Seeing God in Pain and Suffering

A young lady lies in a hospital room fighting for her life as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident, a 17 year old who was on my mission team to El Salvador last summer falls asleep at the wheel and is killed on impact when his car hits a tree, the 25 year old brother of one of Cori's friends falls asleep at the wheel yesterday and is killed when his car rolls. I have received all of this news within the last 3 days! Our hearts and minds wrestle to make sense of such tragedy. Young people living their lives for God and suddenly in His presence with no warning and no goodbyes. We search for answers to the why questions and yet none appear. I am convinced the true test of faith is how we respond when Heaven is silent. In my own struggle to answer this question I refer back to the only book in the Bible that is completely devoted to one man's quest to find the answer. Forty two chapters of Job are dedicated to his quest to make sense of the senseless. My study Bible says this about the book of Job, "In summary, the author's pastoral word to the godly sufferer is that his righteousness has such supreme value that God treasures it more than all. And the great adversary knows that if he is to thwart the purposes of God he must assail the righteousness of man. At stake in the suffering of the truly godly is the outcome of the struggle in heaven between the great adversary and God, with the all-encompassing divine purpose in the balance. Thus the suffering of the righteousness has a meaning and value commensurate with the titanic spiritual struggle of the ages."

Verse 22 of Chapter 1 says, "In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing." In chapter 2, verse 9, Job's wife was encouraging him to curse God and die to which Job responded, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this Job did not sin in what he said. Chapter 23, verse 10 says, "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold."

The lessons I have learned from Job concerning pain and suffering are the following:
1) God has an ultimate purpose in it. As the healing begins, look for God's redemptive work in your own life and in the lives of those around you.
2) We have a choice as how we are going to respond to what God allows into our life. We can curse God or trust Him. What comes from our lips will show the world the path we have chosen.
3) God allows the suffering into our lives. The Bible tells us He is a loving, compassionate and merciful God. If we do not feel He is, based on what our emotions tell us from our circumstances, this does not change His character. Our mind desperately wants to match what we feel with who we know God to be.
4) You will never see God as clearly as you do in suffering and pain. In chapter 42 Job says, "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you." My commentary says, "Job-and his three friends, and Elihu-had only heard of God, but now Job has seen God with the eyes of faith and spiritual understanding, He can therefore accept God's plan for his life-which includes suffering."

From my own cancer journey, and the suffering I have watched so many of my friends go through, I have come to the conclusion that God does not owe me answers to my why questions. Job has taught me to embrace suffering as well as blessings from God. He has also taught me to speak words of faith and not doubt in the midst of my trials. I do not want to malign God's character with my own mouth. Max Lucado wrote these words about the storms in our lives, "I owe no one anything," God declares in the crescendo of the wind. "Everything under the heaven is mine." Job couldn't argue. God owes no one anything. No explanations. No excuses. No help. God has not debt, no outstanding balance, no favors to return. God owes no man anything. Something tells me that Job would do it all again, if that's what it took to hear God's voice and stand in the Presence. For God gave Job more than Job ever dreamed. God gave Job himself."

I pray you will face your storms with a God saturated soul, trusting Him to calm the seas that rage around you. He will use your storm as a path to come to you. Let him draw near and whisper to your fears and doubts, "Peace, be still."