I am stuck in the middle of Job. I get the beginning where Job declares his unending devotion to God through worship, no matter the circumstances and I also know how this all ends with God blessing Job again. Truth is, I just want to hurry up and get there. The middle chapters are hard to read. They plod along with the same silly arguments and this kind of battle amongst themselves. The more I read it, the more confused I get. My confusion leads to frustration and distress all of it making me question God, his purposes and his ways.
The more I think about it, it’s kind of like life. Being stuck in the middle might be the hardest part. The beginning was great. Jesus made us worthy. Everyday was a new adventure, something to learn and things to better understand. We also become keenly aware of the rewards. Salvation, eternal life, and unending love. But, that is not where Job is today. He’s in the middle. He loves God. He is devoted to God, but the promise of a future reward isn’t enough to satisfy him, right now.
There is something about these middle chapters. Job readily acknowledges God’s soverignity. He knows that God has the supreme power to do anything. Like me, Job questions God’s motives and gets stuck in the question of, “why.” Despite all of Job’s deliberation and arguing, God does not provide an anwer to that question.
Thankfully, we know how this book ends, but skipping to the happy ending would miss the most important part. In the coming days, we will Job’s story change. It happens when Job’s focus changes. Subtly, but surely, he moves from “why,” to “who.”