Sophie King

“Brace yourself like a man” the words God spoke to Job before He answered his many questions of “why?” I remember reading that in the thick of my suffering and being confused. But that’s actually the interesting part about it. Bracing yourself like a man, because that’s what we are and the language we speak. When God went on in chapter 38 of Job, He spoke to him out of the storm. This is insane imagery to me. He goes on asking Job questions that expands the understanding or awareness of how as man our definitions or understanding is limited to what we see and know. But God’s definition and knowledge expands far beyond where our minds have gone or even entered. Brace yourself like a man, because what God exposes in this moment is difficult for us to even fathom. Our definitions and understandings are limited to what we’ve known or experienced. We view life through the lense of what we understand or have known. But God says, “where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” I think about this chapter a lot when I don’t understand what or where God is amidst. I have to recognize that bracing myself like a man is God acknowledging and bringing to my awareness that I see and understand tiny fragments of a larger picture. My definition of good may not be the full definition or formula of what “Good” is truly. My definition of love continues to grow. There was a time where I thought love just meant protecting me from pain. But I’m recognizing that God is love & Jesus experienced pain on earth. Where do I have the wrong definition or just fragments? Bracing myself like a man as I listen to God speaking out of the storm. I write this to show how when I experienced so much of my pain I questioned God’s goodness or love. But the whole time my understanding and definition was limited to what I had known or understood. It doesn’t mean God was any less loving or good.