Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: ‘Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer me.
Job 38:2-3
Last night I watched the film “Silence”, based on historical facts. In the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests, Padres Rodrigues (based on the historical Italian figure Giuseppe Chiara) and Garupe, travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy (renounced Christ), and to propagate Catholicism. They witness and suffer unbelievable persecution and torture of themselves and Japanese Christians. It is a superbly crafted and a very powerful film, that you have to watch to the end to see that through incredible hardship none of them loose their trust of God. I will come back to Padre Rodrigues later. I can highly recommend this film.
After love, trusting/faith in God is so important for our Christian life. You may say trust has to be earned, and you would be right. So let’s look at an example of trustiing in God, the story of Job.
Job, a man who was blameless and upright, he feared God and shunned evil. Job was a wealthy man with 7 sons and 3 daughters. When Satan challenges Him, God holds Job up to Satan as a prime example, to which Satan replies “of course he blameless, you’re protecting him, strike down everything he has and he will curse you.” So God gives Satan power over everything he has, except for the person of Job. So Satan duly exercises this power, and takes away all his wealth, and causes the death Job’s children. Job is distraught, and is later struck with sores over his entire body. Despite receiving a lot of bad advice from his three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, Job never looses his faith in God. And even after his wife says to him “Are you still maintaining your integrity, curse God and Die”. To Which he replies “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”. (Job 1&2)
Though Job never wavers in his trust in God, even after much “earthly” advice from is three friends. He does winge at God and asks why? And God answer him, at length, questioning Job with “‘Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me…….” (Job 38: 2-3) Then God gives the most wonderful description of who He is, and the infinite universe filled with wonders that He has created. (Chapters 38 – 41), which I truly encourage you to read, because as with Job it will show you as it did, Job, who God is and how above all else, God is all that we need. Everything else is just superfluous. Job’s reply was:-
I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
You asked, “Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?”
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
‘You said, “Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.”
My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.’
Job 42:2-6
Once Job makes this submission, God restores his land and twice his wealth to him, and blesses him with seven more children.
Let’s come back to Padre Rodrigues, on several occasions through the film, he asks God if He is there, and does not hear any answer. Rodrigues still pushes on to spread the faith and search for for his mentor Padre Ferreira. Rodrigues has his faith to sustain him, he gives away all that he has, but one of the Japanese carves him a tiny crucifix with an effigy of Christ, which he keeps hidden is his clothes. Rodrigues is eventually captured, imprisoned and tortured, along with many other Japanese Christians. He refuses to deny Christ, until the Japanese Inquisitor brings the sought for Padre Ferreira, who has apparently denied Christ, and he tries to persuade Rodrigues to do the same. Rodrigues is forced to stand before a picture of Christ and is commanded to step on it. Rodrigues downcast and tired calls to God once more as asks “Are you there” this time he hears God reply “I never left you, It is alright step on me”. So rodrigues steps on the picture. Then he is freed to work for the Japanese in rooting out Christian artifacts from travelers, but at the end of the film when Rodrigues has passed away from old age, and he is about to be cremated the camera slowly zooms in to show the tiny carved Crucifix, tucked in his clothes.
Both Job and Rodrigues show such faith and never deviated from it, we could praise them and say how wonderful they are, which would be true, but it would be missing the point. Who was it that they trusted and why! God allowed these two to suffer, because he had crafted them in his hands and he knew them better than they knew themselves, God knew that He had made them for this purpose, certainly with Job, he knew not even Satan could stop them from achieving God’s purpose for them. Through their suffering faith arose in others, God’s great purpose to spread His love for mankind took yet another step forward.
Look at me some 400 years later, I am so inspired by what God achieved through Padre Rodrigues, so it Is God who gets the glory, for He loves all and wants ALL to be with him for eternity. So how can I trust God when things go wrong? Because I know He loves me, and wants me with him, and he will never leave me. So when I winge at God (which I do far to often) ….. “Who am I that obscures God’s plans with words without knowledge?”