What do we Do When We Suffer

We’ve been talking about this idea of wisdom. That we reflect we observe, and we act. That because the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, we oriented our lives in a certain direction.

Wisdom says the world works a certain way. We observe, we reflect, we act in a way that reflects the God centered life that we lead. That wisdom is about seeing the world, knowing God, and acting based on God’s reality in our world.

But what happens when life doesn’t work out that way?

This past Summer, we’ve obviously faced a number of difficult situations as a country. Charlie Kirk was murdered.  In the last two weeks there have been school shootings in Denver and Minnesota. Two lawmakers were brutally killed in their home in June. A woman was brutally killed on a bus this past week. In these few events, we ask where is wisdom or where is God or where is goodness, we have a hard time coming up with any reason why. It is senseless, base, and chaotic.

How do you approach this? How do you begin to wrap your mind around it? How do you look suffering and chaos in the eyes and what action do we take from it?

How do we act wisely in the world, or even, how do we act at all in the world, in the face of suffering? Have you ever tried to find God in suffering? If you have ever suffered or struggled or looked into the world and have had a hard time finding hope?

We are going to take three weeks to look at the book of Job. We are going to look at suffering in the face.

This is how the book of Job begins. Where we are maybe personally, and maybe culturally is where Job begins.

We meet the character of Job, he is upright and blameless. He has done everything right. He has been righteous. Even the heavens couldn’t find anything wrong with him. So God and Satan have a conversation, and satan, the accuser asks God if Job fears God for no reason? That the only reason Job fears God is because everything is going well for him. As soon as something goes wrong, Job will turn against God.

This actually reveals one of the primary issues in Job and in suffering. The culture in Job’s time assumed that everything worked on merit. That if you did everything good, good would become of you. And if you did evil, evil would become of you. It is called retribution. And Job comes along to test that. And he asks questions about God and suffering and agency.

Look at the first chapter

Job 1:9–12 ESV

Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around 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. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

And so that creates a series of catastrophes. Job’s house is destroyed, his family is killed. And finally he is tormented by sores and boils on his body. His health is disrupted.

everything is changed. Everything is upended. He is facing massive loss and with that overwhelming grief. It threatens to swallow him whole.

That brings up a lot of questions I’m sure about where suffering comes from and who causes it. but for now we are going to assume that we live in a world marked by sin and suffering is part of life.

This week we are going to look at suffering and what it is we are looking for when we suffer. next week we will look at where is God when we suffer? And then the past message will be on how we help people in suffering When you and I face challenging circumstances, what is it you are searching for? we need to answer this question for this reason.

Suffering feels like it will swallow us whole

It is an overwhelming experience of uncontrollability.

Whatever it is that causes discomfort, anger, grief, sadness, bitterness has come upon us in ways unplanned and uncontrolled. We feel out of sorts and like we have nothing we can do about it. This is the start of loss and suffering.

La Mano? Suffering feels like this

As we look for the next couple weeks at the book of Job we will see that this idea, the uncontrollability of suffering, is not something that we will solve. Even Jesus tells us that we will have suffering in the world. That we will face difficult things, but that we can take heart, that Jesus Himself has overcome the world.

 We can’t nor are we supposed to solve suffering in Job. We are just supposed to answer what’s bigger and what lasts longer. And we will look at that at the way, but we first have to see how we approach suffering that threatens to swallow us whole.

The book of Job will not necessarily give us answers we want, but it will show us there is always more going on than we think. And even in the uncontrollability of suffering, there is recognition of hope.

bear://x-callback-url/open-note?id=812C4D12-99BF-49ED-9FD0-DB1FCB99EE95-1683-0000188D79077E58

bear://x-callback-url/open-note?id=7997963C-7DCE-475C-BD5A-B96306963127-11105-000008A39E05090E

When we face suffering that is too big for us, we begin to search for three different things. We will see what it is Job is intending to search for as we look into his story.

We Look for an explanation in the uncontrollability of suffering

We can’t seem to help ourselves. We seek answers in the void. We need to have some kind of response in suffering. It feels like it is unnecessary. Like it’s wasteful.

Look at Job 6:28-30

Job 6:28–30 ESV

“But now, be pleased to look at me, for I will not lie to your face. Please turn; let no injustice be done. Turn now; my vindication is at stake. Is there any injustice on my tongue? Cannot my palate discern the cause of calamity?

He is asking God where the injustice is. He is asking God to show him. The way that the book of Job reveals itself is as a great court room scene. Job has taken the scene as the prosecutor in case. He believes he has done nothing wrong and wants to ask God directly what has happened. He brings God to court, so to speak and seems to demand answers.

He is seeking explanation.

Job 23:3–4 ESV

Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat! I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments.

Have you ever wanted to look God in the face and ask Him, why? Have you ever had to look at a friend or a relative and ask them, why? How could this happen? Why did this happen?

This is how we navigate not being swallowed up in suffering. Job accepts his loss but does not accept the reason for it. This is why he pursues some kind of answer from God, experiencing loss and suffering but not resigning to why it has happened.

This is important. We look for answers, but it will matter where we go to look for answers.

Job has three friends that join him through this dialogue. They do not necessarily do a great job of helping. We will be looking at them in the coming weeks. But for now we have to recognize that nothing his friends say is satisfying. It does not help Job to resolve.

This is why he keeps bypassing his friends and approaching God. His suffering is too large to be left in smaller hands.

SO if you here this morning and asking “why?” Or if you’ve ever been asked “why?” You are beginning to handle suffering. Now the answers aren’t always what we want. Suffering rarely provides helpful answers. But the ability to confront head on what is most difficult can show our way through.

We look for Alleviation

When we face trauma or suffering it feels like there is no order. This is why it is uncontrollable. And so in our most difficult moments, we desire alleviation. Listen to Job search for some kind of rest.

Job 16:18–22 ESV

“O earth, cover not my blood, and let my cry find no resting place. Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and he who testifies for me is on high. My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God, that he would argue the case of a man with God, as a son of man does with his neighbor. For when a few years have come I shall go the way from which I shall not return.

This is likely the most difficult part of suffering. We may be able to find some answers, but we rarely find rest. How can we find wisdom, how can we find God when we can’t even rest?

So we look for other things to alleviate us. We turn to numbing ourselves or we turn to getting angry. We either turn the volume way down or way up. In both cases we are doing our own work to mute ourselves against the world.

Maybe we are put our head down and we hyper focus on work. Or we hyperfocus on instagram. Maybe we just go inside of ourselves and we hide. Maybe we don’t return texts or phone calls. We numb by distraction

Or maybe we mute ourselves by substances. This could be weed, it could be alcohol. It could be Dunkin. Point is, we will put anything in our bodies to keep from having to deal with what is in front of us. This is muting by dilution

Maybe we mute by, instead of hiding or focusing on other substances, we actually get louder. We don’t have to deal with the hurt in our own lives if we can hurt others. We don’t have to focus on ourselves if we can focus on others.

Someone bops us on the nose and we think the best way to respond is to bop them back. Do what you can to find some sort of revenge. But this isn’t a way to deal with suffering, it is just a way to try and feel better for a moment.

We can’t talk our way through or alleviate our way through

We need someone who can navigate the too much of our suffering. Now Job had friends and they helped for a bit but became no help later on. Job wouldn’t deal with them because he felt he had to deal with God. He would not let go of the idea he needed to deal with God on this issue

Job 19:25 ESV

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.

We look for alleviation because we need alleviation. When we do it we just mute the world in different ways. But God can bring alleviation.

We may not know why we are suffering like we do. But we know we can’t solve it alone. We need another. the third thing we do is look for others. And in that we can see the God who suffers with us.

We Look for someone to walk with us

Job recognizes the only way through is the way through God. Now keep in mind Job struggles with God. He dismisses Him at one point. In chapter 23 he wonders where God has gone.

Suffering does this. Makes it hard to see. Job wonders where wisdom is, where certainty is, where justice is. These are all good questions in hard places. When we hurt, the world mutes and we think all the color is gone.

I mentioned earlier that there are not always easy answers in suffering. We live in a world where there are not always easy answers. Where we answer violence with violence. Where we stand in shock. We don’t know where to look. We don’t know who can help.

When suffering is all around we can look to a God who doesn’t stand above us or who doesn’t snub His nose at us. We don’t look at a God who doesn’t stare back. And we don’t look at a God who ignores us or can’t understand us.

We look to a God who has suffered. And who suffers for us. You know how important this is when you have experienced something incredibly difficult. And people start offering condolences and sorrys. And they are all good and loving and well meaning.

And then maybe you get a card or text, and it says exactly what you are thinking. Or it answers a question you have had. Or the sender seems to completely understand. You read that or hear it and you have likely thought. They’ve been there before. They have been where I am.

This is what we know to be true about Christ. He has been where we are. He knows what it is like to suffer and to struggle. He knows what it is like for the people closest to him to run from Him. He knows anxiety and dark nights. Look at the prayer of Gesthemene.

The God who Suffers is the God who can Walk with us

And He knows it because we weren’t able to find our way out. He has. He came into our lives because we cannot find a way out. A way out of suffering and sin and brokenness. He is the way out.

1 Peter 2:24–25 ESV

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Walk with the God who walks with you

If God has come to us, if God has removed the sin that gets in the way, if God has beaten death, then you can walk with the God who walks with you.

In suffering it is not easy to walk. We will want answers, we will want alleviation, but we need a way through.

Walk with the God who walks with you.

What matters when we suffer is not who says what the loudest or best. It is not the best strategies and not the best ideas. What matters in suffering is whatever is closest to you.

suffering threatens to swallow us whole. And the whole mess is foggy and hard to see. You need someone close, someone who can know the way. Christ because He has suffered, knows the way.

He can get close. He can come near.

If you can’t pray, read the words of God. Let His words come close.

If you can’t worship, listen to music and those around you sing. Let other people carry you.

If you can’t speak, sit next to someone in silence this week.

Christ comes close in suffering, walking us to where we can’t walk ourselves.

Communion is the reminder for that reality