Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell upon the ground, and worshiped. And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." Job 1:20–21 (RSV)
Job's life is coming apart at the seams. His children were killed in a tragic accident. Marauders take his herds. All but a handful of servants put to the sword. In all of this, not a word from God as to why just silence. Job does the only thing he knows to do; he grieves deeply.
Job has been faithful to God in all things. He is the ideal believer, righteous in thought, word, and deed. He is almost too good to be true. This makes his sufferings and loss all the more significant. Why didn't God protect Job? Why do people suffer unjustly? Why is God so often silent when our hearts plead for answers?
These and others are the questions that the Book of Job will address. To not keep you in suspense, God never answers these questions. It is hard for us to accept God's silence when tragic events overtake us, plunging us into the agony of sorrow.
We want things to make sense. We want a reasonable answer to everything that happens in our lives. We want God to be accountable to us for everything, especially the evil we encounter. Yet, God is not accountable to us, nor does He explain everything in our lives.
The silence of God is a fearful thing. Jesus on the cross crying, "My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?", could be on any one of our lips. Jesus taught us to pray, 'Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven'. He prayed that at Gethsemane. It is a hard prayer to pray; it takes everything out of our control. It does mean that God has the final word in all things.
Like Jesus, we trust God's word and His will. Even if the events in our lives are incomprehensible to us, God is always God. Faith trusts God in all things, for the love of the Father does not end. There is our hope to face even the unimaginable that may come upon us.