Day 33

Friday, March 26
Job 40-41 
15 “Look at Behemoth,
    which I made just as I made you;
    it eats grass like an ox.
16 Its strength is in its loins,
    and its power in the muscles of its belly.
17 It makes its tail stiff like a cedar;
    the sinews of its thighs are knit together.
18 Its bones are tubes of bronze,
    its limbs like bars of iron.

1Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook,
    or press down its tongue with a cord?  
10 No one is so fierce as to dare to stir it up.
    Who can stand before it?
11 Who can confront it and be safe?
    —under the whole heaven, who?

In the book of Job, we read of one horror or misunderstanding after the other. He was experiencing deep sorrow on a grand scale that impacted every area of his life. It happened swiftly and unexpectedly. At the end of the book, Job confronts God about the injustice of his suffering. In God’s second response to Job’s laments, God talks about two threatening creatures, Behemoth and Leviathan. Each of these beasts embody all that is overwhelming, uncontrollable, and potentially lethal. God goes on to assert that despite the enormity of Behemoth and Leviathan, God has power and might over all of creation.

I find reflections of our current realities in Job’s story. Throughout our lifetimes and especially over the last year, our circumstances change beyond our control. Life is not always as good as we think it ought to be. We, like Job, cry out to God, seeking answers and relief. Yet and still, the Bible reminds us that God’s wisdom is not stamped out by our sorrows. When I take a moment to sit with the “bigger picture”, I am reminded that eternal restoration is the fullness of God’s plan. I find comfort in the truth that in the midst of suffering God is ultimately loving us toward our greatest good.

Reflection by Jaclyn Belt