Job 23:1-17: a reflection

1Then Job answered, 2“Even today my complaint is rebellious. His hand is heavy in spite of my groaning. 3Oh that I knew where I might find him! That I might come even to his seat! 4I would set my cause in order before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. 5I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would tell me. 6Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No, but he would listen to me. 7There the upright might reason with him, so I should be delivered forever from my judge. 8“If I go east, he is not there. If I go west, I can’t find him. 9He works to the north, but I can’t see him. He turns south, but I can’t catch a glimpse of him. 10But he knows the way that I take. When he has tried me, I will come out like gold. 11My foot has held fast to his steps. I have kept his way, and not turned away. 12I haven’t gone back from the commandment of his lips. I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. 13But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? What his soul desires, even that he does. 14For he performs that which is appointed for me. Many such things are with him. 15Therefore I am terrified at his presence. When I consider, I am afraid of him. 16For God has made my heart faint. The Almighty has terrified me. 17Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither did he cover the thick darkness from my face.

In the midst of his suffering, Job longs to find God, to lay his case before him, but cannot; God seems hidden. If I go east, he is not there; if I go west, I can't find him. Yet even in this sense of God's hiddenness, Job holds onto two things: But he knows the way that I take. When he has tried me, I will come out like gold. Though Job cannot find God, God knows the way Job is taking; and though Job is being tried, he trusts that the testing will refine him, and he will come out like gold. God's knowledge of his path and the refining purpose of the testing sustain Job even when God seems hidden.

Notice what Job holds onto when God seems hidden: God knows his way, and the testing will refine him. Job cannot find God, cannot sense his presence; God seems hidden from him. Yet Job does not conclude that God has lost sight of him; on the contrary, he says, God knows the way that I take. And though he is being tried, suffering, tested, Job trusts that the testing has a purpose: when he has tried me, I will come out like gold. The testing is not meaningless; it is a refining, and Job will emerge purer for it. Even when he cannot find God, Job trusts that God knows his path and is refining him through the trial. God's hiddenness did not mean God's ignorance or absence; God knew Job's way and was refining him.

That is worth taking to heart, for even when God seems hidden, he knows our way and refines us through testing. In our suffering, God can seem hidden, absent, impossible to find or sense; and we can feel he has lost sight of us. But like Job, we can hold onto the truth that God knows the way we take, even when we cannot find him, and that the testing we endure is a refining that will bring us out like gold. God's hiddenness does not mean his ignorance or absence. When God seems hidden in your suffering, hold onto the truth that he knows your way and is refining you like gold through the testing. Hold onto the truth that God knows the way you take and is refining you like gold through your testing, even when he seems hidden and you cannot find him, as Job trusted that when he had been tried he would come out like gold; for God's hiddenness does not mean he has lost sight of us, and the testing we endure is a refining in his hands that will bring us out purer, like gold.

Lord, in the midst of his suffering, Job longs to find you, to lay his case before you, but cannot; you seem hidden. If I go east, he is not there; if I go west, I can't find him. Yet even in this sense of your hiddenness, Job holds onto two things: but he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I will come out like gold. Though Job cannot find you, you know the way Job is taking; and though Job is being tried, he trusts that the testing will refine him. Show me what Job holds onto when you seem hidden: you know his way, and the testing will refine him. Job cannot find you, cannot sense your presence; you seem hidden from him. Yet Job does not conclude that you have lost sight of him; on the contrary, he says, God knows the way that I take. And though he is being tried, Job trusts that the testing has a purpose: when he has tried me, I will come out like gold. The testing is a refining, and Job will emerge purer for it. Your hiddenness did not mean your ignorance or absence. Take that to my heart, for even when you seem hidden, you know my way and refine me through testing. In my suffering, you can seem hidden, absent, impossible to find; and I can feel you have lost sight of me. But like Job, I can hold onto the truth that you know the way I take, even when I cannot find you, and that the testing I endure is a refining. When you seem hidden in my suffering, help me hold onto the truth that you know my way and are refining me like gold through the testing, Lord, as Job trusted that when he had been tried he would come out like gold.