“When it Pours He Reigns” is the title of Holly Wagner’s book where she writes about overcoming life’s storms.

Job had the following response during his storm, relating to the sovereignty of God.

He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason.
Job 9:17

As I read the words “he would …. multiply my wounds for no reason”, I immediately thought of Irene’s diagnosis and the rarity of Primary Amyloidosis because no one knows or understands why it strikes some people and not others.  But, of course, there are many things about this world that we won’t ever understand.  We also have many questions for God that won’t be answered this side of eternity.

Irene drove herself to and from dialysis treatment today with her fatigue and nausea wearing on.  She rested and slowly plodded through the day.  She did, however, make a delicious salmon dinner that we enjoyed overlooking the Monterey Bay!!

According to Wikipedia ….

After several rounds of debate between Job and his friends, in a divine voice, described as coming from a “cloud” or “whirlwind”, YHVH describes, in evocative and lyrical language, what the experience of being responsible for the world is like, and asks if Job has ever had the experiences that YHVH has had.

YHVH’s answer underscores that Job shares the world with numerous powerful and remarkable creatures, creatures with lives and needs of their own, whom God must provide for, and the young of some hunger in a way that can only be satisfied by taking the lives of others. Does Job even have any experience of the world he lives in? Does he understand what it means to be responsible for such a world? Job admits that he does not.

YHVH’s speech also emphasizes his sovereignty in creating and maintaining the world. The thrust is not merely that God has experiences that Job does not, but also that God is King over the world and is not necessarily subject to questions from his creatures, including men. He declines to answer any of Job’s questions or challenges with anything except “I am the Lord.”

In the epilogue, YHVH condemns Job’s friends for their insistence on speaking wrongly of the Lord’s motives and methods, commands them to make extensive animal sacrifices and instructs Job to pray for their forgiveness. Immediately thereafter YHVH restores Job to health, giving him double the riches he before possessed (including ten new children added to the ten who predeceased him). His new daughters are the most beautiful in the land, and are given inheritance while Job is still alive. Job is crowned with a holy life and with a happy death, to the extent that is possible.

The LORD said to Job:

“Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let him who accuses God answer him!”

Then Job answered the LORD :

“I am unworthy — how can I reply to you?
I put my hand over my mouth.

I spoke once, but I have no answer —
twice, but I will say no more.”

Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the STORM:

“Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.

Job 40:1-7

God engaged and chastised Job and He required an answer from him.

And God engages and requires an answer from us.  We cannot ignore God in the midst of the storm.  We cannot overlook His claims, His authority and His ultimate control over all things.  In the midst of the storm, we must respond to Him …. in one way or another.  And if we lean into Him, He promises that we will stand firm.

When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.
Proverbs 10:25

We also know this …. that storms don’t last forever …. and here are three “takeaway” questions that we’re contemplating in the midst of this stormy season ….

• How does one prepare for a storm (spiritually, physically)?
• What is important during the storm (how do we prioritize and remain focused)?
• What lessons can be applied beyond the storm?

We’re all familiar with the saying, “when it rains it pours”, and it certainly has “poured” this last year.  However, we’re also learning that Holly Wagner’s book title is extremely applicable for us …. that, “when it pours, He Reigns”.

Caminando con Fé

Dave