The Right Way to Suffer

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil…

All of us experience adversity at some time or another in our lives.  Some of us feel like we get more of our share than others.  Job’s story in the Bible is one of unbelievable adversity that comes raining down and how he handles it is a lesson for us all.

If you don’t know the story of Job, take the time to look up and read the book of Job sometime.  Basically, Satan wanted to show God that if you remove a man’s blessings he will renounce his faith. He asked for permission from God to attack Job, and attack him he did – with a vengeance…

Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants[c] with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” Job 1:13-19

Job was a very prosperous and enormously wealthy man. But through a series of tragedies over which he had no control, he lost not only his wealth and property, but also all of his sons and daughters and all of his livestock.  In the midst of all that tragedy he was stuck by a gruesome, terrible illness that left him sitting in a heap of ashes, wondering why all of it happened.

To make matters worse, Job had three misled friends who came by to offer him comfort.  They basically said that the reason this tragedy had come upon Job was that he had dishonored God and become the object of his wrath.  As he sits with sores all over his body and tears on his face for lost sons and daughters and property, he has to listen to three thoughtless, ignorant friends. That story will definitely make you feel like your problems are so bad after all.  Can you imagine, having gone through all that and then your friends telling you that it must be your fault?  It is bad enough that we blame ourselves sometimes, but usually our friends help get our thoughts straight instead of egging us on.  Friends are supposed to support us and lift us up and here were Job’s friends trampling on his already broken spirit.

Job’s faith never wavered in all of this calamity.  He never denounced God and even though his friends were saying horrible things about him, Job knew in his heart that it wasn’t true.  He had confidence in the person he was.  He had no shame or regrets about the way he had lived his life and he knew this adversity was not caused by his own actions. 

Although Job certainly did a better job of weathering this stormy part of his life than I would, he wasn’t perfect.  He did accuse God of not caring about Him and not being able to protect him.  I think most of us would do that at the very least.  The rest of this week we will walk with Job through this time of adversity and learn just how he came out on the other side.

Scripture to claim:
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.  Job 1:20-22