By Elin Henderson
“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind…”
Job 38:1
Do you ever get the feeling that “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy!”? That life has been nothing short of a tornado or whirlwind that picked you up and transported you on this crazy adventure/crisis you weren’t ready for? You just want to click your ruby red stilettos together, say the magic words, and find yourself back in your safe and sound comfort zone!
God has a way of upending our little comfortable worlds at times with His whirlwinds. Maybe it’s a family crisis or a crisis at work. Maybe it’s your health that for so long was cruising along so beautifully, only to find out one day that everything isn’t alright in Kansas anymore! Sometimes these come in the form of little dust devils that just kind of shake us, while others of these crises thoroughly uproot us. When the dust settles, we aren’t even sure where we are…and sometimes even who we are. It seems that our life as it was, is now in a state of ruin and will never be the same again.
Yet, even in the midst of life’s whirlwinds, there is the still small voice of God that never leaves us nor forsakes us. Sometimes He takes away the whirlwind and sets us down nice and easy. Other times, He simply speaks in the MIDST of the whirlwind, when things are in chaos and everything we “know” is spinning around us out of control.
In the first 37 chapters of the book of Job, he’s endured quite the whirlwind and has been eating the dust of so-called friends who, instead of comforting him, were stirring up his already shaky world. But, I love how the narrative brings God on the scene. It could’ve just stated, “And God said to him…” but it reminds us that He answered out of the whirlwind!! And not once, but TWICE (Job 40:6). He was there with Job the whole time. He met Job in the midst of the craziness. He didn’t necessarily remove the craziness! It was from this answer that Job found the strength and hope to rebuild his shattered world.
So, the next time you find yourself spinning around in one of life’s whirlwinds, remember you’re not alone!! Listen carefully for the answer of the Lord in the midst of your crisis. He is there, ready to hold you until the storm is over and help you just as He did Job, to reconstruct your upside-down world.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Can you think of a time when you heard God’s voice in the midst of the whirlwind? How can that help you as you face future whirlwinds and/or help to encourage others who are in the midst of their own personal whirlwind? FURTHER READING:
Nahum 1:3; Isaiah 25:4Oakwood’s missionaries Elin Henderson and her husband Phil serve as church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa. Elin is mother to eleven-year-old Callie and eight-year-old Elias.
