Chuck Larsen

Rudyard Kipling is one of my favorite poets. He is well known for this little ditty: “I KEEP six honest serving men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who.” Years ago, Howard Hendricks taught us to apply these six “serving men” to every Bible text we read. It is how we search for understanding and how good teachers train us to think. In the Book of Job, we meet Elihu, a thoughtful and observant voice among Job’s friends. He employs all six of Kipling’s questions, but not to provide Job with neat answers. Instead, his questions expose the limits of human understanding. He asks, “Do you know when God dispatches His wondrous works?” “Do you know how the clouds are balanced?” “Do you know who spreads out the skies?” The repetition gently builds a case: we do not know nearly as much as we think we do. Elihu’s purpose is not to shame Job but to remind him that God’s knowledge is complete, while ours remains partial.

That lesson carries over into our daily lives, whether we admit it or not. We like answers. We prefer explanations that fit neatly into our plans, preferably with bullet points and a conclusion we can file away for later use. I admit that I often approach life with a quiet expectation that things should make sense if I think long enough. Yet there are moments when life refuses to cooperate with our questions. We ask why, when, and how, and the answers do not arrive on schedule. Even with all our advances, we still struggle to explain much of the world around us, let alone the deeper matters of suffering and purpose. Elihu’s questions remind us that our understanding has limits, and that realization, though slightly uncomfortable, can also be strangely comforting. Annie Flint expressed it well: “I know not, but God knows; Oh, blessed rest from fear! … Each anxious puzzled ‘Why?’ … finds answer in this thought: I know not, but He knows.” There is a quiet peace in admitting what we do not know and trusting the One who does.

The New Testament brings this truth into clearer focus through Jesus. He affirms that our knowledge is limited, yet God’s is complete. Jesus said, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8), a reminder that nothing escapes His awareness. He also taught that even the smallest details are known to God: “Even the hairs of your head are all numbered” (Luke 12:7). In Christ, we see that God’s knowledge is not distant or cold but personal and attentive. While we continue to ask our questions, Jesus gently redirects our focus from knowing everything to trusting the One who already does.

Job endures the accusations of his friends for chapter after chapter, patiently absorbing their insistence that he must deserve his suffering. Their confidence in retribution theology is unwavering, even when the evidence refuses to cooperate. Then, in chapter thirty-eight, the unexpected happens. God, whom Job has said seems distant and unreachable, suddenly appears. But He does not arrive to sit for an interview or to answer every carefully prepared question. Instead, God asks questions of His own, two sweeping series that gently but firmly shift the focus. In essence, they come down to this: “I am God, Job, you are not. I will run the universe, and you trust me.” It is not the answer Job expected, but it is the answer he needed, even if it arrives wrapped in mystery rather than explanation.

Where Elihu’s questions pointed to God’s knowledge, God’s own questions highlight His power. Yet the tone is not harsh. I do not think God is scolding Job as much as He is steadying him. If these chapters are read aloud with a softer voice, like speaking to a child who has been crying after a fall, they begin to sound less like a cross-examination and more like reassurance. “I am here. It is all right. I am still here.” That perspective has slowly reshaped my own thinking, though I admit I still prefer clear answers and shorter waiting periods. Annie Flint captured this tension well when she wrote, “I cannot, but God can; Oh, balm for all my care! The burden that I drop His hand will lift and bear… This is my strength to know: I cannot, but God can.” There is a quiet relief in admitting our limits, even if we usually discover them the hard way. Life has a way of reminding us that we are not nearly as in control as we imagined, no matter how organized our calendars may look.

The New Testament brings this truth into sharper focus through Jesus. He does not simply tell us to trust God; He reveals what that trust looks like. In moments of pressure and suffering, He entrusted Himself to the Father, demonstrating a confidence rooted not in understanding but in relationship. He said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father” (Matthew 10:29). He also reminded His followers, “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). These words echo the heart of Job’s lesson. We are not called to manage the universe or unravel every mystery. We are invited to rest in the care of the One who already holds it all together, even when we cannot see how.

Job believed that if he could secure an interview with God, he would present his case and be vindicated. It seems like a reasonable plan, at least from a human perspective. But when God finally speaks, He does not provide a tidy explanation or a neatly organized outline. Instead, He responds with questions of His own. In chapters thirty-nine and forty, God’s questions reveal something far greater than answers. They reveal His unmatched knowledge, power, and presence. The point becomes clear, even if it arrives with a bit of discomfort: God’s wisdom is not up for review. Job begins to see that the issue was never whether God could explain Himself, but whether Job could trust Him without an explanation. God had allowed Job to suffer, yet He had never lost control. Every detail remained under His careful oversight, even the ones that felt random or painfully unnecessary.

That truth settles into our daily lives, though not always easily. I admit that I often prefer clarity over mystery and would gladly accept a written explanation for life’s more confusing chapters, preferably with footnotes. But God does not always provide that. A pastor once told a story about choosing colors for his office. He preferred brighter tones, but the decorator insisted on soft green because it would calm those who entered in distress. She was right. A troubled woman later remarked, “The green in this office is so soothing!” It turns out that even something as simple as color can serve a purpose we did not anticipate. In a similar way, God leads us beside quiet waters and into “green pastures” (Psalm 23:2), often calming us in ways we do not immediately understand. Like ingredients in a recipe, some parts of life seem unpleasant on their own. No one samples flour or baking soda for enjoyment, yet together they produce something far better than the individual parts.

The New Testament brings this truth into sharper focus through the life of Jesus. Paul reminds us, “All things work together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28). He does not say that everything is good, but that everything works together toward a good end. Jesus Himself lived within the Father’s perfect plan, even when that plan led through suffering rather than around it. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He entrusted Himself fully to the Father’s will, demonstrating a trust deeper than understanding. He also said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God” (Luke 12:6). If God attends to sparrows, He does not overlook us. Job’s story, and our own, finds its meaning not in having every answer, but in knowing the One who holds every detail together.

After a sermon on Job’s three friends and how they abused their relationship by accusing him of hidden sins that caused his suffering, a member of my congregation shared a joke. “Do you know why Job had such a bad time sleeping at night? It is because he had such miserable comforters.” It took me a second, then it landed like a wet sponge. Job’s friends begin their long speeches on “Retribution Theology” in chapter four, and they manage to continue for about twenty-five chapters, proving that if there were awards for lengthy lectures, all three would have cleared space on the mantel. Their finger-pointing and sharp remarks only deepen Job’s pain. In his first reply, Job addresses their lack of kindness with words that essentially say, “A real friend brings soup… you brought accusations.” He writes, “He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.” Their failure was not a lack of knowledge but a lack of compassion.

Like Job, when we suffer, we do not need someone to deliver a ten-point sermon we never requested. We do not need charts, graphs, or a neatly labeled diagram explaining our possible hidden sins. I admit I have sometimes been tempted to offer quick explanations when quiet presence would have been far better. What we need in those moments is comfort, kindness, and compassion, along with someone who knows how to sit without filling every silence. During Queen Victoria’s reign, she visited a grieving mother who had lost her baby. Afterward, neighbors asked what the queen had said. “Nothing,” the woman replied. “She simply put her hands on mine, and we silently wept together.” That quiet presence spoke louder than any speech. It reminds us that love is often best expressed not through explanations but through shared sorrow.

This is where Jesus enters the picture with a clarity that Job’s friends never reached. The New Testament shows us a Savior who does not stand at a distance offering analysis. Instead, He draws near. When faced with grief, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35), not because He lacked power, but because He chose compassion. He also invites the weary, saying, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Isaiah described Him as “a man of sorrows, well acquainted with grief,” and the Gospels confirm it. Where others offered arguments, Jesus offers Himself. He does not hand us a lecture; He meets us in our pain, and in His presence, even silence begins to carry hope.

In an overview of the Book of Job, we quickly learn that Job’s suffering is as layered as a lasagna, except no one wants a bite of this one. First, he loses all his possessions. Then he loses all his children. Then he loses his health. To make matters worse, the wife of his youth, the mother of his children, and the one who shared the heartbreak of their losses, inadvertently adds to his pain by advising him to end it all. As if that were not enough, three friends arrive and greet him with the warmth of a cold shower. They insist that suffering always results from sin, and therefore, since Job is suffering greatly, he must be sinning greatly. They spend much of the book lecturing, accusing, and nitpicking, turning pastoral care into a well-organized exercise in blame. This stands in direct contrast to God’s own commendation of Job as “upright and blameless.” According to his friends, Job belongs in the sinner’s hall of fame. According to God, Job belongs in the faith hall of fame.

Billy Graham once suggested that there are at least six different reasons people suffer, which is six more than Job’s friends ever considered. First, sometimes we bring suffering upon ourselves, a truth that is easy to spot in others and harder to admit in ourselves. Second, God sometimes corrects His children for sin or disobedience. Third, God may permit suffering so that we learn to respond to problems in a way that reflects His truth. We read that Jesus “learned obedience from what he suffered,” which raises the bar for us all. Fourth, God may allow suffering because pain is simply part of life. Everyone suffers; everyone groans at some point, especially when stepping on something sharp in the dark. Fifth, God permits suffering for our well-being, teaching lessons that comfort rarely delivers. Sixth, God may allow suffering so that our lives can encourage others. Job’s story has traveled through centuries, quietly strengthening those who feel as though their own story has taken an unexpected turn.

James adds another reason that gently reframes the entire discussion. God allows suffering so that through it all, His love, compassion, and mercy are revealed. He writes, “You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful” (James 5:11). The New Testament shows us that suffering does not have the final word because Jesus Himself entered into it, carried it, and overcame it. As He said, “In this world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Job’s declaration, “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord,” finds its fullest meaning in Christ, where even the deepest suffering is met with a mercy that endures beyond it.

God allowed Satan to thoroughly test Job’s faith. He struck his wealth, his family, and even his body. We are tempted to think Satan has done his worst by the end of chapter two, especially when we find Job covered in leprous boils, scraping himself with a piece of broken pottery like a man trying to return faulty skin to the manufacturer. Artists often picture dogs licking his sores, which adds an uncomfortable twist to the phrase “man’s best friend.” But this is not even close to Satan’s worst. He has only warmed up. Just as Satan used Peter to discourage Jesus and planted betrayal in Judas, he now works through Job’s suffering wife. The companion who had shared every joy and sorrow now looks over the ruins and says, in effect, “Curse God and die.” If Job had followed her counsel, Satan would have claimed victory quickly. Yet the deeper battle was only beginning, and it would not be fought on the outside.

Satan next rearranges the furniture of Job’s mind. After seven days of silence, Job speaks in chapter three, and the silence proves anything but peaceful. Ephesians 6 describes Satan’s attacks as “flaming darts,” and Job’s thoughts begin to resemble a dartboard that has seen better days. His words pour out: “I wish I had never been born.” “The world would be better off without me.” “God must be against me.” His despair is painfully honest, and if we are honest, we recognize familiar echoes. I admit that my own thoughts have not always been reliable companions, especially when circumstances turn dark. Like a broken record that refuses to skip to a better track, discouragement can loop endlessly. The Psalmist understood this struggle and spoke directly to himself: “Why are you cast down, O my soul? Hope in God!” Instead of quietly accepting every passing thought, he challenged them. That quiet discipline of speaking truth to ourselves is not easy, but it is necessary.

Our connection to Jesus brings clarity to this inward battle. The New Testament reminds us, “Take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Jesus Himself faced Satan’s attacks, not only in suffering but in temptation, answering each lie with truth. When He was in the wilderness, He did not listen to the voice that twisted reality; He spoke God’s Word in return. He understands what it is to be pressed from the outside and tested from within. He also assures us, “The truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Job’s struggle points forward to Christ, who meets us in the confusion of our thoughts and steadies us with His truth. In Him, the noise in our minds does not have the final word.

Job is remarkable. In Job chapter one, he receives four devastating reports in rapid succession, each messenger arriving like a contestant in a misery relay race. His sheep, flocks, herds, and children are all destroyed, some by what we might call natural disasters, an act of God, a tornado, and fire, and others by raiders and invaders. Any one of these losses would send most of us into a tailspin requiring a quiet room and a gallon of ice cream. Yet the combined weight of all four is almost beyond comprehension. Still, Job responds with a verse worthy of framing: “Naked I came into the world, and naked from it I will go. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” It seems that his steady faith in the face of catastrophe only invites further testing, as if Satan muttered, “Well, that did not work. Time for plan B.”

Plan B arrives with cruel efficiency when the Lord allows Satan to strike Job’s health. He is soon covered with sores from head to toe, unable to sleep, and suffering without the benefit of modern relief. Job feels every ounce of his pain. No wonder he confesses in Job 7:10, “I hate my life and do not want to go on living.” In verse 7:6 he adds, “My days fly faster than a weaver’s shuttle. They end without hope.” His despair is deep, his language raw, and his suffering unrelenting. I admit that I sometimes struggle with far smaller inconveniences, which makes Job’s endurance feel both inspiring and slightly uncomfortable. Yet even amid his darkest thoughts and sleepless nights, he refuses to “curse God and die,” despite his wife’s suggestion, which probably sounded practical in the moment. Job hangs on, not gracefully or cheerfully, but faithfully. His story reminds us that perseverance is often less about strength and more about refusing to let go, even when everything in us would prefer a different ending.

The New Testament draws our attention not only to Job’s suffering but to his outcome. James writes, “You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about… the Lord is full of compassion and mercy” (James 5:11). That word “finally” carries weight. It took time, longer than we would choose, but compassion and mercy had the last word. Job’s endurance echoes forward to Jesus, who said, “In this world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Jesus does not dismiss suffering; He enters it and overcomes it. In Him we see that pain is real, but it is not final. Job’s story points quietly to a greater truth: suffering may speak loudly for a season, but Christ has the final word.

God calls Job “blameless and upright.” That is quite a commendation, especially considering God repeats it to Satan, as if reading Job’s spiritual résumé aloud: “Have you considered my servant Job… a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Yet the Book of Job highlights just one practice from his daily routine, and it appears in the opening verses. Job rose early in the morning to offer sacrifices on behalf of his children. Scripture says, “He would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings… Thus Job did continually.” Whatever else could be said of Job, farmer, father, philosopher, or sufferer, he was an early morning worshiper. He did not hit the snooze button; he hit his knees. It is a simple detail, but it quietly reveals the rhythm of a life anchored in God long before trouble ever arrived.

Throughout Scripture, many of the Bible’s heroes seemed to keep a similar rhythm. Abraham rose early to stand before the Lord. Jacob greeted the dawn with worship after seeing a ladder of angels. Moses climbed Sinai in the early hours, likely before anyone had time to complain about the lack of breakfast. Joshua rose early to prepare for Jericho, perhaps before the walls had finished their morning stretch. Gideon stepped out at daybreak to inspect his fleece, checking whether God had answered him in dew or dryness. Even Jesus, according to the Gospels, rose early and went to a solitary place to pray. It is enough to make a late sleeper feel slightly suspicious of sunrise. Still, their shared habit was not about the clock but about the priority. They sought God before the noise of the day could drown out His voice, reminding us, even gently, that our schedules often reveal what we value most.

Our connection to Jesus brings this into clearer focus. I have always been a morning person, largely because the Navy trained it into me with the subtlety of a foghorn. Following Job’s example fits naturally for me, but I have learned that others meet God at very different hours. Max Lucado once joked that he tried early devotions too, but “the tow truck I needed to pull me out of bed could not make it up the stairs.” So he spends his evenings with God instead. The point is not the hour. The point is the habit. As Job 1:5 reminds us, “Thus Job did continually.” And Jesus said, “Abide in me” (John 15:4). He also modeled that steady rhythm Himself, withdrawing to pray and remain in communion with the Father. Whether at sunrise or long after the day winds down, drawing near to Him shapes not only our schedule but also our hearts.