livestock killed or stolen. What's worse, Job also lost his family. All of his children lost their lives in one day. As if that weren't enough, Job later lost his health. God allowed Satan to inflict Job with painful sores from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. Job took broken pieces of pottery and scraped the puss off his open wounds. And yet, Scripture says that still, "Job did not curse God." Still, Job "did not sin in what he said."

Unfortunately, Job did not maintain that positive attitude indefinitely. Over the course of time, or in this case, over the course of 36 chapters of this book, Job grows increasingly perplexed. The more he thinks about his situation, the more bothered he is by the whole thing. At first, he complains to the friends gathered around him. But ultimately, he directs his complaints toward God. Let me share with you some of the frustration that Job vents toward God. Job says to God, "Why have you made me your target?" In other words, "Why are you picking on me, God?" Job also accuses God of not listening. He says about God, "Though I cry, 'I've been wronged,' I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice." And again Job says, "Even if I summoned God and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a hearing. He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason." "It's all the same. God destroys the blameless and the wicked."

Now, I should probably say that while Job is venting about God not being fair to him, Job's friends are insisting that all of this trouble has come upon him because he has committed some terrible sin. God must be punishing him. But Job vehemently defends his innocence. He says, "As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made me taste bitterness of soul, {3} as long as I have life within me…{5} I will never admit you are in the right; till I die, I will not deny my integrity."

No, what really bothers Job is the fact that it seems like he, an innocent man, is being punished by God, while all the truly evil people in the world have it so good from God. Job laments: "Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? Their homes are safe and free from fear; the rod of God is not upon them. They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace" (Job 21:7,9,13).

Tell me, can you at all relate to what Job is saying here? For example, have you ever thought to yourself, "God, why is it that now that I've finally reached the age of retirement, when I can really enjoy life, I'm stuck running back and forth to the doctor's office? All that I've worked so long and hard for is going right down the drain. God, is that fair?"

"And God, how can you allow my friend to suffer so? Nobody should have to endure what she's going through. Where's your compassion, God?" Or, how could it be that out of all the people in my department, I'm the one who's getting laid off? After all the years of honest labor I gave them, this is what I get?" And God, while I'm asking, why is it that, now that it's summer and everyone is out running around, playing ball-how come somebody has to be hobbling around on crutches?"

I don't know about you, but I expect that we've all had times when we've asked, "God, why is this happening to me, in this way, at this time? And really, behind that question is a whole series of other questions, like, "God, don't you care about me? Are you oblivious to what I'm going through? Are you powerless to prevent this pain in my life?" In a sense, isn't that what we heard the disciples ask of Jesus in our gospel reading to day, "Lord, don't you care if we drown?"

Now, if you think about it, with each one of these questions, we are basically demanding an answer from God. We're saying in effect, "God, I want to hear your explanation for what's happening here." In fact, here in the book of Job, that's exactly what Job comes out and demands of God. Job says in chapter 13, "(God), let me speak, and you reply. Show me my offense and my sin. Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy?" (Job 13:22-24 NIV)

Well, it's a statement like that one that finally leads God to respond to Job's request. But it's not quite the response Job expected. Let's take a closer look at II. God's Answer. Now, at first we might expect that God would come to Job and begin to lovingly explain to Job why he is suffering, and point out the good purpose he has in mind for all of it. You know, help Job see the big picture. But God doesn't do that. Instead, God says, in effect, "Job, who do you think you are? Demanding that I give you an answer." Listen to how God puts it here in Job, chapter 38. He says to Job, "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? {3} Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. {4} "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. {5} Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! (12) "Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place. (35-37) Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, 'Here we are'? {36} Who endowed the heart with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind? {37} Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together?"

Do you catch God's drift here? With this kind of rapid fire interrogation goes on for verse after verse after verse. Do you see God's point? God is hammering home the fact that he is the All-powerful, All-knowing God of the universe. And Job isn't. For Job to question God's power and God's wisdom is like me asking Bill Gates whether he knows as much about computers as I do. Are you kidding? There is no comparison. God's point here is that, when compared to God, Job is an ignoramus. He's blind. He's totally self-absorbed. He's like the guy who decides to improve upon the Mona Lisa by getting out a can of spray pain. That's ludicrous. But, in effect, that's what Job was doing. Job was standing in judgment of God. In order to justify his own feelings and opinions, he calls God's justice into question. That's why God has to rebuke Job with the words, "Job, Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?"

My friends, do you realize that the words which God spoke to Job could just as easily be spoken to you and me as well? I mean when we find ourselves thinking, "God, why did you do that? Or "How come you allowed this to happen?" Or, "This isn't fair; you're not being loving," God has every reason to say, "Sinner, who do you think you are? Are you going to stand in judgment of me? Do you think I somehow have to answer to you?" God says, "Remember, I'm the Creator. You are the created. You are subject to me, not the other way around."

My friends, in a world that wants to portray God as merely our buddy, our equal, or worse, as someone who's here to give us what we want, or what we think is right, sometimes God has to put us in our place. You see, there is a fine line between humbly inquiring, trying to discover God's plan for our lives-and defiantly objecting to that plan as being unjust or unloving. You see that's not inquiry any more. That's insubordination! And as I think about the times I've thought, "Why me, God?", I know I've crossed that line. I'm guilty of rebellion against God-just as Job was here in our text. In fact Job confesses that very fact in chapter 42: "Then Job replied to the Lord, …Surely I spoke of things I did not understand…. Therefore I despise myself and repent in ashes."

Christians, there is the response of a believer. You might say, III. The Response of Faith. In his unsearchable wisdom, God had allowed suffering to come into Job's life. Although Job's faith allowed him to accept the suffering with grace, ultimately his sinful nature got the best of him. He openly questioned God's goodness and tried to call God to account for his actions. But God spoke to Job and led him to repentance. Job confessed his sins and in the end, God forgave him and in the end, blessed Job with 10 more children and made him twice as wealthy as he was before.

Tell me, can you and I learn a lesson from this account of Job's life? Absolutely. The Book of Job teaches us that sometimes God does allow suffering to come into the lives of his children. But it's not because he doesn't love us. Not because he's powerless to stop it. God is still in control. No rather, God promises that even the pain and heartache we suffer in life will be used by God for a good purpose. Maybe God will use our sufferings to lead us to cling to him and his Word all the more. Or lead us to appreciate his other gifts all the more completely. Or maybe-and here's the real lesson in this whole book-maybe we will never understand why things happen the way that do. Maybe we will never be able to answer the question, "God, why me?" But you know something? That's okay. It's okay to say, "I don't understand. For there are some things that we can't understand. Scripture says, "Who has known the mind of the Lord? How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out" (Romans 11:34,33).

But just because we can't understand God's ways, doesn't mean we can't trust them. There is a huge difference between understanding something and trusting someone. The other night my wife had trouble understanding why I wouldn't tell her where I had gone with the car for an hour. But she still trusted me. Because she knows that I love her, and would do nothing to hurt her, she trusted me even if she didn't understand my behavior. (Of course, when she saw my daughter digging out the wrapping paper for Mom's birthday present, Sarah also understood my behavior.)

Well, so it is with us and God. There are going to be times when faith simply says, "God I don't always understand you. But I still trust you. Because you have already proven your love for me, by giving your Son to die for my sins…because you promise that you will never leave me or forsake me, but instead will cause all things to work for my good…because you remind me in your Word, that I must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God…in light of all that you have done for me and more, I will say, "God, I'll let you hand this one. I believe that you are still in charge here." May God grant us all such a faith as this, so that when we experience those dark days in our lives, our response is not a defiant, "God, I want to question you," but rather, a humble, "Lord, I trust you." In Jesus' name. Amen.