Day 22

Elihu’s Appeal to Wisdom

from the Job reading plan


Job 34:1-37, Job 35:1-16, Psalm 28:1-9, Psalm 55:16-17

BY Melanie Rainer

When I was a child in Sunday School, someone once told me that God answers our prayers in three ways: with a “yes,” a “no,” or a “not yet.” To be clear, I don’t think God’s answers are nearly as neat and tidy as that. His ways are mysterious, far bigger and more cosmic than we could ever perceive. As I look back on that teaching now, I wonder, What about when He just doesn’t answer? or What if His “answer” comes as painful, intense, soul-crushing silence? As for Job, he begins to wonder if God even hears him: “If only I had someone to hear my case! Here is my signature; let the Almighty answer me” (Job 31:35). But Job is not the only figure in Scripture who felt the absence of God.

In John 11, Jesus delays going to heal His friend Lazarus, who then dies. In response, his sister Martha tells Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died” (v.21). Martha had sent for Jesus, and His delay was silence in her ears.

In Psalm 13, David cries out, “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (v.1). But in Psalm 55, David speaks with confidence that God really does hear him, even when he feels alone: “I complain and groan morning, noon, and night, and he hears my voice” (v.17).

In these chapters from Job, the young counselor Elihu is responding to Job’s cry for God to answer. He challenges Job’s pride, suggesting that God’s silence is in response to Job’s pride-filled assertions that he is righteous and does not deserve his situation. Elihu isn’t exactly compassionate toward Job, but he does speak some important truths about God.

Sometimes God is silent. Sometimes He speaks. But He is always just, the standard of all that is good and holy and right. He is the Almighty, the all-knowing, the only Author and Creator and Sustainer of our faith. As Elihu says, “It is impossible for God to do wrong, and for the Almighty to act unjustly” (Job 34:10).

Reading through the book of Job, this question has come to me again and again: Do you trust Him—even when He seems silent? My honest answer is that I try, but most of the time I fail.

I see myself in Job, as he protests, “But I did everything right!”
I see myself in Martha, blaming Jesus for not doing exactly what she wanted Him to do.
I see myself in David, crushed by sin and desperate to see the Lord.

In all things—even His silence—do I trust that He still holds all things together? After all, He is God, and I am not. Therefore, “when God is silent, who can declare him guilty?” (Psalm 55:17). He does not answer to us.

So do I trust the One who spun out the stars, who exhaled Creation and all its glory? Do I trust the One who was born into the dark and cold, who wept blood in Gethsemane, who died a brutal death for me? My only response to His love is to offer mine in return, despite what I see or understand. I believe that one day, I’ll stand before my God in perfect peace, and all the fear and unbelief will be gone. Until then, His Word tells me that He is worthy of my hope and trust. He hears my cries and is not indifferent to my suffering, even when He seems silent.

 

Post Comments (51)

51 thoughts on "Elihu’s Appeal to Wisdom"

  1. Sydney Sewell says:

    Lord, I need your comfort tonight and in the weeks to come. Our family is going through a shaking, and I pray that you would give me the strength to trust fully in you. Give me peace, Lord. Heal our brokenness. You are merciful, God. And for that I am eternally grateful.

  2. Susan Crosby says:

    Thank God…He hears my voice even when I complain and groan morning noon and night.

  3. Natasha R says:

    This is such a good reminder during such a busy, hectic time in my life. I sometimes find myself trying so hard to make things happen. I need to remember to pause, pray, and surrender.

  4. SC says:

    Sometimes, the hardest thing in prayer is deciphering between God’s “no” and “not yet.”
    The “no” offers closure vs the “not yet” offers hope down the line, but it’s sometimes hard to tell the subtle difference and whether my continuing to pray for one way is still aligned to God when He doesn’t exactly tell me “no, My grace is sufficient for you.”
    But I loved how David defined prayer – it doesn’t have to be something that sounds grand and eloquent as we come before God. “Calling upon the Lord” is not much more than “complaining and groaning” (my version says murmur) constantly everyday – Oh, that sounds like something I don’t have a problem doing – and He still hears my voice.

  5. Sarah says:

    God will use you

  6. Amanda MarieO'Malley says:

    Even when God is silent I know He hears me and he is right there cheering me on!!! God loves us and is always near to us!!!!

  7. Allie says:

    Thank you so much for writing such a powerful message that is convicting and comforting at the same time. This came right when I needed it the most. I am going through the hardest time of my life right now and I don’t understand why the things that are happening are even happening. I started to feel angry and confused at why for the last few years there has been nothing but hurt and chaos going on in my life. But I have to bring myself back to remembering that God is worthy of every minute of my life and every ounce of my devotion. Sometimes we need to be reminded of this, and so I’m thankful for this article for bringing God’s truth to life today.

  8. Kim O says:

    MOMTOMANY I hope you see this as it wouldn’t let me post beneath your comment :) One of the verses I cross-referenced this morning was Luke 18:1, “ThenJesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.” And in Luke 22:32 talks about Jesus praying for Peter that his faith would not fail. Jesus prays the same for us in our waiting, that our faith would not fail and that we would not lose heart. Praying for you today the same as you continue to wait to hear His voice.

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