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Job 36:29 "Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds, the thunderings of his pavilion?"

 

With this question Job's friend Elihu has kind of stumbled onto the point that God will eventually make to Job. When He begins discoursing with Job, God will ask "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding" (Job 38:4), and will go on to remind Job of all aspects of Creation that Job cannot possibly understand nor control. The ultimate bottom line of all of this is that we have to trust the One who does understand and control all things, because He is the Creator of all, and that He has our best interests at heart.

 

In Job's desperate situation it was hard for him (and his friends) to understand what was happening. But, as insensitive as it may have been to bring up at the time, Elihu's question makes clear that it was also hard for them to understand the spreading of the clouds, and the "thunderings of his pavilion". We really don't understand much of anything. We have a general idea of God's plan, that it is for the good of humanity, but when it doesn't seem to be good to us, we have to acknowledge our very limited understanding and trust in Him. That is one point of Job's story. It is why God never really explains Job's suffering to him, and instead asks "Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it." (Job 40:2).

 

We don't look at the clouds and think we could arrange them better, but we often look at our lives and think things should be different, and then ask God to follow our lead. It's not wrong to ask God to change things that are causing us suffering, but if He doesn't, it is wrong not to accept and trust. God will arrange things perfectly, even though we sometimes have to suffer (why would we ever want to leave this life if we never suffered?!). It is the ultimate freedom to know this, to let go of the fault-finding, and to take up the crosses that come our way and follow Him.