“Long before He laid down the earth’s foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love.” (Ephesians 1:4 MSG)
Yesterday, I spent a good deal of time in the book of Job. Job is a book most folks tend to avoid because they think it’s about suffering and they suppose that suffering is contagious. (If they get too close or look at it too long, they might catch it.) But any Bible scholar will tell you, Job isn’t a book about suffering. It’s a book about God’s sovereignty. We see this clearly at both the beginning and at the end of the book of Job.
The scene sets with Job, a righteous man on earth and a series of uncomfortable conversations in the heavenly realms. As some sort of spiritual test, God lifts His hand off of Job, pausing protection and interrupting blessing. Job is unflinching in the face of suffering. He endures total loss but he won’t waver: God is just, God is good. For full chapters, well-meaning friends blow hard about retribution theology (a righteous life produces blessing, a wicked life produces cursing) and while they are mostly right, Job’s story proves this theology to proverbial rather than absolute. Meaning Job is righteous, we are told from the first few sentences of the book that Job is innocent in God’s eyes. Yet, he suffered. Job remains sick and sad throughout the book, yet he stays loyal to God. Finally, in chapter 38, God erupts in Job’s world and in the hearts of the reader. God asks Job hard questions about creation and purpose. He shares a wealth of experience, wisdom and detail that we had not previously read or heard. He monologues for four full chapters, flexing as my kids would say, sharing a small offering of the divine tasks He tends to: things like laying the earth’s foundation and setting the sea in place, mapping the sun’s daily course and assembling the constellations. He never does offer Job reason for His suffering, only gives Job long glimpses of His sovereignty.
This is the text that soared through my mind when I read this morning’s scripture. If you have a moment, flip real quick in your Bible to Job 38-41 and find for yourself the wonders our Sovereign God sees to. Allow your heart to quake beside His brilliance and might. Then come back and read today’s keeping verse one more time:
“Long before He laid down the earth’s foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love.” (Ephesians 1:4 MSG)
The One who stores up rain and snow alike, the One who cues the dawn and the tide, the One who has dominion over heaven and earth and every created thing – He is the One who pursues our souls with wholeness and holiness in hand; arms stretched out wide to welcome us into His family.
Thank You, Sovereign Lord, for loving us so extravagantly, for having us in mind from the very beginning. We can’t hardly fathom Your power and might, yet You set us as the focus of Your love long before You set this world in motion. May we respond in surrender and awe. May we lay our lives at Your feet, grateful to be chosen, pursued and included. May our lives find fullest purpose in loving You. Amen.