CAN GOD TRUST YOU WITH THE BLESSING OF SUFFERING? JOB 1:1-19

Introduction

The scene is a rural country house situated at the end of a long dusty road. The mother is in the kitchen fixing supper. She happens to look up from what she is doing.Her gaze is fixed out the kitchen window. She is surprised to see an olive-colored sedan making its way along the winding road to the house. All she could do was stare. It was though she was frozen in time. The closer the vehicle gets, the more panic grips her heart. It is an official government vehicle, a U.S. Army vehicle to be exact. In horror she clutches her apron to her face. Then came the dreaded knock at the door. Reluctantly and hesitantly, she opens the door as four army officers present themselves to her. She knows why they are there. What she did not know was the extent of the news. One of them begins to speak kindly but firmly. He begins, “We regret to inform form you, Mrs. Ryan...” As she hears of the death of three of her four sons, she drops to her knees with an anguish that refuses to be extinguished.

Why so much evil? Why so much suffering and pain? Why did Mrs. Ryan have to suffer so? Why do you and I have to experience such pain? When we suffer there is no answer that is satisfactory. Yet, ever since Genesis chapter three, our world has been racked with these things. Something happened in the Garden of Eden that forever changed our world. Theologically it is known as the doctrine of the Fall of Man.

Speaking of theology, C.S. Lewis authored a book addressing The Problem of Pain. Theologically it was a wondrous book. You ought to read it. Lewis talks about the fall of man and how that produced the pain that is a part of our lives. He wrote that book in 1941 when Europe and the rest of the world was in the throes of WWII. Fast forward in time twenty-one years to 1962. C.S. Lewis authors another book. This one is nothing like the theological powerhouse I just mentioned. This book, A Grief Observed, is anything but theological in nature. At the age of forty-five, Lewis’ wife died from bone cancer. Lewis went from having it all figured out to groping in the deep darkness of pain. He went from having all the answers to having nothing but questions.

Listen to this portion of what C.S. Lewis wrote in A Grief Observed. He writes, “Meanwhile, where is God? But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence.”

Do not be too hard on C.S. Lewis. He is hurting. All the theological arguments are gone. There is nothing but questions and loneliness. In times like these, trite and rehearsed answers from an article you read online are empty, hurtful, and useless.

Keeping this in mind as we work through the text, we will consider three answers to the question, “Can God trust you with the blessing of suffering?”

Do We Possess the Integrity Needed for This Blessing (1:1-5)?

It is a seldom act in Scripture when God places His trust in an individual. He trusted Paul to carry the gospel to the Gentiles. However God has not placed His trust in many people. Why? It is because most people are not trustworthy. Here is a question to ponder. Can God trust you and can God trust me? Do we possess the needed integrity needed for God to use the blessing of suffering in our lives? God calls us to be people of great character and integrity. God was able to trust Job. He was a man who was blameless and upright. This means he was complete and mature in his character. This means he was straight in his conduct. He was as pure as the driven snow. There were no skeletons in his closet. He was twelve inches to the foot, three feet to the yard, and twenty-six ounces to the pound. He was a man of integrity. It was because of his godly integrity that Job feared God. No, Job was not scared of God. Job had a reverential respect and awe of who God is, what God says, and what God does.

Oswald Chambers stated concerning the fear of God, “The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.”

It was because of Job’s integrity that he also shunned evil. The word shun means “to turn off” or “to turn away from.” Job was faithful to God. Job walked before God in full integrity. Sin was a complete turnoff to him. Job refused to play games upon the precarious precipice of sin. Job stayed away from sin as far as he could. He was a man identified by what he was willing to run from.

Job was also a man blessed by God. God protected Job and provided for him (2-3). With great blessing comes greater responsibility. To whom much has been given, much is required. Job maintained his integrity in his prosperity. Job refused to make materialism his guide or His God. His trust was in the God who blessed him not in the blessings he had been entrusted.

Job was also a man focused firmly on his faith in God. As such, Job properly fulfilled his role as pastor to his family. Notice the spiritual leadership of Job (4-5).

Job called his family together and led them in worship.

Genuine worship is not merely what happens on Sunday in this sanctuary. The Bible’s perspective of life is that it is a stewardship from God and that our very lives are to be worship. Families should worship together. It is essential in passing on the faith once delivered to the saints to the next generation. May all who come behind us find us faithful.

2. Job taught and trained his children.

All of us need to be like Job in this regard. It is our responsibility to teach our children to discern truth from error. I is our responsibility, therefore, to teach our children the Bible. It is our responsibility to train our children to make wise and God-honoring decisions. It is our responsibility to teach our children to dress modestly. It is our responsibility to instruct our children about Jesus and then lead by example to share Jesus. In other words, the home is to be the university of the Christian life.

God puts His trust in those who are morally upright and have impeccable character. The world says that character does not matter. The world says that integrity does not matter. God says differently. If we do not have integrity, we do not have anything. A lack of integrity that infects the church does great damage to the gospel of Christ. This begs the question, “How do we cultivate the characteristic of integrity in our lives?” Let me give us two points of application in answering this question.

Connection Point #1: A good starting place is to simply and seriously ask God to give you integrity. Confess to God that you are not the person God wants you to be. Ask God to make you the person He wants you to be. This is why James 1:5 declares, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

Connection Point #2: Cultivate a quiet or devotional time with God. Utilize prayer and Scripture together as you seek the face of God. Endeavor to become a Mark 1:35 Christian.

Connection Point #3: Give sin the boot when it raises its ugly head. When you do commit a sin, be sure to keep a short account of sins. Quickly confess it and deal with it. Immediately repent of it. The more you exercise the muscles of integrity, the easier it will be to say NO to sinful thoughts and activities. However, if you yield to sin, it will become easier to yield to it again.

When suffering comes knocking at your door, remember that God places His trust of suffering to those who have integrity.

Do We Possess the Selfless Motives Needed for This Trust (1:6-12)?

As we come to these verses, we observe that a heavenly council has convened. Among those gathered is Satan. God takes the opportunity to brag on his servant Job (8). In response Satan attacks the very thing that God is bragging on- Job’s character (9-11). Satan accuses, “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan’s charge against Job is that Job does not have pure motives. In other words, he has no integrity. Job is serving God only for what he can get out of God. He is only serving God because of all the blessings God gives to him (10-11). Consider this question. “Why do you serve God?” Do you serve Him because of what you think you can get out of Him? Is He the great cosmic Santa Clause to you?

Notice what God does in response to Satan’s question (12). God allows Satan to touch Job’s life. Satan must gain God’s permission to access Job’s life. However, this text is not so much about God granting Satan access to Job’s life as it is about God trusting Job with this circumstance. God trusts Job to keep His integrity. God trusts that Job will be selfless in his motives.

When I think about people who were selfless in their motives, I think of Adoniram Judson. Upon completing seminary, Judson’s mother wanted her son to take an extremely comfortable pastorate near her in the city of Boston. Adoniram Judson would have nothing to do with his mother’s plan. His heart was set on going to Burma. He did go to Burma and God used him greatly there. He was selfless in his motives. He left everything he ever knew and all the amenities that went with it and he did what God wanted him to do.

God places his trust in those who are unselfish in their motives.

Do We Possess the Unshakable Commitment Needed for Such Suffering (1:13-22)

God gives Satan permission to come against Job. However, God forbids Satan from laying his hand upon Job. The stage is set for the trials and suffering to begin. Through the initial suffering that he endures, Job is reminded of the temporal and transient nature of life. The adage is true: “You can’t take it with you when you go.” Job realized he came into this world with nothing, and he would eventually leave this world with nothing. Notice what else he says. The Lord is the one who gives, and the Lord is the one who takes away. This statement emphasizes the sovereignty of God. Job understands this and recognizes that all things are under God’s control. That is why Psalm 115:1-3 declares, “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! Why should the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’ Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”

Observe what Job is doing here during his suffering. He is praising God and giving Him worship. He says, “Blessed be the name of the LORD.” Scripture teaches us to praise God amid ALL things, including times of suffering. This is something we need to get straight, so mark it down. Job is not refusing to praise God because of the trial. Job is praising God despite the trial. Our praise to God is not to be determined by the circumstance. We praise God despite the circumstance. [read 1:22]

In all this Job did not sin. He did not blame God. He did not bet bitter. God places His trust in those who are unshakable in their commitment.

Martin Luther was such a person. Luther was doing an exegesis on the book of Romans. Amid this exegesis, Luther discovered the gospel. He discovered the doctrine of justification by faith. Mankind is saved by faith alone, through Christ alone, by grace alone. He wanted to debate the Roman Catholic theologians, those in the Catholic church who were teaching contrary to Scripture. This got him into a bunch of hot water. Subsequently, Luther was commanded to recant. Here is my succinct paraphrase of Luther’s response: “No! I will not recant! Here I stand! I can do no other! God help me! Amen!

Conclusion

Can God trust you with the blessing of suffering? For God to trust you with this blessing, there must be the inner quality of godly integrity. For God to trust us with this blessing our motives must be selfless. For God to trust us with this blessing our commitment must be unshakable.

I am reminded of the the pastor’s sermon title he gave on the radio: “I Can’t Eat by Day, I Can’t Sleep by Night and the Woman I Love Don’t Treat Me Right.” That is Job. Yet Job was the prime candidate for the suffering that came because God trusted him with it.

I want to give us four biblical principles concerning suffering and one Scripture to wrap them together like a bow on a Christmas present.

Biblical Principle #1: When sin entered the world, everything changed.

Biblical Principle #2: God did not create evil; we did by our sin.

Biblical Principle #3: There are lessons in life that we can only learn because of pain and suffering.

Biblical Principle #4: Christ is worth living for. Christ is worth dying for. Yes, Christ is even worth suffering for.

God gives us the assurance of a promise that includes suffering in Romans 8:28-29:

Romans 8:28–29 CSB

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Only Christianity has the solution to the problem of evil and suffering. It is through the suffering that we will gain ultimate victory. We are here to show the hurting how to hurt from the position of victory. God uses hurting people to help hurting people.