Bigger than Our Problems

Welcome to today's reading from the Our Daily Bread devotional.

Jennifer Benson Schulte wrote today's encouragement, and she titled it, Bigger Than Our Problems. What do you imagine dinosaurs looked like when they were alive? Big teeth?

Scaly skin? Long tails? Artist Karen Carr recreates these extinct creatures in large murals. One of her panoramas is over 20 feet tall and 60 feet long.

Because of its size, it required a crew of experts to install it in sections where it resides in the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. It would be hard to stand in front of this mural without feeling dwarfed by the dinosaurs. I get a similar sensation when I read God's description of the powerful animal called Behemoth in the book of Job. This big guy munched grass like an ox and had a tail the size of a tree trunk. His bones were like iron pipes.

He lumbered through the hills grazing, stopping occasionally to relax at the local swamp. When flood waters surged, Behemoth never raised an eyebrow. No one could tame this incredible creature except its maker. God reminded Job of this truth during a time when Job's problems had cast ominous shadows over his life. Grief, bewilderment, and frustration filled his field of vision until he began to question God. But God's response helped Job see the real size of things. God was bigger than all his issues and powerful enough to handle the problems that Job couldn't resolve on his own.

In the end, Job conceded, I know that you can do all things. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Job chapter 40 verses 15 through 24. Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you, and which feeds on grass like an ox. What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly. Its tail sways like a cedar. The sinews of its thighs are close-knit. Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron.

It ranks first among the works of God, yet its maker can approach it with his sword. The hills bring it their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby. Under the lotus plants it lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh. The lotuses conceal it in their shadow. The poplars by the streams surround it. A raging river does not alarm it. It is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth.

Can anyone capture it by the eyes or trap it and pierce its nose? Let's pray. Dear God, sometimes our problems seem like the behemoth in the book of Job.

They are far bigger than we're able to tame, and we feel helpless against them. In these moments, may we be reminded of Job's words in chapter 42 when he said, I know that you can do all things, no purpose of yours can be thwarted. When we're faced with these difficult circumstances, whether big or small, remind us that you are faithful and that we simply need to trust you with everything. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.