"How Could A Good God... " Understanding Pain and Loss Through A Study of Ecclesiastes and Job

Building a theology of pain and loss through a
study of Ecclesiastes and Job.
Written by Kristi Stephens
www.krististephens.com
http://www.KristiStephens.com 2011
T aÉàx Éy \ÇàÜÉwâvà|ÉÇ
Hello!
I’m thrilled that you’re interested in studying God’s Word

with me! Before you jump into this study, allow me to
introduce myself and explain what this study is about.
I am a full time wife and mom who loves to teach God’s

Word through our local church and through blogging. These
studies spring from my training in the Bible department at
Cedarville University, alongside my own study of the Scriptures and time teaching Bible
studies based on the Old Testament books.
This particular study is close to my heart as it grew out of a time of deep struggle in my
own life. I don’t take lightly that many who read this will be wrestling on a deep level
with understanding how God could allow suffering of various kinds into their lives. Your
pain is real. Your questions are real. God is big enough to handle them both.
May God bless you and speak to your heart through His Word as you dig in!
-^Ü|áà|
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and
built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with
thankfulness.
Colossians 2:6-7
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Table of Contents
How could a good God… ...................................................................................................................... 4
God is good, but life is still hard .......................................................................................................... 5
Paradise Lost ......................................................................................................................................... 6
He weeps with us ................................................................................................................................... 7
When life isn’t fair ................................................................................................................................ 9
Caught between two worlds ............................................................................................................... 12
Enjoying life in a broken world ......................................................................................................... 14
Tough questions, and an age-old lie................................................................................................... 16
Does Job fear God for nothing? ......................................................................................................... 18
Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble? ........................................................................... 20
God is big enough to trust .................................................................................................................. 22
Sitting in the dust together ................................................................................................................. 24
When our God is too small ................................................................................................................. 25
"God has wronged me!" ..................................................................................................................... 27
Dragging God to Court ....................................................................................................................... 29
Cross-examining the witness .............................................................................................................. 30
God is God, and we are not ................................................................................................................ 33
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How could a good God…

The older I get and the more life I experience, the more I understand that
we are all wounded people. Wounded by life, wounded by the
consequences of our own sinful choices, wounded by others, wounded by
evil.
Some wounds are more debilitating than others. Some have been healed
and leave only scars behind. Some are still raw and open, oozing under
layers of protective bandages we hope others won’t see. But we all have
them.
Abandonment
Abuse
Abortion
Addictions
Death
Disease
Divorce Image from wikipedia.org 1
Hate
Injury
Injustice
Mental illness
Miscarriage
Natural disasters
Neglect
Rejection…
Many others could be added to the list.
At some point as we journey through this broken world, we must wrestle seriously and intentionally to
answer the age-old question, “how could a good God allow this?” Whether we wrestle with it because
we ourselves need an answer to this question, or whether we wrestle with it because the wounded around
us are asking, it is imperative that we consider it.
I am convinced that our God is not only good, but that His Word contains satisfying answers to this
question that will allow us to trust Him, praise Him, serve Him through the storms of life that will surely
come.
In coming weeks we will be devoting a lot of time to working through two books in Scripture that are
essential to constructing a theological perspective on pain, loss, evil – wounds of all kinds. We will first
listen to Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrestle with the vanity of life in Ecclesiastes. Then
we will move on and sit with Job in the ashes of his life.
Bring your wounds – our God is big enough, His grace is deep enough, His Word is rich enough.
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God is good, but life is still hard

Yesterday I introduced a topic that we’ll be looking at for a while together – how do we construct a
theological framework which helps us to make sense of pain and loss? This is no easy task. I surely am
not thinking that we are going to settle this in everyone’s minds forever – but I do believe that as we
open the Word of God with an open heart, we get a glimpse of the bigger picture.
To begin our dig into Scripture, let’s crack open the book of Ecclesiastes together. Often avoided, this
book has become one of my favorites. I can’t wait to look at it with you!
Back when I was a tenth grader at a Christian school, we often liked to joke with our geometry teacher
(who was also our Bible teacher) and write Ecclesiastes 1:2 on our test papers.
“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.

“Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
Doesn’t that verse just fill you with hope? :)
I think that much of the confusion regarding the book of Ecclesiastes stems from the way the NIV has
translated this word. “Meaningless” is really a very insufficient term. The KJV, NKJV, ESV, and NASB
(maybe others – I haven’t checked them all!) all translate this term as vanity – “Vanity of vanities, all is
vanity.”
This begs the question – what is vanity?
John MacArthur summarizes that there are three basic ways that the term “vanity” is used in the book of
Ecclesiastes. It refers to:
• Transience – the vapor-like nature of life
• Futility – focuses on the cursed condition of the earth and its effects on our lives
• Incomprehensibility – life’s unanswerable questions and the mystery of God’s purposes
In other words: vanity refers to futility, frustration, limitation, and ultimately death which every person
experiences as a result of living in a sin-cursed world.
Right there, I want to yell this out with Solomon. He wrestled with pain and loss and death and
frustration just like we do. I think he was angry about death – it wasn’t supposed to be this way, and it
stinks! I think he was frustrated by the brokenness of living life as sinful people in a cursed world, where
righteousness and wickedness did not always seem to be getting appropriate consequences. And I think
he, like the rest of us, recognized that there is much which is simply incomprehensible – God’s ways are
not our ways.
Solomon’s book echoes the thought of my heart recently – life is hard. God is good, but life is still hard.
Hard, but not meaningless.
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Paradise Lost
In our last post, we started looking at Solomon’s
lament in the book of Ecclesiastes – “vanity of
vanities! All is vanity!” We defined vanity as
referring to futility, frustration, limitation, and
ultimately death which every person experiences
as a result of living in a sin-cursed world.
In order to continue on through Ecclesiastes, as well

as to continue to flesh out our understanding of pain
and loss, we need to go way back to Genesis 3 and
look at exactly what this “sin-cursed world” is
suffering from.
When Adam and Eve made that universe-

Image from wikipedia.org 2
altering choice to rebel against God, they were
consumed with shame (Gen. 3:7-8), they
spiritually died and were separated from God (3:8-10), and their relationship with one another was
broken by sin and blame (3:11-13). The effects of the physical curse mirror the spiritual rebellion and
death that have already occurred – they died spiritually, now they will die physically. They rebelled
against God, now their “domains” will rebel against them – the earth and the creatures in it will rebel
against their rule, work will be frustrating and difficult, the woman will rebel against the man’s
headship, her children will cause her pain and difficulty.
The curse is like a mirror reflecting the spiritual reality that we cannot see. When my garden is overrun
with weeds and pests, it is a physical picture of my own deep-rooted sinfulness that must be constantly
subdued or it will take a choke-hold in my heart. When my children rebel and back-talk, they act out for
me my own rebellion against God. When my body gets sick, when I am surrounded by struggles with
death and decay, I am faced with the harsh reality that something has gone terribly, terribly wrong. He
has placed eternity in our hearts (Ecc. 3:11), so when physical life is cut short we know that something
just isn’t right.
You see, there’s a reason that death and suffering doesn’t sit well with us. We weren’t made for this. It
wasn’t supposed to be this way. Paradise has been lost.
Solomon, just like us, wrestles with many things in the book of Ecclesiastes. He shares with us the deep
angst in his soul over death, sin and injustice, and lack of satisfaction and purpose in life. Ecclesiastes is
an unflinchingly honest cry from the heart – one that I appreciate and resonate with more and more the
more life I see.
Tomorrow we’ll start looking at Solomon’s specific “complaints” about this life under the sun. In the
meantime, let’s get real: life is hard.
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He weeps with us
Of all the things we face in our broken world, nothing
haunts us like death. No doubt, funerals for children and
friends in their prime are devastatingly difficult. But there
is no good time for death. Solomon’s struggle with the
issue of death is one we all can relate to.
In Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 Solomon starts out his book with

the lament – vanity of vanities! All is vanity!
[Remember our definition of vanity: futility, frustration,

limitation, and ultimately death which every person
experiences as a result of living in a sin-cursed world.]
He then points out that generations of people come and

go, but the earth remains forever. The sun keeps on rising,
the wind keeps on blowing, the water keeps on flowing…
and yet humanity dies and is forgotten.
There is something so awful about driving from a funeral

home to a cemetery, watching regular traffic and business
continuing around you. Don’t they know what happened?
Why is life just carrying on? If it’s raining at the cemetery
it is miserable, but somehow if it’s sunny and beautiful Photo from freefoto.com 1
that doesn’t feel right, either.
There is a reason that doesn’t feel right to us: the physical creation around us is temporal – it was not
intended to last forever. However, humanity was created immortal! We were supposed to outlive this
earth, not the other way around! Solomon’s observation of the sun and wind and water cycle continuing
on through their existence while mankind lives and dies and is forgotten is a tough one to swallow.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. And the thing is, there’s nothing we can do to change it!
In Ecclesiastes 2:12-23, Solomon points out that both the wise man and the fool will meet the same
earthly fate – death awaits them both. The wise man might show much greater fruit of his labors and
wise living, but he must leave it behind to someone else who might very well be foolish.
Cheery line of thinking, isn’t it?
There’s no getting around it: death is awful. Awful, awful, awful.
Consider the story of Lazarus dying and being raised from the dead by Jesus. This account in John 11 is
moving to me, because it gives us a small glimpse of God’s feelings about our sufferings with the reality
of death.
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In verse 4 we see that Jesus purposely waited long enough for Lazarus to die before going to him. He
knew that He would go and raise Him from the dead. The text carefully points out that Lazarus’ sister
was Mary, the one who anointed his feet and wiped them with her hair. We are told specifically in verse
5, “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.” But He let him die.
Once Jesus was approaching their village, Mary meets Him on the way and falls at His feet weeping.
She says, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” The next verse is so moving to
me – “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was
deeply moved in spirit and troubled.” (33) Then we are told succinctly in verse 35 that “Jesus wept.”
Let that sink in. Jesus knew that Lazarus would be alive again in just a few minutes. Why was He
weeping? He was troubled when He saw Mary and others who loved Lazarus mourning.
Death is the most haunting part of the curse – it feels unnatural because it is. The fact that Jesus weeps
with His friends in this passage is so profound. He knows the end of the story – that not only will
Lazarus be resurrected at the second coming, but that he would be alive and reunited with his family
within the hour. And yet He wept. Separation and loss through death is horrible, and Jesus knows – He
weeps with us.
This story is also the location of a familiar couple of verses – “I am the resurrection and the life. He
who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”
(John 11:25-26) Jesus’ resurrection changed everything – He was the firstborn from the dead, the
promise of our resurrection yet to come. (Colossians 1:18)
As Barbara Mouser states so well, God is redeeming His creation in the order in which it fell. When we
rebelled, we died spiritually. The curse and all of its yuckiness reflects that spiritual death and decay in
the physical realm. God has redeemed us spiritually, and one day, He will redeem His physical creation,
as well. Right now we are caught in the middle.
So, even while we mourn death and disease in this life, it is a different kind of mourning from those who
have no hope. Our separation, our loss, our struggle with death is temporary. One day, all will be made
new. One day, death will be a distant memory. One day, there will no longer be any curse. (Revelation
21:3-5, 22:3)
We as believers in Jesus have tremendous hope. But death still hurts. It looms around us and steals away
those we love. Even while we celebrate the hope that is in us, we must guard against calloused and pat
answers which gloss over the real pain we all face.
Even Jesus weeps with us.
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When life isn’t fair

I admit it: I like predictable movies.
I like feeling confident from the first flicker of the screen to

when the last credit rolls by that the good guy will be
victorious, the bad guy will get caught, the right guy will win
the girl, and everyone will be alive and well and live happily
ever after. I feel tremendously betrayed when a movie does
not go the way I want it to go.
Photo from freefoto.com 2 A few years ago we borrowed the movie “Ladder 49” from
some friends of ours. This isn’t my typical choice of a movie,
but my husband wanted to see it and our friends said it was great.
I HATED IT! {spoiler alert: if you’ve been dying to see this movie but haven’t gotten around to it since
2004, I’m going to tell you what happens. You might want to skip ahead.}
A firefighter gets trapped in a horrible, raging fire while his fellow firefighters try desperately to save
him. Throughout the movie, we are shown flashbacks of his life, family, wife and kids… I fully
expected him to get out alive. (I mean, what kind of wretched movie would this be if he died after all of
that??) But he didn’t get out! I have to say – I felt angry. Why did the filmmakers purposely make me
get all emotionally attached to this character and his family members, and then kill him in a cruel way?
That is not a fun movie experience for me – that is torture!
In our broken, cursed, and sin-filled world, life is tremendously unfair. We are wounded by the
unexpected twists in the “script” of life in a much deeper way than after watching a movie. The dreadful
reality of the good guy dying while the bad guy prospers can feel overwhelming. Solomon laments sin
and injustice in Ecclesiastes in a way that seems quite appropriate for our world today.
Then I looked again at all the acts of oppression which were being done under the sun. And behold I
saw the tears of the oppressed and that they had no one to comfort them.
Ecclesiastes 4:1
There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which goes forth from the ruler- folly is set in
many exalted places while rich men sit in humble places.
Ecclesiastes 10:5-6
There is futility which is done on the earth, that is, there are righteous men to whom it happens
according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand, there are evil men to whom it happens
according to the deeds of the righteous. I say that this too is futility.
Ecclesiastes 8:14
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Life doesn’t always turn out the way we think it should. The helpless are oppressed by the strong. Fools
are exalted while the truly wise are disregarded. The righteous seem to suffer while the wicked seem to
prosper.
How are we to understand the goodness and justness of God in this messed up world?
Back in Genesis 2, we find that God created mankind in His image and gave them the responsibility of
ruling the earth under His authority. He gave Adam and Eve real responsibility, real power to influence
the world. At the fall, we rebelled against His authority and, in Barbara Mouser’s words, became pirates
flying our rebel flag and taking over the “ship” that was rightfully His. We were no longer loyal subjects
– we were flying our own flag.
Even though mankind rebelled, God did not strip them of free will, responsibility, or power. In most
instances, God does not directly intervene to stop us from hurting, oppressing, and abusing one another.
He has given us the power and ability to choose to act for good or for evil, to benefit others or to destroy
them.
One day that will change. One day God will break His silence. One day righteousness will receive true
reward and wickedness will receive unfathomable judgment. We still have responsibility for our actions
before God – nothing will be forgotten or overlooked.
I have been studying the book of Revelation during my quiet times. I was struck by this passage in John
MacArthur’s commentary this morning -
“All the pain, sorrow, suffering, and evil in the world cause the godly to long for God to intervene.
A day is coming when He will break His silence, a day when all the purposes of God concerning
men and the world will be consummated. At that time, the Lord Jesus Christ will return and
establish His earthly kingdom. He will rule righteously, with ‘a rod of iron’ (Ps. 2:9), and ‘the
earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea’ (Isa. 11:9). All the
atheists, agnostics, and scoffers who mocked the thought that Christ would return (2 Pet 3:3-4) will
be silenced. The millennia of sin, lies, murders, thefts, wars, and the persecution and martyrdom of
God’s people will be over… The ravages of sin – broken hearts, broken relationships, broken
marriages, broken families, broken dreams, broken people – will be healed. Sorrow, sadness,
mourning, and pain will vanish like the morning mists before the noonday sun (Rev. 7:17; 21:4).”
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! Take back what is rightfully yours! What about in the meantime?
Yesterday the sermon at our church was about the life of Joseph, and our pastor mentioned one of the
aspects of this story that I love so very much. Even though Joseph is hated and betrayed by his brothers,
sold into slavery, imprisoned under false accusations, and forgotten… the text insists that the Lord was
with him.
• The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.
Genesis 39:2
• When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in
everything he did…Genesis 39:3
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• the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the
prison warden. Genesis 39:21
• The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with
Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. Genesis 39:23
Nothing has escaped God’s notice. One day all will be made right. And in the meantime, we can rest in
the fact that if we are His, God is with us. He is not a cruel filmmaker delighting in unexpected and
painful plot twists which cause us angst. He is the hero – the one who truly will win in the end. In this
story, the good WILL triumph – eventually.
Lord, teach us to rest in Your justice.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
Romans 8:31
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Caught between two worlds

In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon takes us through
an honest appraisal of his own attempts to create
meaning in this world wracked with futility under the
curse.
• First he tackles the problem of life in this

world by trying to increase his wisdom
(which was already great) in Ecclesiastes 1:12-
18.
His conclusion – “What is crooked cannot be

straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted… I Photo from freefoto.com 3
realized that this also is striving after wind. Because in
much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.” (1:15, 17b-
18)
Attempt one: fail. In fact, increased wisdom brought more pain.
• Next he tries to ignore the futility by immersing himself in pleasure in Ecclesiastes 2:1-11.
His conclusion – “…behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the
sun.” (2:11)
Attempt two: fail.
• He continues to attempt to escape the futility of life in a sin-cursed world and create
meaning.
He attempts to use work, power, wealth, and self-righteousness – all yield the same result:
“This too is futility.“
Our world is irreparably (from our perspective) broken. No matter how wise we are, no matter how
many pleasures we pursue, no matter how hard we work, no matter how powerful we are, no matter how
wealthy we become, no matter how self-righteous we may be… we are still sinful people stuck in a
sinful and broken world.
We cannot create lasting meaning in this life apart from Him.
Praise the Lord, through Christ’s redemptive work on our behalf we can find meaning!
But you know what? Even as a follower of Jesus, life is still immensely difficult and frustrating. People I
love get sick and die. Sin and injustice surround me and at times threaten to overwhelm me. My sinful
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human nature fights against my redeemed spirit, and like Paul, I find that the good I want to do I do not
do, and what I do not want to do, I do!
We are caught between two worlds.
Those of us who follow Christ have been redeemed spiritually, but the physical world is still broken and
groaning under the curse. [See Romans 8:22-23]
God is redeeming His creation in the order in which it fell.
Remember, spiritual rebellion in the garden happened first and the physical curse mirrored it. As
redeemed believers in Jesus, we are redeemed humans living in a world that is still cursed and broken.
Our best efforts, our best living, making all the right choices – nothing will change the fact that our
world is still broken. Life is often unfair. Death still looms. But there is hope.
God WILL redeem the rest of His creation – in His time.
When struggling with the realities of life in a broken world, nothing soothes my heart like remembering
the end of the story! Take a minute to read Revelation 21:1-6 and 22:1-5.
Revelation 21:3-4
“Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His
people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and
there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first
things have passed away.”
Revelation 22:3-4
There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-
servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.
One day, all this broken futility will be washed away. One day, death will no longer loom about us.
Pain will be a distant memory. Our work will be productive, meaningful, and fulfilling. We will see
Him, we will serve Him, life will be restored to what should have been. One day we will no longer be
caught between two worlds.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus. And until that day…
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
Psalm 63:1-4
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Enjoying life in a broken world

Our world is truly, dreadfully broken. While I think
that it is imperative that we be honest and take a
sincere look at the brokenness and pain that surround
us, God doesn’t intend for us to be walking around like
spiritual Eeyores!
One of the many things I love about Ecclesiastes is

that Solomon deals honestly and openly with the
broken state of our world, and yet he urges his readers
to enjoy the good life God has given us. Throughout
the book, there are some repeating phrases that you
Photo from freefoto.com 4 should notice. He often will say, “then I looked/ then I
turned my thoughts…” and he will notice all the yuck
of life under the curse in a sin-filled world. He doesn’t hide from it, he doesn’t deny it, he doesn’t
pretend like everything is A-ok. But then he will shift and say, “there is nothing better…” and will
admonish his readers to enjoy the small graces of life that God surrounds us with.
If you are approaching Thanksgiving with a heavy heart, consider these beautiful gifts of God’s grace
that Solomon wisely instructs us to be grateful for:
• There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good.
This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God. For who can eat and who can have
enjoyment without Him? (Ecc. 2:24-25)
• I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime;
moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor–it is the gift of God.
(Ecc. 3:12-13)
• Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them
falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another
to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm
alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is
not quickly torn apart. (Ecc. 4:9-12)
• Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s
labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him;
for this is his reward. Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth,
He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor;
this is the gift of God. For he will not often consider the years of his life, because God keeps him
occupied with the gladness of his heart. (Ecc. 5:18-20)
I don’t know what your life circumstances are right now. I don’t know if you’re dealing with
unemployment, death of loved ones, chronic and debilitating illness, persecution, or deep wounds from
sin and injustice committed against you or those you love. Life is hard. You don’t have to pretend that
it’s not.
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However, true gratitude is not limited to when life is easy and beautiful and good. True gratitude comes
from a deep-seated trust in God as sovereign, loving, and good – even when we don’t understand how
our life is unfolding. That deep trust in His goodness allows us to recognize the good gifts that He places
around us each and every day and respond to Him with thankful hearts.
• I am thankful for God’s lavish and unnecessary gifts to us that make life so sweet. I am thankful that
we can smell the pungent odor of burning firewood, the sweet aroma of cranberries cooking on the
stove, the smells of fall that surround us. I am thankful that we can taste – why did God make food so
enjoyable to us? He made food much more than a functional to keep us alive – He made it full of smell,
taste, color, texture… and gave us the senses to take it in. I am thankful that fall leaves turn a gorgeous
array of colors instead of instantly turning brown and falling off the trees. God is extravagant with His
good gifts – even in a fallen and broken world.
• I am thankful that God has given me meaningful work to do in my life. I am thankful that we have so
many toys and clothes and so much food that it is difficult to keep everything orderly and organized. I
am thankful that there are so many good avenues to minister inside and outside of my home that it is
difficult to keep my priorities straight. I am thankful that my husband has work to do that challenges and
engages him, even when it is stressful and draining.
• I am thankful to be married to my best friend. I am thankful that although we are walking through a
valley, we are walking through it together. I am thankful for friends who listen to me and laugh with me
and cry with me. I am thankful for a church family that I love and who loves us in return. I am thankful
that we are far from alone. I am thankful that even when I feel alone and feel that no one understands,
that God sees. God understands. He has not abandoned us – ever.
• I am thankful for the many little things that God fills my life with that I enjoy. I am thankful for hot
coffee in the morning, and that even though our coffee pot is broken that I can make it with boiling
water. :) I am thankful for a warm and cozy bed. I am thankful for my children’s happy chatter, even
when I feel like my ears are tired of listening!! I am thankful for a beautiful and safe home that I can
make warm and welcoming for those I love. I am thankful for the endless opportunities to sew, cook,
craft, and produce beauty around me. I am thankful that I can read, that I own many copies of God’s
Word that I am free to study and teach from, that I can write and that some are even kind enough to read
what I have written. :)
Life is hard. God is good.
True gratitude is not based on the denial of the difficulties of life. True gratitude will wither away if I
choose to morosely look only at those difficulties. True gratitude comes from honestly acknowledging
the reality of our broken world, while finding in the midst of pain that God is good and His small graces
surround us each day.
What are you grateful for today?
Give thanks to Him and praise His name – for the Lord is good and His love endures forever. His
faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:4-5
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Tough questions, and an age-old lie

Ready for today’s question?
Is it wrong to serve God and live righteously because it benefits

us?
This is an important question to consider, as our knee-jerk reaction

to suffering often boils down to, “why me, God? I’ve faithfully
_______ [fill in the blank with list of righteous acts.]” We accuse
God of not being fair, as though an easy life insulated from
suffering is our just due for all that we have given to God.
From the fall of man, Satan has used the same lie over and over
again – God is withholding something good from you. God doesn’t
have your best in mind. God isn’t fair.
Now, what makes this question trickier is that often following God
does benefit us. Now, I’m not talking about benefiting us from an
eternal perspective – obviously knowing God has untold benefits
from eternity in heaven to daily peace.
Image from wikipedia.org 3
What I’m talking about is just ease of life. Fearing God and living
wisely makes life easier in many ways. Solomon speaks of this fact in Ecclesiastes.
• Wisdom helps us live with purpose, recognizing the brevity of life (Ecclesiastes 7:1-5)
• Wisdom balances and preserves (Ecclesiastes 7:10-12)
• Living wisely helps us avoid self-inflicted suffering and negative consequences (Ecclesiastes
10:8-10)
• Wise choices and investing wisely helps us deal with life’s uncertainties and unexpected set-
backs (Ecclesiastes 11:1-6)
These truths are easy to see, even in our modern day.
• Most believers in Jesus that I know live with a much greater and clearer sense of purpose in their lives
than the unbelievers around me. Decisions are more clear, their worth is obvious to them. Life is easier
to handle because they understand the bigger picture.
• Followers of Christ who have avoided self-destructive behaviors like promiscuous sex, drug and
alcohol use, and breaking laws of all kinds tend to have an easier go of things… they’re not dealing with
unplanned pregnancies, guilt and baggage from past sexual relationships, addictions and the health
problems that go with them, jail time… even speeding tickets. Life typically is easier when we live
wisely and avoid self-inflicted pain.
16
Obviously these are just a few of the myriad of examples that we could cite for how wise living makes
life easier. It’s common sense. That’s really what wisdom is – it’s common sense!
Here’s the rub…
Sometimes, the people who follow God with all their hearts, who obey their authorities, who make the
wisest of decisions… sometimes these people suffer immense pain in this world. Here are some cases
that I personally have known of:
• The Christian couple who were virgins on their wedding day and long for a child deals with numerous
miscarriages, infertility, or the agony of the death of their young child.
• Godly people who have been excellent stewards of their bodies and made wise decisions suffer and die
of lung cancers that are extremely rare outside of life-long smokers.
• A hard-working godly man who loves his family and does everything he can to wisely support them
financially loses his health from accident or debilitating disease, and the resulting loss of income and
mounting medical bills on top of his ailing health becomes more than the family can bear.
And our hearts cry out… God, this isn’t fair!
To be continued tomorrow, when we will look more closely at the life of suffering, righteous man by the
name of Job.
17
Does Job fear God for nothing?

Last Wednesday I posed the question, “is it wrong
to serve God because it benefits us?” We looked at
the fact that while living wisely and righteously
often benefits us and makes our lives easier and
free of self-inflicted pain, having a warped
perspective on this causes us to jump to the
conclusion that God isn’t being fair. [I said we
would continue it "tomorrow," which apparently
actually means "sometime next week." Sorry if I
left you hanging.] :)
So, today we are going to turn our attention to the

Image from freefoto.com 4 story of Job. Job seems to be one of those books
that we are all somewhat familiar with, but
sometimes miss the point. I hope you join us in coming posts as we continue our way through the book.
Today, I’d like us to observe what we know about Job from the beginning of this great book.
This man was rich – rich in material and nonmaterial blessings. Truly, he was living ‘the good life.’
• Job 1:2-3 – “Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. His possessions also were 7,000
sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and
that man was the greatest of all the men of the east.”
His spiritual resume looks pretty fantastic, too…
• Job 1:1 – “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless,
upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.”
• Job 1:4-5 – “His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they
would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When the days of feasting
had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the
morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said,
“Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.”
• Job 1:8 – ‘The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one
like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from
evil.”‘
Satan’s reply to God’s glowing report about Job is chilling to me -
Then Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing? “Have You not made a hedge about
him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his
possessions have increased in the land.
18
“But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.”
Job 1:9-11
Satan’s retort boils down to: Job is only faithful to You because You have blessed him. Take away the
blessing, and he’ll curse You just like I did.
In other words – he’s only serving You because it’s good for him.
We’ll continue this tomorrow…
19
Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?

In the last post we paraphrased Satan’s accusations against Job:
“Job is only faithful to You because You have blessed him. Take
away the blessing, and he’ll curse You just like I did.”
Chilling accusations.
Do you ever wonder that about yourself? Do you hear gut-

wrenching stories of pain and loss from other people and wonder if
you would stay faithful to the Lord?
I know I have wondered that about myself. So today, let’s take a closer look at Job’s story.
In chapter one we find Job losing everything in one day. Everything.
His 500 yoke of oxen, 500 donkeys, and every servant with them except one.
His 7,000 sheep and every servant with them except one.
His 3,000 camels and every servant with them except one.
…and every one of his seven sons and three daughters.
And then notice Job 1:20-22 -
At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head.
Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.”
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
He fell to the ground in worship! That gives me chills!
Not only that, but in the next chapter when we find Job being afflicted with physical suffering the vast
majority of us could never even come close to comprehending, notice his words and the statement about
him in 2:10 -
“…Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
20
Now, one reminder here – the Bible is not about people. The Bible is about God – He is the hero every
time. Even faithful Job falters, which we will discuss in coming posts. However, his response here
should give us food for thought.
What was it that allowed Job to respond this way? To lose everything he held dear and fall on the
ground in worship? For the honest cry of his heart to be “may the name of the Lord be praised?”
To be continued…
21
God is big enough to trust

Yesterday we closed with this question:
What was it that allowed Job to respond this way? To lose everything he held dear and fall on the
ground in worship? For the honest cry of his heart to be “may the name of the Lord be praised?”
One of the things I have ended up discussing frequently with friends in recent months is keeping a
proper balance in our view of God.
Sometimes we meditate only on God’s love – we content ourselves with a very “fluffy” and shallow
view of God; a view of God that expects Him to do whatever it takes to keep us happy and comfortable.
We are shocked and sometimes even angry when He allows pain and difficulty into our lives – and we
resort to that “how could a good and loving God do this to me?” question.
Sometimes we emphasize God’s sovereignty and holiness and overlook His love. We develop almost a
fatalistic view of our relationship with Him – expecting Him to make us suffer and bring every
imaginable difficulty into our lives. Rather than living in joy and freedom, feeling secure in His love
and grace, we cower before Him and wait for the giant shoe in the sky to fall on us.
Both of these extremes are wrong – both simplify God’s incredible nature and make Him too small.
There must be a balance. We must keep both views of God in tension in order to land on Truth.
Keeping both sides of God’s nature in view makes our God big enough to handle our questions – big
enough to handle our suffering. Big enough to trust.
When I have walked with God and am unshakably confident in both His love and grace as well as in His
sovereignty and holiness, I can face the difficulties of life with confidence. I know that my Father who
knows and loves me has deemed this trial to be of benefit to me in some way. I know that He is not
capricious – He is not making me suffer out of neglect or lack of concern. I can trust that He sees the
bigger picture. I can also trust that He will walk with me every step of the way – He will never leave
me.
Remember back to Job – Job didn’t have the privilege of reading the Job 1:6-12. He didn’t know that
God had lovingly held him up for Satan to inspect – because God treasured him so dearly and was
glorified through Job’s faithful life. He didn’t know that God had allowed Satan to afflict him within
very specific boundaries.
From Job’s perspective, all he knows is that he has faithfully walked with God… and then in one
single day he lost everything he held dear. This was no random coincidence – clearly this was a
supernatural occurrence.
But Job responds with unshakable faith. He knows that God is good. He knows that he deserves
nothing on his own – naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I will depart… He knows that
God is sovereign.
22
And so he can fall to the ground in worship and say, surely with a tremor in His voice – “may the name
of the Lord be praised.”
Do you find that you tend to get out of balance in your view of God? Which end of the spectrum do you
tend to overemphasize (love and grace, or sovereignty and holiness)? Do you think this changes how
you respond to difficulties in your life?
23
Sitting in the dust together

I don’t know about you, but there have been times in my life when my dear friends are experiencing
such deep and gripping agony that I just have no idea what to do. I want to offer words of comfort… I
want to help… and then later on I feel like a fool for saying what probably came across as trite rather
than comforting.
We have good friends who lost a child several years ago. A few months later I was talking with her
about their experience; she told me that some of the most painful things to deal with were the well-
intentioned words from others. Words that were meant to heal left deeper wounds in their path, because
those who were trying to comfort could not fathom the depth of their pain.
I wince and wonder if some of those unintentionally cutting words came from me.
For this reason, Job 2:11-13 is so profound to me.
When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite,
heard about all the troubles that had come upon him,
they set out from their homes and met together by agreement
to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.
When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him;
they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads.
Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights.
No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.
Now, Job’s friends end up not being terribly helpful or encouraging… but they started out great. They
saw the depth of his suffering and sat on the ground in silence for seven days and nights.
When we see those we love experiencing unimaginable pain and despair, we would be wise to follow
the example of these three men. We need to keep our “helpful” words to ourselves. Weep with them.
Mourn with them. Sit on the ground in silence with them.
Because sometimes no words can help.
Have you been the bearer of too-quickly-spoken words? Have you been hurt by the “comfort” offered
by others in times of loss? What would it look like to sit in the dust with someone you love?
24
When our God is too small

If you’ve read through the book of Job recently, you probably buzzed through the first few chapters and
then may have found yourself wandering in a fog through chapters 4 through 37. These chapters contain
a cycle of dialogue between Job and his friends which fall into a pattern. (“E” for Eliphaz, “B” for
Bildad, “Z” for Zophar.)
What is going on in these chapters?!
Here are a few quotes drawn from the dialogue – obviously this is a VERY brief summation, but
hopefully it will help us glimpse the larger picture.
(From Eliphaz) Job 4:7-8
Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?

Where were the upright ever destroyed?
As I have observed, those who plow evil
and those who sow trouble reap it.
Job 5:17
Blessed is the man whom God corrects;

so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
*****
(From Bildad) Job 8:3-6
Does God pervert justice?

Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
25
When your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.
But if you will look to God

and plead with the Almighty,
if you are pure and upright,

even now he will rouse himself on your behalf
and restore you to your rightful place.
*****
(From Zophar) Job 11:14-15
if you put away the sin that is in your hand

and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,
then you will lift up your face without shame;

you will stand firm and without fear.
Do you see what Job’s friends are saying? In so many words, “clearly, Job, you have sinned. There is
no other explanation for what has happened to you. Repent and God will restore you.” [Since we have
read the beginning of the book, we know this is not true. Actually, Job is being attacked by Satan, not
God - and his suffering is because of his righteousness!]
The theological term for their belief system about God is “retribution theology.” It basically boils down
to:
If you are righteous, you will be blessed with prosperity.
If you are unrighteous, you will be poor and suffer.
Here’s the catch. If you remember back to our discussions about the book of Deuteronomy, God did
promise to bless Israel for obedience and curse them for disobedience. But that was specific to His
covenant with the nation of Israel – it doesn’t necessarily translate to individuals. Being prosperous is
not a sure-fire sign of God’s blessing on your life for righteousness, and poverty or suffering is not a
clear sign of sin in your life. This type of retribution theology reveals that our “version” of God is too
small – we have reduced Him to less than He is and will arrive at false conclusions about who He is
and what He is doing.
Their limited understanding of God’s ways caused Job’s well intentioned friends to completely miss the
mark in their counsel. And unfortunately, as we will discuss in the next post, Job arrived at false
conclusions himself after listening to their accusations.
Is retribution theology alive and well today? How have you seen this flawed view of God expressed in
our modern-day? How has it led to false conclusions about God’s character and ways?
26
"God has wronged me!"

On Monday we looked at the fact that Job’s friends had a view of God that was too small – they were
operating from a perspective of “retribution theology,” which basically means that righteousness will
always result in prosperity, sin will always result in suffering and poverty. Their wrong assumptions
about the nature and ways of God caused them to accuse Job of wrongdoing, when in reality Job was
suffering because of Satan’s attack upon this faithful God-fearer.
Now today we’re going to take a look at Job’s response to his suffering. It seems that many of us have
been taught to view Job as the hero of this story. The thing is, he does respond in faith and worship at
the beginning of the book)… but he falters. Never forget that the Bible is not about people!
When we were going through the first few chapters, did these verses jump out at you?
1:22 – In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
2:10 – In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
Those are very specific statements! When the “narrator” of a Biblical account makes specific, recurring
statements like this, take notice! There’s a reason!
As the dialogue between Job and his friends unfolds, we clearly see Job’s friends’ wrong theology
showing up. Unfortunately, we also see some things in the dialogue from Job which should raise a red
flag.
Job 9:14-17
“How then can I dispute with him?
How can I find words to argue with him?
Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;

I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.
Even if I summoned him and he responded,

I do not believe he would give me a hearing.
Job 13:3
But I desire to speak to the Almighty

and to argue my case with God.
Job 13:17-23
Listen carefully to my words;
let your ears take in what I say.
Now that I have prepared my case,

I know I will be vindicated.
27
Can anyone bring charges against me?
If so, I will be silent and die.
“Only grant me these two things, O God,

and then I will not hide from you:
Withdraw your hand far from me,

and stop frightening me with your terrors.
Then summon me and I will answer,

or let me speak, and you reply.
How many wrongs and sins have I committed?

Show me my offense and my sin.
Job 19:6-9
…then know that God has wronged me

and drawn his net around me.
Though I cry, ‘I’ve been wronged!’ I get no response;

though I call for help, there is no justice.
He has blocked my way so I cannot pass;

he has shrouded my paths in darkness.
He has stripped me of my honor

and removed the crown from my head.
You see, Job was also operating from retribution theology.
He knew he had not sinned.
He knew that he was suffering.
And therefore he concluded that God was unjust and had wronged him.
Let that simmer in your mind, and we’ll discuss more in the next post…
28
Dragging God to Court

We’ve looked at the evidence that Job was also working from a perspective of retribution theology. He
knew he had not sinned, and he knew that he was suffering. Therefore he concluded that God was
unjust and had wronged him.
Perhaps we haven’t been so bold as to say to the Lord, “You have wronged me!”
But have we asked, with a whining or accusatory tone, “Why me/ her/ him, God?” We list before him
the list of accomplishments, relationships, contributions. We accuse Him of not being fair.
There is a difference between asking “why” as a request for clarification and asking “why” as an
accusation against God’s character. Notice the terminology Job uses as he speaks of his desire for
“justice” from the Lord.
“How can I find words to argue with him?” (9:3)
“Even if I summoned and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a hearing.” (9:16)
“But I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. Now that I have prepared my
case, I know I will be vindicated.” (13:3)
Friends, it is a serious thing to demand that God give us an account. Job bodly uses courtroom
terminology, demanding that God answer him – and he believes he will have the final say!
He will not.
“Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm.
He said:
Who is this that darkens my counsel

with words without knowledge?”
Job 38:1-2
Sometimes we initially respond to suffering well, like our friend Job. But over time, our hearts turn
bitter, accusing, angry with God. We want to drag God into the courtroom.
The courtroom is not a place we want to be with God on trial.
[to be continued...]
29
Cross-examining the witness

In “Dragging God to Court,” we looked at the dangerous ground Job stood on as he demanded God give
an answer for his suffering. Job believed that God had wronged him.
Remember all of that courtroom terminology Job uses as he accuses God of wrongdoing?
Notice how God answers him.
Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:
“Who is this that darkens my counsel

with words without knowledge?
Brace yourself like a man;

I will question you,
and you shall answer me.
Job 38:1-3
I don’t know about you, but that instills some vivid fear of the Lord in my heart! Throughout the next
chapters, Job will get a serious reality check as God “cross-examines” him in their court-room
encounter. We would be wise to listen and learn along with
him.
“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?

Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!

Who stretched a measuring line across it?
Job 38:4-5
Photos from hubblesite.org 1
30
“Have you journeyed to the springs of

the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
Have the gates of death been shown to

you?
Have you seen the gates of the shadow
of death ?
Have you comprehended the vast

expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.
Photo from freefoto.com 5 Job 38:16-18
Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?

Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
Job 38:35
Photo from wikipedia.org 1
“Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom

and spread his wings toward the south?
Does the eagle soar at your command

and build his nest on high?
Job 39:26-27
Photo from wikipedia.org 2 31

“Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let him who accuses God answer him!”
Job 40:2
Notice that after this challenge from the Lord in chapter 40, Job seems to give a humble answer. Why
does God start the questioning over again? What is missing in Job’s statement in 40:4-5?
32
God is God, and we are not

In “Cross-Examining the Witness,” we started to look at God’s amazing series of rhetorical questions to
Job.
I ended that post with this question: Notice that after this challenge from the Lord in chapter 40, Job
seems to give a humble answer. Why does God start the questioning over again? What is missing in
Job’s statement in 40:4-5?
So today, let’s take a look.
The LORD said to Job:
“Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let him who accuses God answer him!”
Then Job answered the LORD :
“I am unworthy—how can I reply to you?

I put my hand over my mouth.
I spoke once, but I have no answer—

twice, but I will say no more.”
Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm:
“Brace yourself like a man;

and you shall answer me.
Job 40:1-5
A few observations:
1. If there was any doubt in your mind that indeed Job had sinned in his accusations of God’s
justice and righteousness, God’s response in these verses should erase that doubt. “Will the one
who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!”
2. Job does acknowledge that he is unworthy.
3. Apparently, Job’s response was not what God was looking for, because we have a repeat of Job
38:3 – God is starting the questioning over again.
Be sure to read these chapters in their entirety on your own… amazing and humbling, to say the least.
God focuses in on several of his most powerful created creatures in these chapters, emphasizing his
sovereignty over all creation. These statements especially jump out to me:
33
“Would you discredit my justice?
Would you condemn me to justify yourself?
Job 40:8
Who has a claim against me that I must pay?

Everything under heaven belongs to me.
Job 41:11
In Job 42:1-6, Job gives a second answer. Apparently this one was satisfactory to the Lord, because
after these verses God corrects Job’s friends and tells them two different times, “you have not spoken of
me what is right, as my servant Job has.“
So, what’s different about Job’s response in 42:1-6?
“I know that you can do all things;

no plan of yours can be thwarted.
You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’

Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.
“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;

and you shall answer me.’
My ears had heard of you

but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore I despise myself

and repent in dust and ashes.”
In these verses, Job:
1. Acknowledges God’s supremacy and sovereignty over all.

2. Recognizes that he spoke hastily – he accused God rather than recognizing that he was unable to
understand it all.
3. He REPENTS.
Repentance is always key. Job is restored and his friends are chastised – Why? Because Job was sinless
and they weren’t? Clearly no. It’s because Job repented.
Remember when we discussed David’s sin with Bathsheba? David was restored after his sin, but Saul
was not – why? David repented.
34
Let me tell you a little secret here: God doesn’t expect you to be perfect.
The Old Testament law starts right off the bat with sacrifices – why? Because God knew the people
would sin. Revelation 13:8 tells us that Jesus was slain “from the creation of the world” – why?
Because God knew we would sin and Jesus’ sacrifice was His plan all along!
God knows that we are sinners. In his holiness, He cannot just turn a blind eye and pretend that we
aren’t, even though He loves us. We must repent and be cleansed so that our relationship can be
restored!
So, I have good news for you today. If you have found yourself, like Job, accusing God of
wrongdoing, you can be restored. You, too, can submit to His sovereignty, admit that you don’t
understand everything, humble yourself before Him, recognize your sin, and repent.
In the words of Steven Curtis Chapman, we must recognize that God is God, and we are not. May
God humble us all before Him and teach us to recognize that He is God, and we are not. When we do,
we will be able to worship him through the deepest, darkest valleys of life – we will know that God is
big enough to trust.
35

"How Could A Good God... " Understanding Pain and Loss Through A Study of Ecclesiastes and Job

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"How Could A Good God... " Understanding Pain and Loss Through A Study of Ecclesiastes and Job

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Building a theology of pain and loss through a

study of Ecclesiastes and Job.

Written by Kristi Stephens

I’m thrilled that you’re interested in studying God’s Word

I am a full time wife and mom who loves to teach God’s

How could a good God…

Many others could be added to the list.

God is good, but life is still hard

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.

Doesn’t that verse just fill you with hope? :)

This begs the question – what is vanity?

Hard, but not meaningless.

In order to continue on through Ecclesiastes, as well

When Adam and Eve made that universe-

In Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 Solomon starts out his book with

[Remember our definition of vanity: futility, frustration,

He then points out that generations of people come and

There is something so awful about driving from a funeral

Cheery line of thinking, isn’t it?

There’s no getting around it: death is awful. Awful, awful, awful.

Even Jesus weeps with us.

When life isn’t fair

I like feeling confident from the first flicker of the screen to

Lord, teach us to rest in Your justice.

Caught between two worlds

• First he tackles the problem of life in this

His conclusion – “What is crooked cannot be

Attempt one: fail. In fact, increased wisdom brought more pain.

Attempt two: fail.

“This too is futility.“

We cannot create lasting meaning in this life apart from Him.

We are caught between two worlds.

God is redeeming His creation in the order in which it fell.

God WILL redeem the rest of His creation – in His time.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus. And until that day…

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you;

Enjoying life in a broken world

One of the many things I love about Ecclesiastes is

Life is hard. God is good.

What are you grateful for today?

Tough questions, and an age-old lie

Is it wrong to serve God and live righteously because it benefits

This is an important question to consider, as our knee-jerk reaction

These truths are easy to see, even in our modern day.

Here’s the rub…

And our hearts cry out… God, this isn’t fair!

Does Job fear God for nothing?

So, today we are going to turn our attention to the

His spiritual resume looks pretty fantastic, too…

Satan’s reply to God’s glowing report about Job is chilling to me -

We’ll continue this tomorrow…

Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?

Do you ever wonder that about yourself? Do you hear gut-

In chapter one we find Job losing everything in one day. Everything.

And then notice Job 1:20-22 -

Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

and naked I will depart.

The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;

may the name of the LORD be praised.”

He fell to the ground in worship! That gives me chills!

God is big enough to trust

Sitting in the dust together