“我立大地根基的时候，你在哪里呢？你若有聪明，只管说吧。你若晓得就说，是谁定地的尺度？” - 伯38:4-5
在一首诗中，荷兰作家科里·腾博姆将她的生活比作上帝编织的挂毯。她说，上帝在她的生活中编织了快乐和悲伤，而她仿佛只看到挂毯的背面。她说，她无法理解这些丝线怎能做成美丽的东西。但神祂了解，并计划使她生命中的一切都能为一个美好的目的而结合起来。
在今天的经文中，神对之说话的约伯正像这样——只看到他生命挂毯的背面。约伯不得不面对可怕的痛苦和悲剧，他不明白为什么会发生这一切。神用有关受造界的诗意的言语来回应：是神创造了万物，包括那些神秘到我们甚至不知该如何谈论的事物。神提醒约伯这一点，是为了挑战他，也是为了使他有确信。神挑战约伯，让他对自己的知识保持谦卑。神也使约伯确信，虽然这可能难以理解，但祂有一个计划。
我们在这方面也像约伯一样。关于神的旨意，有许多事情我们并不了解。但神应许会供应我们和祂所创造的美好世界的需要。
祷告
供应的神，你使我们确信，你爱我们，并在我们的生活中工作。请给我们信心来信靠你。阿们。
约伯记 38:4-11
4我立大地根基的时候，你在哪里呢？你若有聪明，只管说吧。
5你若晓得就说，是谁定地的尺度？是谁把准绳拉在其上？
6地的根基安置在何处？地的角石是谁安放的？
7那时晨星一同歌唱，神的众子也都欢呼。
8“海水冲出，如出胎胞，那时谁将它关闭呢？
9是我用云彩当海的衣服，用幽暗当包裹它的布，
10为它定界限，又安门和闩，<br />
11说：‘你只可到这里，不可越过，你狂傲的浪要到此止住。’
Beauty Beyond Understanding
"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!" - Job 38:4-5
In a poem, the Dutch writer Corrie Ten Boom compares her life to a tapestry woven by God. She says that God weaves both joy and sorrow into her life, and it is as though she sees only the back of the tapestry. She says she cannot understand how the strands could ever make something beautiful. But God understands and has a plan for how everything in her life will come together for his beautiful purpose.
Job, to whom God is speaking in our reading today, is a bit like that—seeing only the back of the tapestry of his life. Job has had to deal with terrible suffering and tragedy, and he does not understand why it all happened. God responds with a poetic speech about the creation of the world. God is the one who created everything, including things that are so mysterious that we don't even know how to speak about them. God reminds Job of this in order to both challenge and assure him. God challenges Job to be humble about his own knowledge. And God assures Job that he has a plan, even though it may be hard to understand.
We are like Job in this way too. There are many things about God's purposes that we do not understand. But God promises to provide for us and for the world he has beautifully made.
Prayer
Provider God, you have assured us that you love us and are at work in our lives. Give us confidence to trust in you. Amen.
