Job 23:8 “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; 9 on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. 10 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.
約伯記 23:8 「看哪，我往前走，他不在那裏；往後退，也沒有察覺他。9 他在左邊行事，我卻看不見他；他轉向右邊，我也見不到他。10 然而他知道我所走的路；他試煉我，我就如純金。
In the midst of suffering, the first question we usually ask is “Why?”, but God seldom answers this question. The second most popular question is “Where are You, God”? Like a child lost in a mall, Job had looked forward, backward, to the left and to the right but had been unable to find God, His heavenly Father. It seemed to Job that God had purposely hidden Himself. But God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9)! We need to “live by faith, not by sight.” (NIV 2 Corinthians 5:7) The good news and more important news is that “[God] knows the way that [we] take”. God has installed a “Find Me” app on us: “the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love.” (Psalm 33:18) We can be sure that God uses suffering to build us up, not to tear us apart. So let us follow Job and reaffirm, “ My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. 12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.” (Job 23:11-12) Lastly don’t forget to turn on the “Find Me” setting!
在苦難之中，我們通常會問的第一個問題是“為什麼？”，但是上帝很少回答這個問題。第二個常問的是“上帝，祢在哪裡”？約伯像在商場裡迷路的孩子一樣，向後向前向左，向右向前看 卻找不到上帝，他的天父。在約伯看來，上帝似乎故意隱藏了自己。但是”[上帝]的道路高過我們的道路，[上帝]的意念高過我們的意念”（以賽亞書55：9）！我們需要“憑是憑着信心，不是憑着眼見”而活。 （哥林多前書5：7）好消息和更重要的是“ [上帝]知道[我們]所走的路”。上帝在我們身上下載了“FindMe找到我”應用程序：“耶和華的眼目看顧敬畏他的人和仰望他慈愛的人。 （詩篇33：18）而且我們可以確信，上帝用苦難來建立我們，而不是拆毀我們。因此，讓我們跟隨約伯重申：“我的腳緊跟他的步伐；我謹守他的道，並不偏離。他嘴唇的命令，我未曾背棄；我看重他口中的言語，過於我需用的飲食。” （約伯記23：11-12）最後別忘了啟動你的“FindMe找到我”應用程序！
