Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
“Who is this that obscures my plans
    with words without knowledge?
Brace yourself like a man;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.
Job 38:1-3 (NIV)

For some reason, I’ve always gotten the role of Master of Ceremonies (M.C.). It started in high school when I was asked to do the P.A. announcements over the school intercom each morning, then went on to be Master of Ceremonies M.C. at the Homecoming and other all-school assemblies, which led to being the P.A. announcer at athletic events. It never really stopped. Through college and to this day I regularly get asked to M.C. different events. The reality is that officiating a wedding or funeral is, in essence, being an M.C.. I enjoy doing it. As a result, I’ve learned a lot about doing this over the decades.

There is a protocol for traditional, formal events (even though traditions have waned a lot in my lifetime). One such protocol is that the most “important” person on the program always speaks last. It is a position of honor. The most important person gets the last word. Of course, that is dependent on the event planner’s definition of who is the most “important.”

I once had the opportunity to attend the President’s annual Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. back in the early 1990s. The guest speaker was Mother Theresa, but the place of honor as the final speaker of the event went to President Clinton. It was a rare, awkward moment in which I got to observe the Kingdom of God and an empire of this world collide. I’d never seen President Clinton like I observed him that morning. To this day, I believe that if you asked the former President he would agree that all honor that morning should have gone to the diminutive, soft-spoken nun from Calcutta. Every one in the room knew it. It was a living parable of Jesus’ teaching about where treasure and things of eternal “importance” reside.

In today’s chapter, we finally reach the place of honor in the Job Story. Job has spoken. His three friends Eli the elder, Bill, and Z have spoken. Eli the younger then did his know-it-all bit. A scattered thunderstorm now suddenly blows in and God speaks to Job from amidst the storm.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself contemplating this simple truth which is repeated throughout the Great Story. God always holds the place of honor. God always has the last Word. It happens in the Job story. Jesus taught it incessantly. John’s Revelation loudly proclaims it. As a disciple of Jesus, I believe it with my whole heart. God will have the final Word.

How then should I live, think, speak, and act this day?

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.