Missing Information

Have you ever been sure you were right until you found out you were missing information? I’ve had that happen on more than one occasion. Some told me an injustice that happened to them, so I stood up for them and argued their case. The other person, whom I was going after, said, “Did you know this?” I didn’t. It was a handy piece of information to have. Had I known that, I would have kept my mouth shut. Now I’m standing there with my foot in my mouth feeling kind of small. I had to apologize because I acted on the information I had rather than making sure I had all the information.

Almost all of the book of Job is about him pleading his case with his friends. They’re convinced he’s sinned and God is punishing him. He defends himself, and round and round they go for over 30 chapters. Then he switches his attention to God. He demands God show up so He can be confronted about his injustice. Well, God shows up and asks Job a bunch of questions he doesn’t have the answer to. God’s questions reveal to Job that he doesn’t have all the information. In Job 40:4-5 he answers God, “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say” (NLT). In that moment Job realized God sees the bigger picture and He was wise enough to be quiet and trust Him.

Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’” I don’t know what you’re going through today. Maybe you feel like Job where everything is being taken away from you unjustly. Maybe you’re blaming God or pleading your case to Him about how you’re being targeted. I want to remind you that in Job 1, it was the devil who requested permission to attack Job. God trusted Job to stay faithful no matter how bad things got. Because he did stay true, God rewarded him. We don’t know why things happen, but we do know God is in control and He has a plan. He sees the whole picture of your life and is working everything out for your good, even when it doesn’t seem good or feel good. Trust His long term plan rather than your current situation. He’s not missing information. We are.

Photo by Daniel Joshua on Unsplash