Suffering is one of the most profound and difficult questions in human existence. That is, until we read what the scriptures have to say about it. According to most people, suffering is something that is to be avoided. People see suffering as a kind of evil. It may be a natural evil which is not caused by human actions such as hurricanes, flood, and sometimes illnesses, or a moral evil where direct human actions are the cause. Either way, the expectation is that life should always be wonderful and that pain and suffering have no right to manifest themselves in our lives. When these things do happen, and if they come as a total surprise, then one is not prepared to face evil and suffering.
And that is what the book of Job helps us to do. One of it’s purposes is to teach Christians lessons which are both positive and negative about man’s relationship with God on the topic of suffering in the life of the righteous. One of the realities of this relationship is that man has limited knowledge about God’s divine purposes, one of which is suffering. It also informs us of the proper response of any man to the majesty of the Lord by resting in the character of God.
The book of Job shows us that men are weak, sinful, and at times ignorant of their sins. But we also see that, like Job, suffering may happen to anyone that is pure and upright. The book of Job records one of the most undeserved examples of suffering in the Scriptures. In this book, we find that it is not obvious at first why one would undergo such suffering and that God may allow suffering to happen for what would seem to be for no apparent reason. But as we read on, we find that Job was spiritually tested in his faith. He responded by trusting in God.
We find that there are a number of reasons why one may face trials and suffering and we can categorize these into four main points in which this often occurs. 1) We suffer because of the curse of sin from the Fall, 2) we suffer because of personal sin, 3) people may suffer because of God’s discipline for unrepentant sin, and 4) so that God may use suffering as the means of spiritual testing allowing us to grow in our faith in Him.
Suffering in the Christian life is actually the rule and not the exception. When Christ called us to follow Him, He disclosed two prerequisites. 1) That we deny ourselves and 2) take up our cross. The conversion of Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus was not a prayer that we find in many churches today, rather, God blinded him for days and then sent Ananias to inform him of how much he would suffer for the name of Christ. Beaten five times with thirty-nine stripes, three times with rods, stoned, shipwrecked three times, a night and a day floating at sea, and many more dangers including hunger and pain. Then we find here that Paul responded just as Job did. “I will glory in the things which concern my infirmities” (2 Cor. 11:30).
In the end, what we see in Job and Paul is that God does not abandon the upright suffering man, but rather, communicates with man at the appropriate time and shows man that God is creator and sustainer of all things. The result of this suffering is a faith in God that tells us all we really need to know.
Biblical Studies 