Articles . Michael Catt . Volume 04 | Issue 06

Dealing With Suffering, Part 2

Dealing With Suffering, Setbacks, Satanic Attacks And A Sovereign God – Part 2

Lessons We Can’t Miss From vs. 20-22

  1. It’s Okay to Cry
    Swindoll, “I am disappointed that someone, somewhere…introduced the ridiculous idea that if you know the Lord, you don’t grieve. That even if you lose something or someone significant, you shouldn’t weep. Granted, we don’t grieve, ‘as those who have no hope.’ But, no tears? No grief? I find that unthinkable. Since when does becoming a Christian make a person less than human…or more than human.”
  2. We Make the Choice to Worship. ‘he fell to the ground and worshiped.’
  3. We Are Called to Keep an Eternal Perspective. Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return.’
  4. We Must Have Faith in God. ‘The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.’ HIS FAITH WAS NEITHER CIRCUMSTANTIAL OR SITUATIONAL.
  5. Don’t Let Bitterness Bite You. vs. 22 ‘Job did not sin nor did he blame God.
    Satan’s Challenge Continued in Chp 2 – Thoi Point His Own Wife Turned On Him
    Satan’s challenge to Job’s faith was – CAN HE SURVIVE – with no outside help – without any encouragement – without an explanation.Philip Yancey, “Saints become saints by somehow hanging on to the stubborn conviction that things are not as they appear, and that the unseen world is as solid and trustworthy as the visible world around them.”
  6. Trust the Soveriegnty of God.
    • God is sovereign in life – 1:21
    • God is sovereign in death – 13:15 ‘Though he slay me, yet will I hope in Him.’
    • God is Sovereign in Wisdom and Power. Nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Yancey, “Suffering contributes the ingredients of the story, not its central theme.”

God is Trying to Change Our Questions From ‘Why’ to ‘For What Purpose?’

Jesus Promised His followers 3 things (Wiersbe):

  1. They would never be alone. “Lo, I am with you always.”
  2. They would always have peace. “My peace I give you.”
  3. They would always be in trouble. “In this world you will have tribulation.”

Paul Powell, “Life is like a grindstone. Whether we are ground down or polished up by it depends on what we are made of and how we respond to it. Troubles make some better and some bitter…Some grow wings and others grab for crutches…more and more I realize it is not what happens to us, but what happens in us that ultimately matters.”

Test Question: Is God and God alone worthy of our love even if we spend our our life in trouble?

There Are Promises We Need To Hang Onto And Teach Our People About How To Face The Difficulties Of Life.

Job never knew the ‘WHY’ behind his suffering. In Chapters 38-41, God asks Job 77 questions and God doesn’t get one answer….Job couldn’t answer them and God didn’t answer His. He had to learn ‘the just shall live by faith…’ God doesn’t settle his accounts until the judgement.

  1. When You Pray, God Hears. Jer. 33:3; Psalm 145:18
  2. When You Hurt, God Is Near. Psalm 34:17
  3. When You Feel Attacked, You Have An Advocate. 1 John 2:1God may have been SILENT with Job – but He wasn’t ABSENT.
  4. When You Blow It, God Is Ready To Forgive. Isa. 1:18; 1 Jn. 1:9; Ps.103:12
  5. Whether You Know It Or Not, God Knows What’s Best. Jer. 29:11 & Joseph said, with hindsight – ‘You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good…’
  6. Whatever Is Going On In Your Life, God Is In Control. Ps. 37:23 & don’t forget, “I have never seen the righteous forsaken or His seed begging for bread.”
  7. When You Feel Alone, God Is There. He has sent us a comforter. Also Heb. 13:5

4 Mistakes Your Friends And Enemies Will Make When You’re Going Through Trials. (Based on Job’s 3 Friends and their responses).

  1. They Assume The Problem Is Sin. Guilty until proven innocent. Judge you by standards they do not want to be judged by.
  2. They Base Their Assumptions On Incomplete Evidence. Wicked people usually suffer – Job is suffering. Therefore, Job must be wicked.
  3. They Would Not Listen To Job’s Heart. They were determined to be proven right and it didn’t matter what Job said. Don’t confuse me with the facts.
  4. They Forgot Their Purpose In Coming To See Job. They came to comfort, but became accusers. Turned a hospital visit into a court room.

Dr. Julius Segal, “Threatened by the possibility that catastrophes can befall good people like ourselves, a surprising number of us decide that victims of misfortune are simply bad people. Moreover, by stigmatizing those in crisis, we manage to create a safe distance between us and them.”

©2004 Michael C. Catt. All rights reserved.