4 things Job taught me about suffering

The suffering we see in the book of Job isn’t slight. While Job was a righteous man, God allowed Satan to bring him suffering, and at the beginning of the book, Job lost almost all of his cattle, servants, and sheep in one day.

I would be sad, confused, and maybe a bit resentful if that happened to me. And of course, Job was sad and confused about why it seemed like he was being punished when he had done nothing wrong, but he managed to praise God in the midst of his sorrow.

It’s when his friends came into the picture that things got even worse for Job.

Job’s friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, held the opinion that Job was suffering because he had sinned. While Job was human and did sin, there wasn’t a specific sin that brought his suffering. He insisted that he was innocent and that he hadn’t brought about his suffering by sinning, but his friends didn’t believe him.

Job longed to speak with God so he could prove that he didn’t deserve the suffering that came to him. His friends thought Job was being stubborn and denying that he really messed up. However, there is one man who heard the conversation and had a biblically-sound opinion to pitch in: a man named Elihu.

Elihu truthfully told Job that he had no right to an audience with God--Job was not God’s equal. Job had acted like God didn’t know he was innocent, while in reality, God knows everything. Job didn’t need to prove himself to God because there was nothing he could tell God that He didn’t already know. After Elihu told Job these things, he praised God, exemplifying the God-centered and biblically-grounded focus we should have.

Then, the Lord spoke and answered Job. God proclaimed His own greatness and rebuked Job. Job repented, and his fortunes were restored. The suffering was over. But it taught both the people experiencing it and readers of it valuable lessons.

Here are 4 things I learned from the book of Job:

1. Suffering isn’t always deserved.

In Job 1:1, it says that Job was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” Job was righteous.

That didn’t stop God from allowing Satan to bring suffering to Job, though. In Job 1:8-12, Satan bet God that Job would turn away from Him if his possessions were taken away. So God gave Satan permission to take away all that Job had, as long as he doesn’t physically harm Job. Later, God gave Satan permission to harm Job, as long as he didn’t kill him.

First, I want to point out one thing: God had to give Satan permission to bring suffering to Job. Satan has no power on his own, but all suffering that we experience is permitted by God.

Notice that God never said, “Go ahead and punish Job--he’s deserves it because of the way he’s acting.” Instead, God allowed Satan to try to prove his point, knowing that Job would not turn away from his faith.

Job didn’t deserve his suffering. But God let it happen.

2. People will criticize you for your suffering.

Job’s friends were convinced that Job was suffering because of his own sin. While Romans 3:23 does say that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, Job was a righteous man and didn’t commit any specific sin that brought about his suffering.

Still, Job’s friends insisted that Job had done something wrong, and they told him he needed to repent and turn from his ways for his circumstances to get better.

Job’s friends criticized Job because of his suffering. But their reason for criticism and their advice wasn’t true--the Bible never said that everyone who suffers deserves it. Job did right in focusing on God’s character instead of his friends’ counsel.

There may come a time when we are condemned of wrongdoing that we are not guilty of. We should humbly defend our position while focusing on God’s character and words, and not the counsel of those who condemn us.

3. God lets us suffer for a reason.

In John 9 when Jesus’ disciples asked him why a man was born blind, Jesus said it was so that the glory of God could be shown in him.

“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:1-3).

God lets us suffer so His works can be displayed in us. When I look back at the hard seasons of my life, I see that I grew from the trial, and that God was faithful throughout it.

God’s works are displayed in the way I grow from my trials. They also have the possibility to be displayed in the attitude I have throughout suffering. We should suffer gracefully and humbly, showing joy in our trials as James 1:2-3 says.

Your suffering serves a purpose, though you might not see it at the time.

4. We should focus on God’s greatness in the midst of trials.

At the beginning of his suffering, Job remembered to praise God. He lamented and weeped, but didn’t forget God’s greatness and kindness in the midst of it. The book contains many examples of praise in the midst of suffering. Though Job’s life was ruined, he didn’t forget God’s character.

Elihu, when he rebuked Job, also praised God and focused on His greatness. Even Job’s friends, in their wrong rebuking of Job, praised God! This book shows the true importance of praising God, even in the midst of suffering, because God is worthy of praise.

If you are going through a period of suffering or have just emerged from a season of trial, how have you seen God work through your suffering? Did you grow because of the trial?