We all suffer. The question is how do we cope with that suffering? Do we have the capacity, framework and resources to suffer well? Is it possible to suffer well?
Psalm 126:5 says it is possible when it says:
Those who sow with tears, will reap with songs of joy.
The Psalmist is saying that whilst tears (suffering) are inevitable, there is a way of sowing them so that you reap joy. So yes, there is a way to suffer well. It may not be easy, it may push you to the limits (and beyond) but the Bible is clear throughout that we see suffering as discipline (Hebrews 12), refining (1 Peter 1), strengthening (Romans 5) and character building (James 1).
Why is this? When we go through suffering, our heart/faith will change, there is no way to remain the same. The only question is, will you change for good or bad? Will you become more beautiful or more bitter? As goes the famous adage, “the same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay”. Will suffering harden or soften your heart?
It seems that our culture, due to its expectation that life should ‘go my way’ and due to our over-arching desire (an idol in fact) for happiness and fulfilment, has less resources than previous generations and other cultures to handle suffering and to grow in suffering. Our worldview, our faith, our hearts and characters are too brittle to handle suffering well. Enter the book of Job!
Job stands alone in all of the Scriptures. It comes just before the Psalms in the Old Testament. It’s a long book. It’s possibly the oldest book we have and it’s all to do with suffering. One person has written a book on it called “How Does God Treat His Friends” as it is to do with one man’s struggle in immense suffering. Also, his struggle is not just with the suffering but with the God who is allowing (even bringing?) the suffering. Job constantly protests his innocence in the face of his friends who assume that the suffering must be the result of sin. Contrary to that though, at the end of the book, through a long, winding, often frustrating story, Job is vindicated and God is vindicated but most importantly Job has changed. He has come to know God more personally and wonderfully and to worship God as God, not just the idea of God as he had previously. Right at the end Job says (Job 42:5):
My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.
A general faith has turned into a personal faith, an intimate faith, a deep relationship. That is what suffering can do. When we suffer it will test:
- Our character (suffering reveals who we really are)
- Our belief in God (suffering gives us great intellectual challenges and doubts)
- Our obedience to Christ (we find out whether we’re following him for his sake or for the life we hope he’ll give us).
In fact, this last point is the whole premise to the book of Job and the devil’s challenge to God at the beginning (Job 1:9-10) goes:
“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.
The Devil is saying, the only reason Job loves you is because you have blessed him and life is easy. If you take that away…his allegiance, his love, his devotion, his worship and his heart will change. But what we’ll see is that through the suffering, Job’s heart is wrestled to the ground, his character is changed, his belief in God is strengthened and his obedience is more true and pure.
For six weeks we’re going to look at the book of Job to help us learn how to suffer. It’s too late to learn the lessons once the suffering is upon us; we need to be prepared so that when it comes we’ll suffer well, we’ll sow our tears and we’ll reap greater joy. We’re also (through the advice of Job’s friends) going to learn what not to do when helping others in suffering. This is a vital part of being a community who suffers together.
And of course, when we look at Job we remember he is a foreshadowing of the innocent sufferer, Jesus, who was abandoned by God, but through his suffering we can learn that (a) there is comfort – we are never alone in our suffering (b) there is meaning – God always has a purpose in our suffering and (c) there is hope – in the end there is not just consolation but restoration.
Here are the six sessions and how we’re going to divide the book up:
- 19th April: Living in a world of suffering (Job 1:1-2:10)
- 26th April: Weep with those who weep (Job 2:11-3:26)
- 10th May: Marks of true and false believers (Job 4-27)
- 17th May: Wrestling with the silence of God (Job 28-31)
- 24th May: Meeting God in the storm (Job 38:1-42:6)
- 31st May: Suffering and the new creation (Job 42:7-17)
Alongside the series we’ll have two companion books. The first one has been an immense personal blessing to Leanne and myself as we have thought through and gone through suffering. The second one is a brilliant look at suffering from four angles – sociological, philosophical, theological and pastoral.
- Out of the Storm, Grappling with God in the Book of Job (Christopher Ash)
- Walking with God through Pain and Suffering (Tim Keller)
Bible Study
Here’s a bible study and discussion to go along with the series. You may want to use it in your Life Group or City Group.