"Job would be a powerball loser ... a poster child for all hell breaking loose.."

Adapted from pages 38 - 39 of: Seven Things You Better Have Nailed Down Before All Hell Breaks Loose. By Robert Wolgemuth.

"What difference does God's Sovereignty Make?

"Is the claim that God, as Creator, continues to be heavily invested in what goes on each day a conundrum, or a comfort?

"Is His sovereignty the logical reason given by people of faith when good things happen and a rationalization when they don't?

"In a sense, God's sovereignty is all of the above.

"In all of recorded history, there may be no more graphic challenge to the sovereignty of God than the biblical account of the man named Job.

"You and I could view Job's story as a random and natural sequence of events that God may have observed but in which He had no direct involvement.

"This view brings us the inevitable conclusion that by pure chance, Job was one very, very unfortunate man.

"In a single afternoon, the following things happened to Job: his cattle were stolen, his cattlemen murdered; fire dropped from heaven and burned up his sheep; his shepherds were also consumed; his camels were seized; the servants tending the camels were slain; and his house collapsed on his children, crushing them all.

"If folks who win the lottery are considered lucky, Job would be a powerball loser: one in tens of millions who turns up unlucky.

"Job qualifies as the poster child for all hell breaking loose."

God is sovereign...

"But after careful examination, Job's story is the account of a man whose conclusion after his heartbreak and loss can be summarized in three words: God is sovereign.

"Beginning with chapter 38 of the book of Job -- after he, his wife, and his three friends have philosophized until they could philosophize no more about why these dreadful things had happened to him -- God speaks.

"As the next four chapters unfold, God reveals to Job what He has done and what He continues to do.

"God begins His speech with reviews of His resplendent creation, the expanse of the celestial universe and the striking topography of the earth.

Then God reviews His involvement in the wonders of the plant and animal world, including their marvelous procreation and daily survival and sustenance all in the present tense.

"When God has finished, Job responds: I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You ... I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You."

In UTEP Humanities 3301, Did you catch it?

"Did you catch it?

"Job eventually naied down the sovereignty of God when he gained a rightful look at the unimaginable brilliance of the Creator.

"Only after that could Job reap a clearer perspective of his own suffering.

"There are only two alternatives - God's inability to be involved (or His mere apathy toward current events) or God's sovereignty.

"When hell broke loose for Job, he gratefully chose to believe that God has knowledge of -- and involvement in -- everything that that [happens].

"He drew comfort from believing that nothing happens without God's permission.

"Bone - rattling trauma of unexpected tragedy usually draws us toward God.

"As it was for Job, choosing belief in God's sovereignty over mere randomness brings the most comfort when our pain is most severe."

But!

Remember this: your Humanities 3301 instructors aren't going to buy any of this.

When it comes to Job, they have a vested interest, or act like they do, in wandering all over the map.

Whatever a student says is certainly going to be automatically classified by the bulk of any humanities faculty as plain a*s*sed wrong.

Period!