Sometimes, as a result of our limitations, our understanding of God and the ways of God become blurred. Amidst life and its realities, our dim vision then results in prolonged periods of desolation. The book of Job opens with a brief background to the events that were to come. Following a few details about Job’s relationship with God and his social status, we come to a conversation between God and Satan that ends with a decision to examine the depth of Job’s commitment to God. The ensuing chapters—more than thirty of them—are mainly attempts by Job and his friends to make sense of the hardships that suddenly befall this God-fearing man.

As the conversation evolves, Job’s world is increasingly turned upside down. He is confused. In the middle of Job’s pain and sorrow, while appealing to God for an audience, he accuses God of creating a chaotic world—one in which it seems as if righteousness is no longer rewarded and evil goes unpunished. In response to Job’s accusation, God follows a line of questioning that results in today’s words for reflection: “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know . . . My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you” (NIV). With this divine intervention, Job not only gets his desired audience with God but also comes to the realization that God’s creation is beautifully ordered. This encounter with God and Job’s renewed vision of God lead him from desolation to consolation. He now knows that human beings are not at the center of God’s creation. We each have a divine calling to play an active role in God’s world, but God remains in control of God’s creation. There is freedom in knowing that truth.