The Unseen Universe

The Unseen Universe-yes, that's the title of the chapter on the story of Job I'm reading today. The writer is none other than my favorite teacher Oswald Chambers.

As we all know by experience, how much the book of Job bring consolation  when we go through great trouble and sadness. For long we have been bought into the belief that as long as we trust in  God and live according to His ways, nothing could go wrong. If a person suffers, then there must be a good reason for it- either the person had done something wrong to bring down such a punishment or the person is somehow getting perfected by going through such suffering.

However, Job's story contradicts all such thinking. According to the Bible, Job was perfect in every way before suffering touched his life. God, Himself had given the highest rapport about him-" Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." (Job 1:8) Job didn't do any harm to get punished nor he deserved to go through pain and suffering to get perfected. Yet, Job underwent severe physical suffering, mental agony, the death of sons and daughters and the loss of his property and herds. And God chose to keep out of sight during all this time.

It is easy for us to get mad at God when troubles come our way. Most of us who live in the western world somehow think that we are entitled to have a trouble free life. And that's why we begin to grumble, groan and complain no sooner any kind of pain or sorrow come our way. Even a sprinkle of rain and cloudy sky for a day or two in Southern California where I live could make people grumpy and mournful.

" The man who knows that there are problems and difficulties in life is not easily moved. Most of us get touchy with God and desert Him when He does not back up our creed." writes Chambers in this chapter. He further goes on to write," There are things in our heavenly Father's dealings with us which have no immediate explanation.There are inexplicable providence which test us to the limit, and prove that rationalism is a mere mental pose."

In the first chapter of the Book of Job, we come upon a scene where God and Satan make a challenge over Job's faithfulness. Job had no clue of what's going on up in heaven. Suddenly, without any warning or permission asked,  he was pushed into an arena to encounter suffering after suffering.  Being unable to watch him suffer in pain from head to foot, his wife asked him to give up on God and die cursing Him. His three friends on whom Job relied for support and comfort further added to his agony by their reasoning and judgement. Any other person would have turned his back on God, but not Job. Instead of cursing as his wife suggested,  Job uttered amidst his pain," Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." That is faith sounding its bells for Almighty to beam with pride and rejoice over His servant's faithfulness.

We have no clue why bad things happen to good people or how bad people get away unpunished? We are incapable of detecting what's happening in the unseen universe either. Like Job, if we could persevere the tough times in steadfast faith, we could also make our Maker beam with pride.***

He Knows.

I was in no mood to smile or laugh at my husband's joke when I got up from my bed this morning. Something was bothering me and I couldn't fathom what it was. Thinking that prayer and praise would uplift my spirit, I dragged myself to the place in our living room where I usually do my morning devotion. I didn't feel like kneeling down to pray or opening the Bible to read. So, I took out my devotional Prayer, Praises &Promises that was atop my Bible and flipped it open to a page randomly in the hope of finding something to cheer me up.

And, there before my eyes blinked the title He Knows in big bold letters. And the reading for the day was taken out from my favorite psalm 37. Because I just flipped open the book to a random page, the date on the devotional didn't correspond to the day I read it. But the scripture verses and the message looked as if it were perfectly chosen for me at that very moment.

Yes, He knows. That's for sure, I thought as I read through the passage. It didn't take too long for me to realize what was bothering me this morning. Only yesterday I had been watching the recorded program of Suze Orman's rules for financial wellness and her advice on how to  avoid financial pitfalls in today's economy crisis.

When I clicked the remote button off, and got up from my couch I had the satisfaction of having learned something on money matters. Little did I realize at that time how learning about investments and stacking for retirement would trigger my anxiety about our financial uncertainties on the unconscious level. Worry must have crept in while I was asleep,causing me to wake up this morning suliking.

Years back, I had been more of a worrier than a warrior.  Naturally when your better-half decide to give up a dependable salaried position and become an entrepreneur, when you're a stay at home mom taking care of two young kids, worry become your constant companion. 'What if's' question kept me awake at nights.

Thankfully, the faithfulness of loving God in those trying years made me to rely on God more and to fear less of the 'What if's?' Because fear and faith cannot co-exist, I opted to not to give into worry unnecessarily. It is never easy to give up on something you're accustomed to, but with prayer and practice, even worry could be overcomed. That doesn't guarantee a worry free life. It only means that I wasn't a chronic worrier I used to be. Bouts of worry shows up from time to time and this morning was one of such morning, I suppose.

However, I couldn't put my finger on it to say what was worrying me at that time. But He knew. Yes, God who knew me in my mother's womb, knows me too well after all these years too. It's amazing He seems to know more about me and my needs than I know about myself. Until I opened devotional to read, I had no clue what was bothering me. But God knew. How am I so sure. Otherwise, why should I randomly flip open to a page that stares back at me with the words, He Knows? Or read like punching lines at the end of the page as below?

" Take comfort in knowing that God is intimately aware of your needs. ..Do you have pressing needs? Leave them with Him. Trust Him to provide them and resist the urge to look ahead and worry. Concentrate on what God is doing for you today"

If I've the ears to hear God's audible voice, I would have definitely heard the same thing from Him. Instead, I heard Him speaking through the words of the author Warren W.Wiersbe in the devotional.

Being a writer myself, who had written a devotional column for some years, I'm humbled as well as overjoyed to know how God guide us to write the words in order to speak to those He choses to speak. Yes, He knows !***