Who gave him [God] charge over the earth,
Job 34:13 (ESV)
and who laid on him the whole world?
This is an interesting comment from Elihu as he challenged Job and advocated for God. Who put God in charge of the earth? Who gave him the responsibility of managing the affairs of creation?
This is a rhetorical question. Most of us who believe in the God of the Bible would respond that no one put him in charge or gave him his task. He just is, and is answerable to no one. Including me. So why is this even a question?
Job had been arguing that he was innocent and being mistreated. And that is not unique to Job. Many of us, at times, question why something happened. It may be in our own lives. But it could also be at the international level. Why does God allow so many people to starve, for gangs and despots to rule and cause so much harm, and for so-called natural disasters to wreak havoc in the world?
When we ask those questions, we are, in a way, appealing to some higher authority than God. That there are some standards of right and wrong that God is also held accountable for. And that he is acting contrary to that standard. But is that true? Do I know better than God?
God’s Perfect Will
In Ephesians 1:11, Paul said, “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” Ignoring the question here about predestination, Paul tells us that God is working out all things according to his will. But is that will always the best?
Paul addressed that in Romans 12:2. There, he said, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” God’s will is good, pleasing, and perfect.
Since God’s will is perfect, and he works out everything in conformity with that will, we can trust that what he does, or allows is furthering his plan for creation and for us. Even when we do not understand it. Some things that happen in this world seem to have no redeeming value. But, as a follower of the Lord Jesus, I need to guard against questioning his actions, and trust him to do what is best for his creation.
After all, God is God. And I am not.
