Why all this Suffering?

“So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, ‘Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!'” (Job 2:7-9).
One message I get from the book of Job is: Do not give up on God because of suffering or bad experiences.”
Our age of “INSTANT” everything has caused us to lose the ability to wait. We expect to learn patience instantly, and in our hurry, we miss out on the real blessing of it.   What do we want now?- relief from pain is at the top of our list. We want an instant cure for everything from toothaches to heartbreaks.
When God finally spoke to Job, he didn’t offer Job an answer.  Instead, he drove home the point that it is better to KNOW GOD than to know answers(see also John 17:3).

Sometimes suffering is an attack by Satan on our lives.  Sometimes we do not know why the suffering but need to know, that the suffering may be shaping us for special service to others.
When hope is deferred, the psalmist says, the heart becomes sick. During these seasons, we can only do one thing. We must hang onto whatever faith we have to get through each day and entrust our lives to Him. (Hab 3:17-18).
When faith doesn’t see results it challenges what we believe. We must pray as Job prayed: “Teach me what I cannot see” (Job 34:32). God says there is a purpose in everything we go through(Ro. 8:28).  God is always bigger than Satan’s afflictions. See 1 John 4:4-We fight FROM Victory if we have Jesus!
Our greatest tests come when we cannot see positive results from our faith and obedience. In such cases we must die to our expectations and entrust them to our Lord.
But Job is an example for us of how we must break through our natural view of life so that we begin to see things in a different light. This book is here to teach us that God sometimes has to translate theology into painful experience before we really begin to grasp what He is trying to say to us.
Father, thank You that You have sent Your Son, who has endured more suffering than I. Grant me the strength to endure whatever You allow into my life, that I may bring Glory to You. Amen