Whirlwind

There are days when it rains, and then the sun comes through -- days when the leaves wave just a little bit outside my window, and the new season is upon us, and on these days I remember what God talked about with Job. Those words that I love . . . "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements--surely you know!"

I love this for several reasons, but two stand out: First, that God is sarcastic. Which is my spiritual gift.

Second, though, I love that these words remind us of the mystery of it all. I don't do too well with mystery; with not knowing and uncertainty. Fear and anxiety tend to creep in at those times. But this, these words of God, God who 'answered Job out of the whirlwind,' this is the God who holds everything together. This is the God who knows what we do not know, and gives us what we think we may not want. This is the God who loves us, and who is in our corner.

These words don't make sense of everything, or give us certainty in our circumstances or, most of the time,  remove our fear entirely. But they remind us of reality, and who couldn't use that reminder from time to time? We create a million little worlds in our head every day, and instead of sending us spinning, God wants us to know that we are his, that we are loved, and that the world is his. We operate in his reality, and how funny and sad and pitiful it must seem to him when we frantically search for a place to stake our flags in his world. It is all his!