There is such a difference between knowing about God and really knowing God. Knowing about God can result in reciting a number of facts (true or false) about Him while at the same time not allowing Him any control or any real effect on our lives. For most people, many of whom claim to believe in God, they have never really allowed God to be a vital or essential part of their day to day lives. But really knowing God, means we have released the reins and given them to Him. It means submission. It means seeking His will instead of our own will for life’s minor and major decisions. Job, like all of us, only knew the tip of the iceberg about God. The question is, are we seeking a relationship with God or are we comfortable being religious.

Without daily time in His Word, without spending time with Him in prayer, renders us defenseless as we face life’s challenges. Sadly, whenever we feel distant from God, He is never the One walking away, it is always us. We read in Psalm 94:14, “For the Lord will not cast off His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance.” We read in Hebrews 13:5, “...For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”” Whenever we feel distant from God it is all on us, not Him. He is the constant, we are the variable.

After weaving through many chapters of human reasoning between Job and his friends attempting to answer the question as to why Job is suffering, God answers. As we come to the conclusion of the story, we notice that Job's question is never really answered. God is the answer. Though Job was called “blameless and upright in the opening verse in Job 1:1, this doesn’t mean he was sinless, but upright. Once Job sees himself in comparison to God, his question no longer seems important. In Job 40:4, Job answers the Lord and said, "Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer you?" In 42:5-6, he says, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes." Isaiah spoke similarly in Isaiah 64:6, "But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;..".

It's interesting that we demand answers at all, considering we can't even answer our own questions. Paul acknowledges this in Romans 7:15, "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do." We look for answers, but we often don't even understand ourselves. Which brings us back to God's answer. God is always the answer. Whatever situation we find ourselves in good or bad, we are to lean on and get closer to God. Whether on vacation or in the hospital, lean on Him. Whether financially secure or bankrupt, lean on Him. Whether happy in your relationships or broken, lean on Him. Either it is a real relationship or it's not. We live to glorify Him, in good times or bad. He desires this relationship with us, and we need this relationship. He loves us so much, that He will allow a multitude of situations in our lives to further this relationship. Though Job was blessed materially at the end of the story, this pales in comparison to the fact that his relationship with God was furthered. We can never lose focus, that we are God's ambassadors in a fallen world. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”