Reconciliation and Suffering
Then Job answered the Lord:
“I know that you can do all things
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me that I did not know.
‘Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you declare to me.’
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”
Job 42:1-6 (NRSVUE)
We believe, we know, we trust that Jesus is God, and He came to earth as a man, and He died so that we might be reconciled with God, and He rose again, conquering death. The most incredible news ever is that through Christ Jesus we are reconciled with God, we have His life and light and love, forever. This is glorious!
Given this glorious truth, why is life still so hard? If God is really in control and sovereign, and we are truly redeemed by Him, adopted as His heirs in Christ Jesus, why do we continue to suffer and struggle through life on earth?
Why does God allow good people to suffer? I have been asked the question increasingly recently. The growing frequency of the question suggests people are suffering more, or perhaps more people are suffering, or perhaps it’s something else, but the question is timeless. It might be tempting to focus on the word “good” and begin answering with Jesus’ clarification that only God is good (see Mark 10:18), that all humans are sinful (see Romans 3:23), and apart from Christ Jesus we each deserve God’s wrath (see Ephesians 2:3), but that may not be helpful. God’s holy word explains that before gaining faith in Christ Jesus we were each “children of wrath” (id), and it might fit our notions of justice that suffering is appropriate for people bearing that designation, but now that we are in Christ, why do we continue to suffer? Perhaps the question is really, “why is God allowing me to suffer?”
We know the good news of Christ Jesus, we know the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us the moment we believe, we know we are forgiven and reconciled with God, but how does all that relate to my suffering?
The question forces us to consider other aspects of our worldview, such as our views of punishment and reward, and what is the purpose of this gift of life we each have, if only for a moment? If we see life as all about experiencing pleasure, our conclusions will be different from those who believe the purpose of life is glorifying God. And if we glorify God through intimate relationship with Him and by focusing on Him and seeking Him and serving Him and allowing His light to shine through us out in the world, what positions us for those things to happen?
Perhaps some degree of suffering, trouble, time in the wilderness, draws us closer to God, whereas a consistent flow of pleasure causes us to exalt ourselves. Paul writes that through Christ we have been freed from slavery to personal desires, passions and sin, and made alive in Him to pursue righteousness (see Romans 6:6-7 and 18). If I step back and consider my personal experience, I have sought God much more through suffering than through pleasure. We humans tend to forget God and lift ourselves up while life is going smoothly, then cry out to God when we need help. Suffering is possibly a tool God uses to draw us closer to Him and His holiness, and away from selfish desires.
These thoughts filled my mind as I once again read the Book of Job. While the tragedies Job faces are shocking, the poetic presentation of the text is beautiful, and the debates are interesting, what intrigues me the most about the book is God’s monologue beginning in chapter 38 and Job’s response in chapter 42. Through suffering Job encounters God, and through the encounter Job is transformed. In the beginning Job did everything by the book. He tried to please God by doing the right things and God considered him to be righteous, but through suffering Job encountered God in an entirely new way. He experienced God intimately. He saw God and he changed.
God took a man whom He declared righteous and drew the man closer to Him through the man’s suffering. Please pause to let that sink in. The goal is intimate relationship. This fosters the desire to connect and serve through genuine love, not obligation.
Viewed from an eternal perspective, where this life is but a momentary flash and our choices here determine our eternity, given the choice, would momentary suffering leading to deeper connection with God be worth the trade off? Why wouldn’t we exchange everything we possess for deeper connection with God?
We each carry the weight of burdens and everyone we encounter is carrying some heavy load we cannot see. Even the Godliest people suffer, and at times it appears as if some who have never entered a church or thought about God prosper. Our notions of justice lead us to believe that good people should be rewarded and bad people should be punished, but what is good and bad, and what if temporary suffering leads to eternal rewards? If suffering here on earth leads to eternal rewards, would the suffering be worth it?
Job saw wicked people prosper and he asked God “why?” (see Job 21:7). The psalmist was jealous of the wicked people who prospered until God pricked his heart, and God revealed He was guiding the psalmist to a better life (see Psalm 73). What is better than prosperity and pleasure in this brief life? Relationship with God through Christ Jesus is the gift of God’s holy grace with eternal significance.
Paul writes a great deal about suffering and God’s design for it, particularly in 2 Corinthians. Early in the letter he writes, “we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself” (2 Corinthians 1:8), and he explains that God allowed their suffering so they would rely on God rather than themselves.
Later Paul discusses the counterintuitive reality that the light, life and power of Christ Jesus dwells within us. The holy, almighty, sovereign One dwells within our frail bodies that are regularly attacked by affliction, and Paul says this is by design. He writes, “we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Six chapters later he lists his imprisonments, floggings, beatings, shipwrecks, and other brushes with death (see 2 Corinthians 11:23-33), all because he desires to spread the gospel of Christ Jesus as accurately and as far as he possibly can.
If our worldview tells us God always rewards the righteous and punishes evildoers, we might question Paul’s relationship with God; however, we see evidence of his righteousness. Paul was truly God’s apostle, anointed by God to spread the good news, filled with the Holy Spirit, so why did God allow him to suffer so? We see a hints of answers. First, Paul says suffering helps us to rely on God rather than ourselves, and later Paul describes a “thorn … in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me” that God allowed Paul to keep so he would stay humble (see 2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
God employees in His glorious service the frail, the broken, the humble, the folks who rely on Him, and God allowed Paul to suffer to keep him from getting a big head, to keep him employable in God’s service. Through Paul’s example we see that suffering may help draw us closer to God, and we see this to be true for righteous people as well as not so righteous people.
How does Paul’s experience relate to Job? Job’s name is synonymous with suffering, yet the book bearing his name begins with a declaration of his righteousness (see Job 1:1). He had a regular practice of getting up early and offering burnt offerings to God just in case his children sinned (see Job 1:5). Even God declares Job’s righteousness (see Job 1:8), but in a single day Job loses his wealth, his livelihood, his possession, and all his children. And shortly after that, Job loses his health – he was suddenly covered from the soles of his feet to the top of his head with the same sort of boils that was one of the plagues of Egypt (see Job 2:7 and Exodus 9:9-11). It was so bad, Job’s wife urged him to “Curse God and die” (Job 2:9). Why would God allow a righteous person, a person who tried to do the things God asked him to do, to suffer so?
Through it all, through Job’s self-focused lament, through all the debates with his friends in which Job insists he is innocent and his friends insist he must have sinned, otherwise he would not be suffering, and through the agony of his suffering, Job suddenly encounters God and is transformed. He sees and hears God, and God presents His sovereignty through amazing images and surprisingly sarcastic rhetorical questions. He begins asking,
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements – surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning starts sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?” Job 38:4-7
Time and time again in the first 37 chapters, Job questions God’s justice asking why God allows him, an innocent man, to suffer the way he suffered. Job focuses on his own situation, his own suffering, and his view of his innocence. When God appears, He does not answer questions regarding divine justice. He presents His sovereignty, the grandeur of creation, the awesomeness of the sea, the mountains, light and darkness, snow and rain, and the intricate balance of wildlife. He created it all, He knows the intimate details of it all, and He is in control.
Through it all, Job encounters God, and through his encounter, he realizes he is nothing compared to God. When Isaiah encountered God, he cried out, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5). Isaiah knew he was too sinful to be in the holy One’s presence. Similarly, Job’s cry shifts from focusing on himself, his perception of innocence, his suffering and his questions regarding divine justice, to realizing how unworthy he is to be in God’s holy presence. Job says,
“I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:5-6
In the beginning of it all, Job was righteous. God described him as blameless and upright. He did all the right actions. He presented himself as righteous before God and everyone around him. He had intellectual knowledge of God and he wanted to act appropriately toward God, but through suffering, he gained eyes to see God. He encountered God and he knew he was nothing in comparison. Through suffering he saw God and his life was changed. He gained intimate knowledge of God.
Through Paul we see suffering lead to humility and reliance on God. Through Job we see suffering lead to life changing encounter with God. What is your experience? Rather than viewing suffering as exclusively the result of God’s punishment, we need to open ourselves to the possibility it is an avenue for spiritual growth with eternal consequences. Because if we move from intellectual knowledge of God to intimate relationship with Him, we will have that forever.
May God enlighten the eyes of your spirit continually, Amen.