Why Did Job Suffer?

WHY DID JOB SUFFER?

“And the Lord said unto 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

Suffering. The very word is unsettling. We are deeply troubled when we hear of a child suffering from cancer. We are bothered when a dear friend faces a terminal disease. When suffering becomes personal, it brings great anguish and raw emotions. As humans, we yearn to live free from pain.

The Bible never sugar-coats the subject of suffering. From the Garden of Eden until the final pages of the book of Revelation, the Bible clearly shows us that pain is part of the human condition. Theologically, we know that pain and suffering are the results of Adam's sin in the garden. Adam's selfish act has brought sin, suffering and death upon all of humanity.

The book of Job deals with the subject of suffering unlike any other book in the Bible. Job's encounter with pain is graphically described in the book bearing his name. His suffering was acute and noteworthy.

This raises the question, why did Job suffer?

In Job's case, we catch a glimpse of something that Job was never allowed to know. In the opening chapter of the book of Job, we find God and the devil having a discussion. The devil admitted that he had been “... going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” Then God said, “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?” This began a series of trials that Job endured.

I hate to admit it. I feel like the late Ron Dunn who once said that if the Lord and the devil had such a conversation today, he hoped the Lord would leave his name out of it. Who wants to go through what Job went through? He received news that he lost his children. He lost his health. His friends turned on him. His wife was did not support him. His possessions were rather useless. Job was left to suffer all alone. I am not sure what was worse, the physical suffering he endured or the loss of the very relationships he needed most.

Behind the scenes, there was a spiritual battle going on. The devil felt like he could conquer one of God's great men. As Lester Roloff once said, the devil thought he could put more on Job than God's grace could sustain. It was a high stakes contest. Yet Job did not know this was going on. All that he knew was that his life had come apart.

So again, I pose the question, why did Job suffer?

First of all, Job suffered because the devil caused it. The devil caused Job's suffering. The evil, wicked foe attacked Job with fervor. As humans, we tend to underestimate the power of the devil. Even Christians can be guilty of this. The devil is the god of this world. Although he is on a leash, he still causes incredible pain and trouble in our world. That was the case for Job. Job's life instantly turned to misery. The devil was responsible for it.

Secondly, Job suffered because the Lord permitted it. No, the Lord did not cause Job's grief, but He allowed it. We can be tempted to think that our times of suffering occur outside of God's sovereignty. We can wrongly think that because our suffering came as a surprise to us, it must have caught God off guard, too. Nothing is further from the truth. God is sovereign. He knows all things. He is in control. It may seem unthinkable that God would permit pain and suffering, but He does. Since we are living in a sin-cursed world, we should expect suffering. God temporarily permits suffering in this world. One day, He will put a stop to it.

Third, Job's suffering brought personal and spiritual growth to him. Like Job, most of our growth comes through painful experiences. The final chapters of Job record a long message that God personally delivers to Job. As a result, Job humbly worshiped God. I am sure that Job learned much from his experience. Job 42:12-13 says, “... the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. He had also seven sons and three daughters.” Job's story had a happy ending.

It seems like the most saintly Christians endure the most affliction. When we see a devoted Christian suffer and die, we are tempted to think that their story didn't have a happy ending like Job's. But that is not true. You see, when a born-again believer dies, the worst is behind them and the best has just begun. In heaven, the devil won't be troubling us. Suffering will never come. We won't endure pain. Death will be a thing of the past. We will enjoy the best that God has to offer. We'll enjoy His presence forever. Our story has a happy future ahead. We will be happy forever.

That's what I'm looking forward to. What about you?