sokin's devotional 62 - the mystery of suffering and friends
The Lord said to satan, "Very well, then, everything he has in in your hands, but on teh man himself do not lay a finger."
Job 1:12
The Lord said to satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."
Job 2:6
He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"
Job 2:10
When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.
Job 2:11-13
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Two thoughts, though they are intertwined with each other.
1. Sometimes, in our suffering, there doesn't seem to be a motive or method behind it. I feel that in most cases, when it comes to pain and hardships in our lives that shakes us to our very core, there isn't a very good answer to the "why?" question behind it.
We can say all the right things like, "God is in control." and "God is working for our good," but sometimes it just doesn't cut it on a heart level. We lost everything, and we feel a part of us is being torn into pieces, and in those moments, we feel so forsaken by God.
Job went through serious pains by this point in his story. He lost his sons and daughters, his possessions, and his own health - he had every reason to complain and turn from God and yet he never did.
Why? How is this even possible?
I, for one, can't even begin to fathom it but we can get a glimpse into Job's heart and mind. In fact, it seems as though he held onto those very "Christian-y" answers that seem trite and shallow - but in fact, Job didn't just say it to himself - he truly believed in it as if there was nothing else that he could hope in.
Sometimes for us, the greatest functional "god" in our lives is not God Himself. We serve other gods and we desire other gods to fulfill us. And so when hardships come, we try to fall back on the living God but we cannot connect that knowledge to our hearts because our hearts are pining and yearning for something/someone else. The throne of our hearts are already occupied by another god/gods.
But Job...he had his mind and heart on God. He knew of nothing and noone else to turn to.
He still was in pain and suffering which caused him to cry out in mercy and confusion, but not once did he turn his back from the Lord.
And we get a glimpse into the mind of God in suffering as well as we see that sometimes, God allows things to happen to us. And sometimes he may sting us badly. He may get to our possessions. And for some, he may get to our own physical health. But God knew what He was doing. Maybe we don't fully understand it, but I think the point of faith is that we don't need to always understand everything that happens in our lives. But we can place our hope in a God who Scriptures tell us IS working for our good.
2. If we read further into Job, we end up seeing that his friends weren't really good friends at all. They accused Job and figured he brought this upon himself.
But what I do commend and am inspired by is their initial reaction to their friend Job.
They see Job, their hearts break for him, and what do they do?
Do they start talking to him immediately? Do they start trying to clean him up?
No. They just stayed with him next to him for seven days and seven nights. Not a word was said.
We need friends like this. Friends that are able to stand by us, even in silence when things get tough. Although Job's friends almost lead him astray further in the book, from this initial response we can see that they had the right idea.
Job 1:12
The Lord said to satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."
Job 2:6
He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"
Job 2:10
When Job's three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.
Job 2:11-13
---
Two thoughts, though they are intertwined with each other.
1. Sometimes, in our suffering, there doesn't seem to be a motive or method behind it. I feel that in most cases, when it comes to pain and hardships in our lives that shakes us to our very core, there isn't a very good answer to the "why?" question behind it.
We can say all the right things like, "God is in control." and "God is working for our good," but sometimes it just doesn't cut it on a heart level. We lost everything, and we feel a part of us is being torn into pieces, and in those moments, we feel so forsaken by God.
Job went through serious pains by this point in his story. He lost his sons and daughters, his possessions, and his own health - he had every reason to complain and turn from God and yet he never did.
Why? How is this even possible?
I, for one, can't even begin to fathom it but we can get a glimpse into Job's heart and mind. In fact, it seems as though he held onto those very "Christian-y" answers that seem trite and shallow - but in fact, Job didn't just say it to himself - he truly believed in it as if there was nothing else that he could hope in.
Sometimes for us, the greatest functional "god" in our lives is not God Himself. We serve other gods and we desire other gods to fulfill us. And so when hardships come, we try to fall back on the living God but we cannot connect that knowledge to our hearts because our hearts are pining and yearning for something/someone else. The throne of our hearts are already occupied by another god/gods.
But Job...he had his mind and heart on God. He knew of nothing and noone else to turn to.
He still was in pain and suffering which caused him to cry out in mercy and confusion, but not once did he turn his back from the Lord.
And we get a glimpse into the mind of God in suffering as well as we see that sometimes, God allows things to happen to us. And sometimes he may sting us badly. He may get to our possessions. And for some, he may get to our own physical health. But God knew what He was doing. Maybe we don't fully understand it, but I think the point of faith is that we don't need to always understand everything that happens in our lives. But we can place our hope in a God who Scriptures tell us IS working for our good.
2. If we read further into Job, we end up seeing that his friends weren't really good friends at all. They accused Job and figured he brought this upon himself.
But what I do commend and am inspired by is their initial reaction to their friend Job.
They see Job, their hearts break for him, and what do they do?
Do they start talking to him immediately? Do they start trying to clean him up?
No. They just stayed with him next to him for seven days and seven nights. Not a word was said.
We need friends like this. Friends that are able to stand by us, even in silence when things get tough. Although Job's friends almost lead him astray further in the book, from this initial response we can see that they had the right idea.
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