Introduction

This week, I’ve been reflecting on something unexpected—something that hit me hard while listening to the Bible Department podcast with Dr. Manny Arango as we finished our journey through the book of Job.

I’ve read Job before. Many times. And like most people, I always thought of it as the book about suffering—forty-two chapters of pain, confusion, loss, accusations, and frustration.

But this time, I saw something I had never really seen before.

Job is not ultimately a book about suffering.
It’s a book about God’s wildness.
His other-ness.
His untamable nature.
His absolute refusal to fit into the neat little boxes we want Him to live in.

It’s a book that reminds us of something we don’t like to admit:

God is God.
We are not.

And that’s really, really good news.

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The God We Want vs. The God Who Is

I wrote a little bit about this in last week’s post, but this week I’m going to expand on some ideas a bit.

If I’m honest, I often want a God I can manage.
A God who behaves.
A God who works on my schedule and follows my plans.

Basically, a cosmic genie in a bottle.

Rub the lamp with a few prayers.
Add some spiritual effort.
Do a few good deeds.
And—poof!—out pops the miracle I ordered.

But the God of Scripture—the God revealed in the book of Job—is not manageable.

He is not predictable.
He is not containable.
He is not programmable.

And—this is the part that humbles me—He does not owe me—or any of us—explanations.

Job learned this the hard way.

Job’s Cry for Answers

Job wanted what we all want: a reason.
Why, God?
Why this loss?
Why this pain?
Why now?

But true to my experiences, no answers came for quite some time. God, it appeared, was silent.

Until He wasn’t.

When God finally speaks in Job 38–41, He answers with… questions.
Dozens and dozens of questions.

Not because God is avoiding Job’s pain.
But because God is reframing Job’s perspective.

God essentially asks:

“Job, were you there when I laid the foundation of the earth?”
Job 38:4

“Have you ever given orders to the morning?”
Job 38:12

“Do you send the lightning bolts?”
Job 38:35

These aren’t dismissive questions—they’re grounding questions.
They remind Job (and us) that the One who crafted galaxies may operate on a scale we cannot possibly comprehend.

And Then Comes Leviathan

One moment in God’s speech stands out above the rest in my mind.

God asks Job to consider Leviathan—a fierce, untamable sea creature that represents chaos, danger, and the unknown.

“Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook?”
Job 41:1

“No one is fierce enough to rouse it.
Who then is able to stand against Me?”
Job 41:10

In other words:

“Job, if you can’t control the chaos I created…
how will you ever control Me?”

That passage shook me.

Because I try to control God all the time—through expectations, through timelines, through prayers that sound suspiciously like instructions.

But God is not Leviathan-sized.

He is bigger.

Wilder, more untamable.

Holier.

And far, far better.

Who Said Anything About Safe?

Although I tend to prefer using the Bible to support what I say in these blog posts, occasionally there’s another author who has done a masterful job unpacking the theme I’m addressing. This is one such case.

C.S. Lewis highlights this idea of a wild, untamable God perfectly in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe when the Pevensie children learn that Aslan—the Christ figure—is not a man, but a lion.

“Is he safe?” asked Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver.
“Course he isn’t safe.
But he’s good.
He’s the King, I tell you.”

That’s the God of Job.
Not safe.
Not tame.
Not controllable.

But undeniably good.

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When God Doesn’t Meet Our Expectations

Pulling in a thread from last week’s post, this changes everything about how we handle disappointment with God.

We pray for healing that doesn’t come.
We ask for provision that feels delayed.
We pray for clarity and get silence.
We plead for comfort and instead receive what feels like more waiting.

And in those moments, we’re tempted—deeply tempted—to believe God has failed us.

But Job shows us that God’s goodness isn’t proven by His compliance with our expectations.

His goodness is proven by:

• His character
• His wisdom
• His sovereignty
• His eternal perspective
• His presence with us in Life’s storms

Job never got an explanation.
But he got something better:
a revelation of who God really is.

And that was enough.

The Untamable Goodness of God

Here’s the truth that is slowly reshaping my faith:

If God were small enough to meet all my expectations…
He wouldn’t be big enough to save me.

If He only ever acted the way I wanted…
His plans would never exceed mine.

If He were predictable, programmable, and tame…
He wouldn’t be God.

And the wild, untamable God of Job is also the God who loves me enough to give me not what I want, but what I most deeply need.

Every time.
Every season.
Every chapter.

Even when it doesn’t feel like it.

Conclusion: Trusting the God We Cannot Control

You and I will never rope God like a calf.
We will never drag Him onto our timeline.
We will never bend Him into our expectations.

Praise God for that.

Because He is better—infinitely better—than anything we could design or demand.

He is not safe.
He is not tame.
He is not predictable.

But He is good.

And His goodness is not fragile or conditional or partial—it is perfect, eternal, and wild.

So when life feels chaotic…
When prayers seem unanswered…
When God feels distant or confusing…

Remember this:

Leviathan answers to Him.
The universe bows to Him.
And yet, He holds your life gently in His powerful hands.

Wild, untamable God.

And yet…

Good.

Always good.