Dis-Illusioned

Suffering is the gap between what WE WANT and what WE GET. (Luke 15:29)

Why must we Suffer?

In the story we have been telling, suffering plays an important function.

It proves to the son that he is not as independent as he thinks he is.

When we suffer, we experience the difference between the story God is telling and the story we are telling, and we are forced to make a choice.

Suffering forces us to choose between GOD’S STORY and OURS. (Job 1:9-11, 2:4-5)

As long as there’s no suffering, we can’t tell who’s story we’re living

Job 1:9–11 NIV

“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

In our story, suffering is an EXCEPTION that must be JUSTIFIED. (Job 3)

Job 3

v. 1-5

Job 3:8–9 NIV

May those who curse days curse that day, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan. May its morning stars become dark; may it wait for daylight in vain and not see the first rays of dawn,

Job 3:23 NIV

Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?

“In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.” The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

How does God respond?

Job 38

Job 38:1-7

Why does he go after Job like this? Because Job’s way of thinking puts him at the center.

If all suffering requires an explanation, then the standard of the world is my comfort.

If I didn’t make the world, then it will always operate in ways I wouldn’t have chosen.

Defining suffering:

Suffering is the gap between what WE WANT and what WE GET.

Luke 15:29 NIV

But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.

In God’s story, suffering is a consequence of BEING… CHILDREN.

Job 40

Job kinda bows to this answer (v. 1-5), but God doesn’t let up. He says: (v. 6-14)

Then he launches into this weird description of two monsters, Behemoth and Leviathan. Let’s jump to chapter 41:

Job 41:1-11

After this, Job says,

Job 42:4–6 NIV

“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, 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.”

He’s actually saying, I have demoted myself, and now I am comforted. Why does this comfort him?

Chaos/storm god story.

God is showing him the true enemy, chaos (suffering)

And he’s showing that he is in his dragon-fighting armor, actively engaged in fighting chaos.

Why does an all-powerful God have to fight chaos? Because he’s a father.

In God’s story, suffering is a consequence of BEING (and HAVING) CHILDREN. (Job 38:1-7, 40:8-14, 41:1-11)

To EMBRACE God’s story, we must see him for the LOVING FATHER he is. (Job 42:1-6)