Where were you?

“There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” Job 1:1

Job is a bit of a stumbling block, isn’t he? It is that one nagging detail at the beginning of his story that causes all the problems. You see, Job was blameless and upright. Job was righteous!

He did not deserve what God allowed to happen to him. And no, no it will not work to argue that Job, like all men, was a sinner and thus deserving of God’s wrath. No, that will not work this time. Scripture doesn’t allow it. After all, Job’s friends tried to argue that exact point and God punished them accordingly.

While it is true that he was a sinner like all of us, Job lived by God’s covenant and was declared to be righteous by God Himself. Job did not deserve what he got. Job knew it, Satan knew it, God knew it, and we know it. It’s not fair. What God did to Job demands an explanation – it demands an answer.  

But, the problem of Job is bigger than just this. The story of Job hits a nerve that is far more personal and intimate for all of us. The problem of Job’s story is our problem. The effects of evil surround us. Relationships fall apart. Friendships are betrayed. Family bonds atrophy and decay. Depression and anxiety leave us paralyzed. War and acts of violence plunge the world into darkness.

And all these things happen to you, to me, to the people of God. The people of God that have been called out of darkness. The people of God that have been washed in the life-giving waters of Holy baptism. The people of God who, while we were yet sinners, have been declared to be righteous by the sufferings and death of Christ.

Yes! We, like Job, are righteous! There is no getting around that fact. Scripture declares it to be true. Yes, like Job, we are still sinners who daily sin much. However, like Job, we are living in the covenant that God has ordained. We are righteous. We do not deserve the pain – the suffering – the death that we experience. It’s not fair. What God allows to happen demands an explanation – it demands an answer.

And so, together with Job, we look up from the ash heap and we cry out to God. Together with Job, we look up to God, eagerly waiting for His answer. Chapter 38, verse 1: “And God answered Job” – and God answers you. God’s answer to Job is God’s answer to you. The question is the same, and the answer is the same.

“Where were you when I created the very land that you stand on?”

“Where were you when I put the oceans in their place?”

“Where were you when I commanded the dawn to break the darkness? Answer me!”

That’s God’s reply to our question. He answers our question, with a question. And so, people of God, what’s the answer? No, really, where were you when God created the heavens and the earth? Where were you when God formed the land and set up the boundaries of the sea? Where were you when God set the earth on her course around the sun? This isn’t a series of rhetorical questions – where were you?

You were there – right there in the mind of God. There, even before the foundations of the universe were laid – God knew you. He knew your name. He knew your pain. He knew your suffering. You were there, in His thoughts. You’ve always been there. There’s no denying that fact. God’s Word confirms it. The father has always known you. Your pain does not go unnoticed. Your doubts and fears, your sorrow and grief – He knows them all.

Why does He not remove them from your life, here and now? God only knows. What we know is what He has done for us. We know that God became flesh and blood for us. We know that God suffered hunger, humiliation, and heartbreak for us. We know that Christ took our sin with Him to the cross where He suffered and died as you and I will never suffer. He suffered separation from the Father in order that we might be made children of God.

Because of the cross, we know that the God who laid the foundation of the earth hears our cries. We know that the God who stretches out his hands to encompass the universe takes our sin and suffering seriously – He does not dismiss it.

Because of the cross, we know that one day, one day soon, Christ will come again to restore all things. We know that when He comes, all weeping will cease, all pain will be blotted out, and all bodies will be restored. We know that in that blessed day, we will be with God in paradise.