"It's not for you"

Halfway through the book of Job, 
     he is still lost, still without answers and still searching.
Chapter 23 verses 8 and 9 he speaks of his seeking  ...
     forward and backward, 
          to the right and to the left.
He searches without finding,
     and declares that God hides Himself.

I imagine him in this situation of frustration without answers,
feeling within himself the accusation of the enemy:
     "It's not for you"...
          not for you to see, 
               nor to hear, 
                    nor experience, 
                         the things you know to be true. 

In Jacob's life God dealt,
     throughout years of experience,
          in many times and places,
               until there was a final life changing encounter at the brook of Peniel.

But with Job the process of years was condensed in time and place.
Time was foreshortened, and in the earth shaking intensity of experience 
he found himself at the end of his resources.

His understanding collapsed but his faith held.
Two little phrases show his vision of God:
     "He knoweth" in verse 10
          and "He performeth: in verse 14.
God knows with whom He is working, 
     and God knows how to work with that one. 

There is a plan here -"He knoweth."
     And there is a fulfillment - "He performeth."
Our Unchangeable God always knows,
and His plans cannot be hindered in their fulfillment.

Job saw this and held on in his seeking,
     until at the end he saw,
          and entered a new place with God.

             Time moves on, but as one day gives place to another, 
let us hold fast to the Unchangeable God to find His purpose fulfilled in our lives.