Updated: A version of this post was published on May 13, 2020, under the title How to Be Victorious over Suffering.
When I hear people say the book of Job is their favorite book of the Bible, I will admit it gives me pause. A book about a man who loses everything, including his children, all in one day and then is physically attacked by illness and disease would not be my first choice as a favorite book of the Bible. And yet, there are so many lessons to be learned from Job.
Nothing I have gone through in my life compares to what Job faced, and I hope and pray that won’t change. But we all face suffering in our lives. It takes different forms for different people, but we will all experience it.
As Christians, how do we navigate suffering? Job’s friends did it wrong. They believed only one thing could be true about God: He punishes wickedness. As a result, they couldn’t help Job navigate his suffering because his suffering was based on his sin.
Job, himself, teaches us how to navigate our hardships as Christians. He demonstrates how to suffer yet still trust, how to remain faithful when we don’t understand what God is doing, how to lean in to God rather than pull away from Him when our hearts or bodies are broken. Are you intrigued? Let’s look at Job 23:8-14.
8 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there,
and backward, but I do not perceive him;
9 on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him;
he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.
10 But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.
11 My foot has held fast to his steps;
I have kept his way and have not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.
13 But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back?
What he desires, that he does.
14 For he will complete what he appoints for me,
and many such things are in his mind.
(ESV)
Seek God in Your Suffering
In verses 8 through 10, we learn that even in his suffering, Job was searching for God. This is a sign of a true child of God. He didn’t allow his suffering to cloud his knowledge; instead, he allowed his knowledge to test his feelings. In spite of Job feeling like God had abandoned him, he clung to the confidence that God knew where he was and was still sovereign.
Job also recognized that God was somehow working through his suffering. While he couldn’t see what God was doing and nothing that was happening made sense to him, Job understood that God can work through our pain, not only in our own lives, but also in the lives of those around us. A we read the rest of the book of Job, we find that God used Job’s suffering to touch Job’s entire community.
Job was determined not to disappoint God. He believed that when this season of his life was over, he would “come out as gold.” God was using his circumstances to refine him, and he was convinced he would succeed. What an incredible testimony to believers who are in a hard and painful season!
Know Him through His Word
How could Job be so confident that God would show up, he would survive, and he would actually be better on the other side of this situation? Verse 11 gives us some insight. Job could cling to this confidence because he knew God. He had prepared ahead of time for this struggle by spending time with God and getting to know Him.
Job was certain he had not sinned in a way that would cause this suffering. He knew what God expected of him, and he lived by those guidelines. He understood that, yes, suffering can be a result of sin, but that wasn’t what was happening. The only way he could know these things was because he had a personal, intimate relationship with God.
While it is never too late to turn to God and His Word, we are better served if we prepare ahead of time, building a foundation that will sustain us in hard times.
Obey God in spite of Your Feelings
Not only did Job know God, but he applied what he knew. He obeyed. He put into action the things he learned about what pleased God.
Verse 12 shows us that Job was invested in doing what God wanted him to do. And if we look back at the beginning of the book, we find that Job would frequently offer sacrifices to God on behalf of his children just in case they had sinned and weren’t repentant. He was dedicated in his service to the Lord.
It wasn’t enough to know God, Job understood he had to obey God, too. That meant obeying God even in the midst of his suffering.
Trust Him When You Don’t Understand
In verses 13 and 14, we see that somehow, in all of his suffering, Job trusted that what was happening was part of the plan God had for completing what He had appointed. Job understood that we cannot make God do anything through manipulation or blackmail. He will fulfill His purpose. This is the hardest step, and it depends on the other three steps.
This is good news because it means we can trust Him to accomplish his will no matter what. Our actions don’t thwart His plans, our suffering isn’t because someone else messed things up, our pain serves a purpose. And in all of it, we can give glory to God!
If we wait until the crisis hits to seek after God, we will not have the foundation we need to withstand the storm. What do you need to do to start seeking Him today? Do you need to make time in your schedule to spend time in the Word? Do you need to apply what you know to do? Or do you need to trust Him instead of relying on your feelings in your current situation?
If you are currently in a season of suffering or mourning, or you know someone who is, I have written a short e-book about mourning in a godly way. When I was struggling through the many facets of grief (some still ongoing), I had more questions than answers. God graciously took me through the book of Ruth during that time, which taught me some lessons about mourning, not as those who have no hope, but full of hope and peace.
To learn more about the e-book, Good Grief: Wisdom for Godly Mourning from the Book of Ruth, click the button below.
If you would like to learn more about how to study the Bible, I invite you to download my FREE Bible study workbook, 6 Steps to Study the Bible on Your Own, at the button below.
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