Job 1:1-22, Four Lessons From Job About Suffering

 

Frances Jane Crosby, born in 1820, is hailed as one of the most prolific hymnists of all time. Identified in our hymn books as Fanny Crosby, she penned over 8,000 hymns.

Classic hymns like Blessed Assurance, To God Be the Glory, All the Way My Savior Leads Me, and A Wonderful Savior is Jesus My Lord are still sung in our churches today. However, the joyful lyrics don’t reveal her life marked by suffering.

When Fanny was six weeks old, she was treated for a minor eye infection. But due to a doctor’s mistake, her corneas were damaged, and within weeks, she was blind for the rest of her life. When she was only a year old, her father died, forcing her mother to work long hours as a maid. Although she married and had a daughter, the baby died in infancy. Sadly, her marriage ended in separation.

Yet, despite her suffering and setbacks in life, Fanny Crosby maintained a positive attitude and, like the apostle Paul, viewed her challenges as a way to grow stronger and glorify God. She once said, “If I could meet that doctor now, I would say thank you. If I had not been made blind, I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God.”

Today’s passage also reveals a well-known Patriarch, Job, who suffered physically, emotionally, financially, and relationally. Most of our readers know his story.  If not, read chapter one. His story provides insight into the suffering of good people like Fanny Crosby, as well as our own suffering and that of our loved ones.  What can we learn?

1 Righteous people can suffer.

Job was a man of impeccable character. The Bible says he “was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” He was a loving husband and a faithful father who prayed for his children.

This is not a claim that Job was sinless. But he was spiritually mature. A man of integrity. One who revered and respected God. And who, according to the text,  was respected by God.

Our righteousness does not exempt us from pain, suffering, and life’s inequities, injustice, and unfairness

#2 Prosperity doesn’t protect us from pain.

Job was a rich man. He is described as one “of the greatest of all the people of the East.” Yet, his vast wealth didn’t guarantee a life of ease, free from adversity and heartache.

Incidentally, it’s worth noting that one can be wealthy and still be righteous. Possessions can be obtained without sacrificing our integrity or corrupting our character.

#3 Blame Satan, not God, for life’s problems.

There’s a lot we don’t know about Satan, as well as the problem of suffering. But we do know that it was the Devil who stripped Job of his wealth, inflicted him with physical pain, and took the lives of his children.

There’s no indication that Job realized his adversity was the result of the Devil’s devises. But we know it. And the New Testament affirms it. The apostle Paul refers to his “thorn in the flesh’ as a “messenger of Satan.”

God is the giver of good gifts (Jas. 1:17). He blesses us. And provides for us physically, materially, and spiritually. Yet, we live in a fallen world. Satan is real. And God will allow him to test us. Like job, we can choose not to sin. And not to foolishly blame God for our problems.

#4 When things go wrong, worship God.

In the face of tremendous emotional suffering, Job worshiped, prayed, and humbled himself before the Lord. Amazingly, he viewed his losses through a spiritual lens.

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Too often, when people experience adversity, they turn from God. They quit praying. Quit reading the Bible. Even quit attending worship services. Instead, this is the very time we need God’s guidance.

As the book unfolds, we will see Job’s struggle with the “why” questions of life. Job’s struggle to understand his suffering is still our struggle today. We endure, as he did, anguish of spirit, emotional despair, and mental agony. He failed to find comfort either from his wife or his three friends. You might argue that they became a pawn of Satan to “curse God and die.” Or to wallow in misery and self-pity because of a failure to be righteous.

Fortunately, Job sought a closer communion with God and ultimately came to see God’s love, concern, and wisdom even through his sorrow and pain. His quest is ours today. And may we suggest the answers won’t be found in watching Fox News. Or CNN either.  You will learn more by reading the book of Job and listening to one of Fanny Crosby’s hymns.

God’s book offers insight into God’s plan and purpose for humankind, even as we endure sorrow and suffering. C. S. Lewis expressed it this way, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

One day, suffering will cease. Problems will disappear. Pain will be eliminated. Wrongs will be righted. All tears will be wiped away. And life’s unfairness to turn into heaven’s glory.

May God hasten the day. Come, Lord Jesus.

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman