Don't ask me how I know

Elihu Extols God's Greatness

1 And Elihu continued, and said:

2 “Bear with me a little, and I will show you,
    for I have yet something to say on God's behalf.
3 I will get my knowledge from afar
    and ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
4 For truly my words are not false;
    one who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

5 Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any;
    he is mighty in strength of understanding.
6 He does not keep the wicked alive,
    but gives the afflicted their right.
7 He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous,
    but with kings on the throne
    he sets them forever, and they are exalted.
8 And if they are bound in chains
    and caught in the cords of affliction,
9 then he declares to them their work
    and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.
10 He opens their ears to instruction
    and commands that they return from iniquity.
11 If they listen and serve him,
    they complete their days in prosperity,
    and their years in pleasantness.
12 But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword
    and die without knowledge.

13 The godless in heart cherish anger;
    they do not cry for help when he binds them.
14 They die in youth,
    and their life ends among the cult prostitutes.
15 He delivers the afflicted by their affliction
    and opens their ear by adversity.
16 He also allured you out of distress
    into a broad place where there was no cramping,
    and what was set on your table was full of fatness.

17 But you are full of the judgment on the wicked;
    judgment and justice seize you.
18 Beware lest wrath entice you into scoffing,
    and let not the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.
19 Will your cry for help avail to keep you from distress,
    or all the force of your strength?
20 Do not long for the night,
    when peoples vanish in their place.
21 Take care; do not turn to iniquity,
    for this you have chosen rather than affliction.
22 Behold, God is exalted in his power;
    who is a teacher like him?
23 Who has prescribed for him his way,
    or who can say, ‘You have done wrong’?

24 Remember to extol his work,
    of which men have sung.
25 All mankind has looked on it;
    man beholds it from afar.
26 Behold, God is great, and we know him not;
    the number of his years is unsearchable.
27 For he draws up the drops of water;
    they distill his mist in rain,
28 which the skies pour down
    and drop on mankind abundantly.
29 Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds,
    the thunderings of his pavilion?
30 Behold, he scatters his lightning about him
    and covers the roots of the sea.
31 For by these he judges peoples;
    he gives food in abundance.
32 He covers his hands with the lightning
    and commands it to strike the mark.
33 Its crashing declares his presence;^{1

36:33
Hebrew declares concerning him}
    the cattle also declare that he rises.

Footnotes

[1] 36:33 Hebrew declares concerning him

I’ve learned many lessons from suffering when I thought I knew better than my parents, the warning signs, and God, including:

1) Don’t tear apart firecrackers to use the gunpowder to blow up Matchbox cars, especially with gunpowder still on your fingers! Or at least let someone else light the match.
2) Don’t sneak your buddies into the school gym just because you have a grandmaster key, especially if no one knows you have said key.
3) Don’t swing off a rope into the Guadalupe River, especially without checking for boulders first! A 20-foot fall into three feet of water. Yeah, I know now!
Like most young boys, I thought I was in charge and could control the outcome or that I was smarter than adults, who simply didn't want me to have fun. Thank God I grew out of that – or did I? When I read this chapter, I realized that I still struggle with those same tendencies, but in more subtle ways:

1) I think I'm in control too much of the time.
2) I think God doesn't understand my circumstance.
3) I think I know a better way for me.

Elihu, is saying that God is in control, and His plan is perfect and can not be changed by anything we do. "Indeed, God is mighty; and he does not despise people, he is mighty, and firm in his intent." (Job 36: 5) That is why we must praise Him in the good and bad times. Like Job, when I don't know God's plan, I tend to try to change my circumstances on my own. This is not God's plan. I must submit to His plan even when I don't understand it because He is mighty and merciful. "Indeed, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him?" (Job 36:22) He is much wiser than we are. "Yes, God is great – beyond our knowledge." (Job 36:26) God doesn't want us to suffer, but He will use it to teach us.

For the record: I never tried those first three things again.

1. What tough circumstances are you currently facing?

2. What lessons do you think God might be trying to teach you through suffering right now?

3. What lessons have you learned from past trials or suffering?