Was preparing for CG bible study this past Friday on Colossians 1:24-25, and the topic of suffering came up. I typed out some notes on what we can learn about suffering from the book of Job, and thought I'd share it here too.

There's both the physical and emotional aspect of suffering; and I would think the most common view people (both Christians and non-Christians) hold on suffering is that it's a result of sin (principle #3).

I personally experienced this in my life when I walked into a drain and broke a bone on my left foot, last May. That was one week into my fasting at that time, so I was alert to the possible spiritual implications surrounding my disability (yes, I was on crutches for 3 months). One evening, my mom said grace over dinner and in her prayer, she asked God to reveal the sin in me that led to this incident and the gross inconvenience of it all.

I was just stunned. And very hurt. What followed, was more fasting and crying out to God, to reveal if there was indeed sin in my life that caused my disabilitiy even though I didn't think that was the case.

I wouldn't say my physical suffering at that time was for the sake of the church, but God was indeed doing some deep work in me through the physical pain and inconvenience. I also experienced a suffering that goes beyond the pain. Hard to believe, since the pain was enough to unleash my tearducts for the night. But I did feel condemned. Judged. Misunderstood. For the journey that God was bringing me through and the spiritual significance of my crippled state.

But God did answer me. He said I was clean, through a vision that my fellow MG mate had when we were all praying. And so I'm thankful.

May God meet you in your suffering, and may His joy be overflowing in your life!

What Job Teaches about Suffering
The problem of pain and the book of Job
By Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford from the New Student Bible

“But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction.” Job 36:15

“Why me?” Almost everyone asks this question when terrible suffering strikes. An automobile accident, a diagnosis of cancer, a long-term disease like arthritis – each of these raises intense questions about why God allows pain.

Over the centuries, suffering Christians have gained help and comfort from studying the book of Job. The book gives no compact theory of why good people suffer. Nevertheless, the following insights into the problem of suffering do come out of the book of Job.

Principles from Job

1. Some suffering is caused by Satan. Chapters 1 and 2 make the important distinction that God did not cause Job’s problems. He allowed them, but Satan actually caused the pain.

2. God is all-powerful and good. Nowhere does the book of Job suggest that God lacks power or goodness. Some people say that God is weak and powerless to prevent human suffering. Others, called deists, assume he runs the world at a distance, without personal involvement. But in Job, God’s power is never questioned; only his fairness. And in his final summation speech, God used splendid illustrations from nature to prove his power.

3. Suffering doesn’t always come as a result of sin. The Bible supports the general principle that “a man reaps what he sows,” even in this life (Gal 6:7; see Psalms 1:3; 37:25). But other people have no right to apply that general principle to a particular person. Job’s friends tried with all their persuasive power. However, when God rendered the final verdict, he said simply, “You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” (42:7). The OT includes other examples of people who suffered through no fault of their own, such as Abel (Gen 4) and Uriah (2 Sam 11). And Jesus spoke out against the notion that suffering implies sin (see John 9:1-5 and Luke 13:1-5).

4. God will reward and punish fairly in a final judgement after death. Job’s friends, along with most OT folk, did not have a clearly formed belief in an afterlife. Therefore, they expected that God’s fairness – his approval or disapproval of people – had to be shown in this life. Other parts of the Bible teach that God will reward and punish fairly after death.

5. God does not condemn doubt and despair. God did not condemn Job’s anguished responses, only his ignorance. Job did not take his pain meekly; he cried out in anguish to God. His strong remarks scandalized his friends (see, for e.g., 15:1-16), but not God. Ironically, despite his bitter speeches, Job earned God’s praise, while his pious friends were soundly rebuked.

6. No one person has all the facts about suffering. Neither Job nor his friends had enough facts. Job concluded God was unfair, treating him like an enemy. His friends maintained that God opposed Job because of his sin. All of them later learned they had been viewing the situation from a very limited perspective, blind to the real struggle being waged in heaven.

7. God is never totally silent. Elihu made that point convincingly, reminding Job of dreams, visions, past blessings, even the daily works of God in nature (Chapter 33). God also appealed to nature as giving evidence of his wisdom and power. Although he may seem silent, some evidence of him can be found. One contemporary author expressed that truth this way, “Remember in the darkness what you have learned in the light.”

8. Well-intentioned advice can sometimes do more harm than good. Job’s friends were classic examples of people who let their pride and sense of being right interfere with their compassion. They repeated pious phrases and argued theology with Job. His response: “If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom” (13:5)

9. God asks for faith. God refocused the central issue from the cause of Job’s suffering to his response. Mysteriously, God never gave an explanation for the problem of suffering. He did not even inform Job of the reason behind it: the contest recorded in chapters 1 and 2. He concentrated instead on Job’s response. The real issue at stake was Job’s faith – whether he would continue to trust God even when everything went wrong.

10. Suffering can be used for a higher good. In Job’s case, God used a time of very great pain to win an important, even cosmic, victory over Satan. Looking backward, but only looking backward, we can see the “advantage” Job gained by continuing to trust God. Job is often cited as an OT picture of Jesus Christ, who lived a perfectly innocent life but endured great pain and death. The terrible event of Christ’s death was also transformed into a great victory.

Thousands of years later, Job’s questions have not gone away. People who suffer still find themselves borrowing Job’s own words as they cry out against God’s seeming lack of concern. But Job affirms that God is not deaf to our cries and is in control of this world no matter how it looks. God did not answer all Job’s questions, but his very appearance caused Job’s doubts to melt away. Job learned that God cared about him and that God rules the world. It was enough.