Suffering

I’ve been reading through Job again and thinking a lot about the principals I could learn from this in-depth book on suffering. I think one of the major lessons is for those who offer easy answers for why we suffer.
Bildad, Eliphaz and Zophar came to visit Job and when they saw his plight they didn’t know what to say but then one by one suggested Job’s own sin to be the cause and that he should confess it to God. It’s true that sin can lead to heartache and pain and often wrong choices can bring much misery but have you ever noticed that some people seem to fly in the face of God and live pretty much easy lives while some God fearing person seems to live a life of heartache with more than their share of misery. Such was the case of Job, if there was ever an innocent and faithful person it was him.
How did he handle his misery? Well for one he didn’t listen to the advice of his silly so called friends but instead he went after God with fervency.
Now if you think that God gave Job a reason for his suffering then you have found something in the book that I can’t find. God give him something better than an answer, He gave him Hope.
I have concluded in my journey through Job again that we cannot question God’s justice and fairness, God is the standard of justice and whatever he does is fair-even if we don’t understand. Like Job we need to trust God and remain faithful to Him, knowing that He see’s the big picture. I learn therefore from this book that the worst thing you can do to someone in distress is to offer advice. The best thing you can do is to listen and encourage.