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I found my way back to the Bible after a MS walk in Frankenmuth, then finishing the 1st lawn mowing of the year, and a piece of homemade chicken pot pie for lunch. I opened my first devotional email, it was from The Upper Room. There I was sent to Job 38:1-11.

I always like to start my reading with a quick glance through the introduction, in this case in my Logos app, to pick up a few nuggets that will aid in my understanding ….. maybe. This is what I chose to glean: 1. The book of Job is an honest portrayal of God allowing a good man to suffer. 2. God allowed a test of Job’s faith in response to a challenge from Satan. 3. In the depths of agony he (Job) rested in faith alone.

The chapters leading up to 38 tell us Job, a wealthy man, at the mercy of Satan, lost everything he owned and everything he loved. Property, sons, daughters, sheep, camels, oxen, donkeys, servants. Satan attacked his health by striking him with sores from the sole of his feet to the crown of his head. The only thing Job had left was his wife, and she gave him no support. Upon hearing of the hardships Job was experiencing, three friends went to visit him. His friends took turns attempting to justify the pain Job had gone through and after each attempt, Job had a reply, but never lost his faith in his God.

Chapter 38 is where the Lord answers Job. When I read it I imagine his voice thundering through the air. He answered Job out of a whirlwind. “Who is it that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you will make it known to me.”

After reading the suggested 11 verses, my eyes made their way over to the study notes in the second column. It was there I found my WOD. “Theophanies, (appearances of God to people) often include displays of the power of nature.”

Since my journey through the Bible started, I’ve found a whole new respect for the power of nature and have even wondered, when the wind and rain are pelting the side of the house, and lightening displays what the darkness once held, as I feel the ground shake and hear the windows rattle, I wonder ……… is this it?