Pr Joshua Yong

It is said that with the benefit of hindsight, the vision is 20/20. If we who are God’s children look back at things that have unfolded with the eyes of faith, we will be able to see how God moves and works all things for our good and for His own glory. Yet sometimes when our minds are troubled with cares or with doubts, this vision may be dimmed and we may struggle to fully understand and accept the way things have unfolded. During such times, the faith of Christians will be tested and we may be tempted to waver, and to murmur and complain. But it is especially during such times where we must learn to fix our eyes upon Christ and His Word that we might be able to consider accurately the wondrous working of God.

This was what Job was exhorted to do by his friend Elihu in Job 37:14. The trial which Job went through was most trying. It was not a trial that was observed from a distance, where he merely looked at how things unfolded from afar. Job’s test involved all his possessions – 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and 500 asses were all either taken away or burned up by fire in one day; it involved his children – 7 sons and 3 daughters all died in one day. Job then lost his health and was afflicted with painful boils all over his body. Things were so bad that even his wife told him to curse God and die. Job’s trial was one that was very close to his heart, having lost his possessions, his children who were so precious, his health and his wife. Facing these things, the temptation is to feel alone, and to murmur and complain. That was what Job did when he began to curse the day when he was born and where he challenged God’s right to deal with him as God.

It was in the midst of Job’s complaint, Elihu finally spoke, and in his counsel he rebuked Job and pointed him to his relationship with God and Creator and creature. This was to humble Job that he will accept and understand God’s dealing with him. Job was here asked to consider the wonderous works of God.

1.  A Firm Consideration

Job 37:14, “Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.”

Job was first exhorted to “stand still.” The phrase here means to “stand firm” or to “remain” and not be moved. It has a picture of someone standing firmly with a firm footing. This person will not be moved. This is an exhortation to not only remain calm but also to not waver or be shaken in faith, that even when circumstances may tempt the Christian to move away from his faith, he must remain firm in his standing.

Testings and trials are things that can easily shake a person in his faith. When faced with afflictions, wandering thoughts will flood our minds; we may feel stressed, restless, fearful and simply overwhelmed by what we are facing. These things can bring a lot of uncertainties and with these uncertainties, doubt. We run to this side and that side, trying to look for solutions and answers, and often in these times of helplessness our lips take to murmuring and complaining. But it is during such times when we have to “stand still” and not waver in our faith in God. 

This Covid-19 pandemic has affected all of us in one way or another. And recently, as the number of cases increases, the virus is no longer something that is at a distance. In the past, we may read in the news about the Covid cases, and we may hear of one or two of our friends getting infected. But in the last few weeks, we are not only hearing of more and more of our friends being infected, we might have been infected as well. It is one thing to face something from a distance, but when it is so close to you, how do you feel? Are you shaken in your faith? The feeling of uncertainty may sometimes be worse than the certainty of bad news. Are you shaken by that uncertainty? During this time you must stand still and remain firm in your faith. But how can we remain still when we feel overwhelmed?

2.  A Directed Consideration

We must stand still by directing our thoughts rightly. Job was exhorted to “consider the wondrous works of God.”

To “consider” is to “understand” or to “separate mentally.” It describes careful thought and attention being given to a matter and to ponder rightly. To “separate mentally” means to carefully distinguish and discern. We are exhorted here to consider the wondrous works of God. We can remain firm in our faith if we fix our minds upon the wondrous works of God.

The meaning is that God’s works are very great and high and hence they instil a sense of awe and wonder in us.

In Job 37:15-16, the Bible uses God’s work in creation to illustrate how God’s works are wondrous. Job 37:15-16, “Dost thou know when God disposed them, and caused the light of his cloud to shine? Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?” The clouds in the sky have been set in their place by God. God is the one who determines when they form and when they disperse; when they gather together and hide the sun, and when they part and allow the light to shine through. God is the one who balances the clouds in the sky. There are things in this natural world that even with the advancement of science and technology we can never fully explain. These things show us how little we know. God’s works are wondrous because God’s ways are higher than our ways and God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts. But the assurance we have in all these things unfolding is that God is perfect in His knowledge. This is what we must consider.

When you are troubled, consider the wondrous works of God. Consider the perfect design of God’s working; consider the timing of God’s works; consider how little we know and how we therefore must trust that God works all things according to His perfect knowledge.

We do not know when the pandemic will pass. Two years ago, over the radio there were doctors who thought that Covid-19 would behave like SARS and would disappear in a matter of months. But we now know that this is not the case. How will you react if you or your loved ones contract Covid-19? Will you feel overwhelmed or fearful? Some may be anxious or worried; for others, though they may not be too worried by the severity of the virus, they may still be annoyed by the inconvenience it brings. How we ought to respond is that even in these times of uncertainties and afflictions, we are to consider that God is perfect in knowledge and that He works His wondrous works according to His perfect design.