What We Glean About Suffering From Job

AN APPLICATION

What We Glean About Suffering From JOB

The first thing I thought of when I woke up on the pavement after I “totaled” my motorcycle was, “Why did this happen?” My rider was barely scratched, but I ended up with 100 stitches on my leg. Could the Lord be dealing with me? The accident occurred with perfect timing. One second later, we would have smashed broadside into a van that hadn’t seen us coming, doubtless killing us both. One second earlier, we would have escaped without a scratch.

Looking back years later, I could answer the question, “Why, Lord?” My mother did not want me to have a motorcycle, but I got one anyway. I should have listened to Ephesians 6:2: “Obey your parents in the Lord ... Honor thy father and mother ... that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” Before the accident I sailed along thinking I was the “King of the Road.” So, looking back, I knew I needed to be humbled and corrected, and God saw to it in a way for which I am thankful (Heb. 12:5).

But more often we can’t answer the question, “Why?” Others, like Job’s three friends, seem to have all the answers, but none of them are relevant to our situation. And all too often people put the blame on the one who is suffering. Job would not accept his friends’ reasoning that his suffering was caused by some sin he had committed. If you can’t answer your own question of “Why?” – like I eventually could – then you may never get it answered in this life. Does that help you in your suffering? No! But hopefully this article may.

The Patience Of Job
In the New Testament we are reminded of the patience of Job: “Ye have heard of the patience of Job” (Jas. 5:11 KJV). But when we read the book of Job he doesn’t sound very patient, especially with his three friends. If he was not patient with his companions, then with whom? The obvious answer is with God. Let’s look at some of his statements toward God while he was suffering unimaginable loss.

Suddenly and without warning, Job, the greatest man in the entire East, lost everything: 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 oxen, 500 donkeys, many servants, and his ten beloved children. What was Job’s response to God? He fell to the ground in worship, saying, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). He didn’t blame God. Instead he responded as Paul urges us to respond: “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Th. 5:18).

Eventually Job lost his health, then the companionship and encouragement of his wife, who counseled him to give up, curse God for his trouble, and die. Not very patient, loving and supportive, was she? Job’s response to his low condition and the lower condition of his wife was, “‘Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 2:10). Should we not be thankful for the bad as well as the good in our lives? That’s hard, but unlike us, Job was a giant of a saint. No wonder God asked Satan, “Hast thou considered My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” (Job 1:8). And to prove it, God let him suffer immeasurably, but Job did not blame or reject God in any way.

Job’s Three Friends
Job’s three friends came on the scene to mourn with him and to comfort him. It was a noble action, but devoid of empathy. Their long-winded pursuit of justice used arguments of many kinds, and they repeatedly accused Job of some sin to blame him for his trouble. How often do we want to see concrete reasons for suffering, when there really are none that can be discovered in our sphere of reference. These three friends of Job spoke truth about many things, some of which are repeated in the New Testament (Job 4:8 with Gal. 6:7; Job 5:15 with Heb. 12:5), but they used “truth” to condemn Job for no reason.

Great Gain In Suffering
Job’s gain in all his suffering was the same gain anyone of us can have in suffering: the significant loss of pride. Job said to the Lord: “I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth Thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6). Knowing God is the solution to our suffering; it is a salve to our eyes that helps us see Him. The greatest Old Testament saint, Moses, and the greatest New Testament saint, Paul, both desired the same thing of God: “That I may know Thee” (Ex. 33:13, Phil. 3:10).

Should it be any different for us, no matter how much we suffer? Through knowledge of Him comes knowing His mind – the mind of humility and acceptance – for who suffered more than the Lord Jesus Christ? Paul wrote with regard to Christ-like humility: “Let this mind be in you” (Phil. 2:5). The Lord Jesus Christ humbled Himself and took all suffering patiently – everything that man dealt out, everything that Satan dealt out, everything that God dealt out.

There was no answer given to Job for his sufferings, but it did not matter because he developed a deeper understanding of God Himself. God made no mistakes where His Son was concerned or where Job was concerned. And He’s not making any mistakes with us either.

By Tom Steere