In the book of Job we are presented with the inscrutable mystery of why God would allow an innocent person to suffer. Job lost every penny of his immense wealth and all of his children died; AND—he was NEVER given an explanation from God. While the READER is given a look behind the scenes, Job is left in the dark. Even for those of us who are reading the Book of Job and know what’s going on behind the scenes, in our limited human wisdom, we may likely conclude that Job’s tragedy seems to be simply a cosmic bet between God and Satan.
But that view would reflect our very limited understanding of the Sovereignty of God.
We humans tend to impose human characteristics and motivations upon God, whom we cannot comprehend. To be fair, this is natural. We WANT to understand God. But God is bigger than our understanding. To define God and His motivations within our human framework, violates the very essence of Sovereignty. We are not His equal. Furthermore, He does not simply show love; rather, He IS love and—we are not. To even begin to understand the issue of suffering from God’s perspective, we must reach out to Him in a way that brings our thinking in line with His.
If you read the book of Job, it is evident that in Job’s heart—GOD was EVERYTHING to Him! In other words, God was sovereign in the heart and mind of Job. This is where we must begin if we want to more fully understand His perspective on pain. A mindset that continually acknowledges the sovereignty of God understands: I don’t have to KNOW all the answers, because I TRUST the ONE Who knows it all!
This is equally true for suffering.
Yet, we humans struggle with the age-old question: “How can a good God allow the innocent to suffer?” The fact is, while God gives us SOME of the answers in His Word, there are reasons that we, like Job, do not understand. Why not? Because we are NOT God. Like Eve, who disobeyed God and ate the fruit because she believed the lie that she would “be like God,” we think we can know as MUCH or MORE than God.
This is a mindset that DENIES the sovereignty of God.
Ah, my friend, but when we draw close to God, we are enlightened to His sovereignty and our desperate need for Him. Like Job, we begin to understand that God IS our everything!!! We then learn, we can trust His Word about some of the reasons He allows His children to walk in pain. For example:
- Because of sin: God caused Miriam to have leprosy when she spoke evil against Moses. (Numbers 12:10-12)
- For chastening: Parents who love their children will discipline them…God does too! (Hebrews 12:5–12)
- For strengthening: Time in the gym—sweating, straining and suffering—makes us stronger. This truth is equally powerful when applied to our spiritual growth. (2 Corinthians 12:7–10; 1 Peter 5:10)
- For an opportunity to experience the outer limits of God’s great comfort and grace. (2 Corinthians 1:3–7)
But then…there are sometimes when the suffering of God’s children is for a Heavenly purpose that we mere humans cannot discern. This conversation between Jesus and His disciples is on point:
“And His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.'”
John 9:2-3
This idea is difficult for us to digest unless we unequivocally trust in the sovereignty of God’s wisdom. Indeed, we won’t likely EVER comprehend it until we receive our glorified bodies. Job’s friends didn’t either. Instead, they analyzed his suffering and only found useless and wrong ideas for which God ultimately rebuked them in the end. (Job 42:7) They couldn’t know why Job suffered because what happened in Heaven between God and Satan was unknown to them.
The fact that they THOUGHT they knew all the answers only intensified their dilemma.
We, too, grapple with this dilemma. The fact is, there are matters going on with God that believers know nothing about. Even our best efforts to understand them are futile. There are difficult and horrible things that drastically affect our lives, and are related to the spiritual warfare we don’t fully understand. But…
If our purpose on earth is to glorify God, then our suffering can be an opportunity to fulfill our greatest purpose.
Let me give you an example. A person DESTINED for glory in the NFL did not just walk onto the field and get drafted. NO—he went through suffering and deprivation. Diet, exercise, sweat, blood, tears, and a lot of discipline went into the journey before he was able to step onto that Pro gridiron. Similarly, we were born with a purpose to glorify God. Jesus bought our destiny with His life. He paid dearly.
Do you think your own destiny is worth the same sacrifice?
Ah, now do you see? When we are presented with great adversity, it is a marvelous opportunity for us to commit our ordeal to God with a devout heart of worship and humility in deference to our Sovereign and perfectly wise Creator. There is no one who understands your purpose like the One Who created you. When we know God has secured our future and our purpose, we don’t need to know “why” about our pain.
God never revealed to Job the reason for his suffering; however Job’s reaction to his circumstances reflected a remarkable wisdom. He understood the difference between man’s wisdom and God‘s wisdom. While Job’s friends lacked the divine wisdom to interpret Job’s circumstances accurately; Job learned to be content in God‘s sovereignty and mercy. In Job Chapter 28, the character of divine wisdom is explained as: Rare and priceless; something men cannot hope to purchase; and—possessed ONLY by God. In our pain we can trust God’s purpose and allow our suffering to take a backseat to the matter of His divine wisdom.
When we are fully convinced of God’s sovereignty, we are primed for Him to bless us in ways beyond what we can imagine!
A final thought, which is likely the most comforting. God is not aloof from our suffering. Rather, He went through it so He could go through it with us. He planned from before the “foundation of the world,” to suffer to reconcile mankind to Himself. (Revelation 13:8) God knows what it is like to lose a child. God knows what it is like to be rejected by those He loves. He knows what it is like to suffer for a crime He did not commit. God knows the pain and separation of death. And…God knows…YOUR pain.
When you trust in the sovereignty of God, you will never suffer alone.
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2 Responses
Great article.
Glad you enjoyed it!