What Would God Say?
by Ray Geide

        Judy is bitter towards God because her mother was killed in a horrific car accident. Joe is mad at God because nothing good happens to him. Sue says that people made up the idea of God so that they could control people. Sam twists Bible passages around so that they support his ideas.
        I am sure that you have met people like Judy, Joe, Sue, or Sam. You may have even done some of these things yourself. I know I have.
        Have you ever wondered how God would answer these people? If God would come to their house and talk to them, what would He say?
        It just so happens that God has answered these people.
        Job was one of the most spiritual men on earth. Yet in a short amount of time, he lost everything: his possessions, his family, and his health. In a long discussion with three of his friends, Job insisted on his innocence while his friends declared that God was judging him for sin he had done. They were wrong. Job had done nothing wrong, yet he was greatly disturbed that he had lost everything.
        At the end of Job's discussion with his friends, God spoke to Job. Here is what He said:
        "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?
        Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
        Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
        Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?
        Have you ever given orders to the morning?
        Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?
        Have you comprehended the vast expanse of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this." (Job 38:2-5, 12, 16, 18)
        God went on like this for four chapters (Job 38-41). God quickly put Job in his place.
        Who was Job to question God? Who are we to question God? God is God. He far exceeds us in every way (He is at least a billion times bigger, smarter, and stronger than us). We are nothing compared to Him. He loves everyone, even those who hate Him.
        The only way we can criticize God is if we belittle Him and make Him someone He is not.
        Yes, sometimes good things seem bad, but will you curse the rain because it gets your hair wet? Will you curse God because He is doing what is best for you? You will if you think that you are more important than the rain or more important than God. Sometimes I start thinking that way. That is why every once in a while I turn to Job 38-41 and read it, to put God back in His place and myself in my place.
        The Bible says to "humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord" (James 4:10) and to "humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God" (1 Peter 5:6). After God finished answering Job, Job said, "Now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."
        Now that we know what God would say, shouldn't our response be similar to Job's?