Read: Job 38-39
Focus Verse: “Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: Who is this that obscures my plans 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.” (Job 38:1-4).
Devotion: Job gets his wish, an audience with God. Now Job and his friends have been debating how it is that God works in the world. So first thing God says to Job is to tell him that he can’t possibly understand all the ways God works. Job has been talking as if he knows, but God is making it painfully obvious that he was wrong. God brings up creation, but also talks about different creations, and asks if Job knows how they work. “Do you know when the mountain goat gives birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?” (Job 39:1). More will come to light in preceding chapters, but for now I think God’s point is this: If Job doesn’t understand how these things work, how can he understand how God works? We must be careful not to assume God’s working in the world. We need to let God be God.
Prayer: LORD I don’t know when the mountain goat gives birth. I can’t comprehend how you work, but grant me wisdom so that I may grow close to You and Your ways. Amen.
Additional Scripture: “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (Romans 12:2)