God Talks to Job from a Storm

Then something amazing happened. A huge storm started—with wind and thunder and dark clouds. And out of that storm, GOD started talking to Job!

God didn't say, 'I'm sorry you're sad, Job.' And He didn't explain WHY all those bad things happened. Instead, God asked Job lots and lots of questions.

'Where were you when I made the world, Job?' God asked. 'Did you help me? Do you know how I did it?'

Of course Job didn't know! He wasn't there!

God kept asking questions: 'Have you ever commanded the sun to come up in the morning? Do you know where light comes from? Have you seen the storehouses where I keep the snow and hail?'

Job couldn't answer any of these questions.

'Can you send lightning where you want it to go?' God asked. 'Can you make it rain? Do you tell the clouds where to go?'

No, Job couldn't do any of that.

Then God asked about animals. 'Do you feed the baby lions when they're hungry? Do you help the deer have their babies? Did you make the horse so strong and fast? Did you teach the eagle how to fly so high?'

Job realized: I can't do ANY of these things! Only God can!

God was showing Job something very important. God was saying, 'Job, I made EVERYTHING. I take care of EVERYTHING. I know things you could never understand. I'm much, much, MUCH bigger and wiser than you can imagine.'

Job was quiet. He felt very small. He put his hand over his mouth.

God asked, 'Do you think you can do my job better than me? Do you think you should be in charge instead of me?'

Job said, 'No! I spoke when I should have been quiet. I said things I didn't understand. I'm sorry.'

God didn't tell Job WHY the bad things happened. But He showed Job something more important: WHO God is. God is so wise and so powerful and so amazing that we can trust Him even when we don't understand.

Sometimes we won't know why hard things happen. But we can always know that God is good, and God is in control, and God loves us.