Several years ago, while on a mission trip to Tanzania, our day off included a trip in the Serengeti National Park. At one point on the safari, the guide stopped at a waterhole where I was privileged to see some of the largest animals I’ve ever seen – including very large crocodiles. Visuals of the “Swamp People” trying to corral one of these behemoths, (“a beast beyond comparison”), danced in my mind … and right behind that vision the words of Job 41:1-2 seemed so appropriate.
Whether God’s questioning of Job here is sarcastic or casual or legitimate, without the proper tools or weapons, no one in their right mind would attempt to catch one of these monsters with a rope and hook … would they?
It would seem obvious that to compare what God can do and has done to what we can do or have tried, is foolish. God’s work done God’s way will produce God’s desired results. What circumstances in life do we think we can control or handle that are simply too big for us? How about the big three – finances, health, relationships? Difficulties in these areas can become “beasts beyond comparison.”
But wait. Look back at 40:15a. The one who made the behemoth – MADE YOU! There isn’t anything that he doesn’t know about you. There isn’t any circumstance of life that he doesn’t go through with you. In fact, he has made a covenant with you that will not be broken, (see 41:4). The behemoth cannot do that — only God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things can. We are not able to handle life’s stress without the tool of Almighty God gives us. Remember, 2 Corinthians 9:8. It does not matter what behemoth you might be facing — the power of God is beyond measure and he can corral the “beasts” that attempt to overwhelm us. Can you believe that today? Yes I can!
As big as the beast may be, God is bigger!
David Van Huisen, Panama City Beach, Fla.
