Who Does God Say He Is? And Why Does It Matter?

Forgive my cheesy image of God - but you get the idea. What are you trying to accomplish in life right now? What are your goals and aspirations? What are your challenges? How does God fit in all of this?

I’m reading Job 38–41 today. And for most of the book of Job, Job is asking God questions. Why did this happen? Why am I suffering? Why does God seem silent? As we struggle, we ask the same questions. So first, this is why God matters, He can and will help us.

Job knows he has not committed some secret sin that explains everything that has happened to him, and eventually he wants God Himself to answer. Then God does. But what is fascinating is that God never gives Job the explanation we were given in chapters 1 and 2. He never tells Job about the conversation with Satan. Instead, God begins asking Job questions. And through those questions, God tells Job exactly who He is.

GOD IS THE CREATOR

God begins, “Where were you when I made the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.” (Job 38:4 NCV) Then He asks, “Who marked off how big it should be? Surely you know! Who stretched a ruler across it?” (Job 38:5 NCV) In other words, God is saying, “Job, where were you when I built all of this?”

God existed before the earth, before mankind, before our families, before our problems, and before our suffering. We entered this story very late. God was there at the beginning and sees it all. So you and I should ask for help, because He sees us.

GOD CONTROLS WHAT WE CANNOT CONTROL

God then talks about the sea: “Who shut the doors to keep the sea in when it broke through and was born?” (Job 38:8 NCV) Then He says to the ocean, “You may come this far, but no farther. This is where your proud waves must stop.” (Job 38:11 NCV) We stand beside the ocean and feel small. We cannot control hurricanes, waves, storms, or tides. Yet God says He set the boundaries of the sea.

Then God asks, “Have you ever commanded the morning to begin or shown the dawn where its place was?” (Job 38:12 NCV) Tomorrow morning the sun will rise, and none of us will make it happen. There are things happening every second that we completely depend upon but have absolutely no power to produce. This is important when you need to be rescued.

GOD KNOWS WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW

God asks Job, “Have you ever gone to where the sea begins or walked in the valleys under the sea?” (Job 38:16 NCV) Then He asks, “Have the gates of death been opened to you? Have you seen the gates of the deep darkness?” (Job 38:17 NCV) If He can see your future, it’s wise to ask His advice. He even sees the gates of death.

Then God asks, “Do you know the laws of the sky? Can you understand their rule over the earth?” (Job 38:33 NCV) We understand far more about the universe today than Job did, but the more we discover, the bigger God’s question becomes. Billions of galaxies, unimaginable distances, countless stars. God is essentially asking, “Can you run all of that?” No. But He can.

We just keep getting smaller and smaller as we learn about God.

GOD GAVE US OUR MINDS

Then comes one of the most incredible questions: “Who put wisdom inside the mind or understanding in the heart?” (Job 38:36 NCV) Where did your ability to think come from? Where did reason, imagination, language, creativity, understanding, and the ability to ask what life means come from? God says He gave human beings the capacity to think. Even the mind we use to question or blame God came from God.

GOD CARES ABOUT THE SMALLEST DETAILS

God asks Job, “Do you hunt food for the female lion to satisfy the hunger of the young lions?” (Job 38:39 NCV) Then He asks, “Who gives food to the ravens when their young cry out to God?” (Job 38:41 NCV) This shows another side of God. The God who controls galaxies also notices hungry birds. Jesus said: “Look at the birds in the air. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds.” (Matthew 6:26 NCV)

In Job 39, God talks about mountain goats giving birth, wild donkeys wandering in the wilderness, horses, hawks, and eagles. God knows when animals give birth in places where no human being is watching. That tells us something important: nothing is too big for God to control, and nothing is too small for Him to notice and help.

GOD IS POWERFUL BEYOND US

Then God asks Job, “Will the person who argues with the Almighty correct him? Let the person who accuses God answer him.” (Job 40:2 NCV) Job begins to understand the difference between himself and God. He answers, “I am not worthy; I cannot answer you anything, so I will put my hand over my mouth.” (Job 40:4 NCV)

Then God describes Behemoth and Leviathan. Of Leviathan, He asks, “Can you make a pet of Leviathan as you would a bird or put it on a leash for your girls?” (Job 41:5 NCV) The picture is almost humorous. God is basically saying, “Job, go ahead. Put Leviathan (a dragon like sea creature) on a leash and let your daughters play with it.” Obviously Job cannot.

If Job cannot control one terrifying creature God created, how could Job imagine himself powerful enough to challenge the Creator?

GOD OWES NOTHING TO ANYONE

God then says, “No one has ever given me anything that I must pay back, because everything under the sky belongs to me.” (Job 41:11 NCV) That is a massive statement. Everything belongs to God. Your life, your possessions, the earth, the animals, the oceans, the stars, everything. God is not indebted to creation. Creation is indebted to Him. He gives and takes away.

SO WHO DOES GOD SAY HE IS?

When you put Job 38–41 together, God describes Himself as the Creator of everything, the One who existed before us, the One who commands the oceans, morning, weather, and stars, the One who understands death, the One who gives wisdom to human beings, the One who feeds animals nobody notices, the One who rules creatures humans cannot control, and the One to whom everything belongs.

He sees what you cannot see. He knows what you cannot know. He controls what you cannot control. He understands what you cannot understand. So He’s the great counselor.

So God answered Job by showing who He is.

LIFE’S LESSON FOR US

We may not know our future, but we sure do know God if we will look. In Job, God reminds you and I who He is. So relax. Ask God for help. He loved us enough, He sent His Son to save our soul for eternity. God love us. He loves you. Do you live like He does? Do you trust God with your life?

Job eventually did. After hearing God describe Himself, Job says, “I know that you can do all things and that no plan of yours can be ruined.” (Job 42:2 NCV)

We must trust the One who knows it all and controls it all. So we talk to Him. How? In prayer, with faith, with honor, and follow His ways that were designed for our best interest.

GOD, I may not know what’s happening or why things have happened, but I do know you. And that’s good enough. Thank you a thousand times. IJNIP amen ♥️