The Setting of the Test
Open Your Bible
Job 1:1-22, Job 2:1-13, Psalm 22:1-11
BY Lisa Harper
Dealing honestly, wisely, and compassionately with human pain is an integral part of our job description as followers of Jesus Christ. No one gets through this life unscathed. Everyone deals with pain and suffering at some level. If someone insists she hasn’t, she’s either lying, in denial, or has amnesia. And since God’s second most important command is for us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, it behooves us to learn how to better comfort ourselves as well as our neighbors—both those we rub shoulders with daily, and also our global neighbors, who make up the lost and dying world we’re called to care for.
But let’s deal with the proverbial bull in the china shop, which is the fact that what happened to Job wasn’t what we like to think of as “fair.” I mean, goodnight! The very beginning of this Old Testament book describes Job as a really good guy who was doing really good things with his life. The mention of Job rising early to pray for his kids (Job 1:5) is a common Hebrew idiom denoting a conscientious habit, which means praying for his family was something he did consistently.
Reading about this righteous guy losing pretty much everything—his wealth, his health, and all ten of his children—it’s like biting into a warm brownie and breaking your tooth on a rock. This “divine test” is surprisingly unfair. Surely Job didn’t deserve such devastating loss.
In the New Testament, Jesus blows the idea of human deservedness right out of the water. In His Sermon on the Mount, He teaches that God throws fairness out the window to bless even the unrighteous (Matthew 5:43–45). In another place, He explains that bad things do indeed happen to good people (Luke 13:1–5). And in His parable about the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1–16), He thoroughly deconstructs any notion that we can earn God’s blessings.
The bottom line is this: No matter how many Bible studies we’ve done, or meals we’ve served to the homeless, we cannot earn one of those immunity sticks like they do on Survivor. None of us can get “good enough” to shield ourselves and those we love from suffering. Job proves that “good” people, including people of faith, can and do experience horrific things through no particular fault of their own. And if you want to really blow your mental hard drive, reread Job chapter 1, which suggests that while Job’s faith was truly strong, it did not safeguard him from hardship (v.8).
In the economy of God, Job’s suffering was an honor, a privilege. After all, “should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” (2:10). Our Creator and Redeemer handpicked Job for the honorable position of carrying the weight of pain. While God is not the author of evil (Psalm 5:4), He did choose Job with the foreknowledge that he would carry suffering well, because even our pain is a great conduit for God’s glory.
Can you imagine how different our lives could be if we began to view some of our pain and disappointment as a divine privilege? What if we saw a difficult journey as one God handpicked us to take, knowing that He Himself would strengthen us to make the trek, and more importantly, that His glory would be illuminated through our efforts? Changing our perspective on suffering—viewing it as an honor instead of dumb luck or cruelty—could absolutely change the course of our lives and deeply impact the world around us.
357 thoughts on "The Setting of the Test"
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my suffering is not even comparable to what Job went through but I love the thought of changing our mindset to use this pain and suffering to glorify the Lord because He chose us to carry the weight of pain and suffering!!
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Some dear friends of mine had their twins at the beginning of this year. The twins were 4 months early. The oldest and strongest of the two lived for a couple weeks before he passed away. They have been in such deep suffering and questioning God’s reasons. They were able to bring their one son home at the beginning of May with such bittersweet sorrow. I know loss and suffering but not like theirs and I feel like a terrible friend for not knowing how to reach out to them. They recently recommended some sermons on Job and while I could barely follow along, I got more out of this first study day than all of those sermons combined. I’m excited to keep learning so I know how to pray for them and be there for them through this grief journey.
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Krysta, you are a good friend and if you ask God for wisdom, He will help you know how to support your friends.
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Some dear friends of mine had their twins at the beginning of this year. The twins were 4 months early. The oldest and strongest of the two lived for a couple weeks before he passed away. They have been in such deep suffering and questioning God’s reasons. The
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I feel like 2020 for anyone has some suffering in it. I mean nothing compared to Job, but disappointment nonetheless. The questions at the end really shift your focus for sure. Like God didn’t create this situation for me to suffer but because it would strengthen us and show others him by getting through the suffering positively and with him!
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I have just lost my husband to a self inflicted head injury. Reading my Bible and familiar stories like Job are all taking on new meaning in my heart and for my walk with Christ. May I be used for Christ’s glory amidst this unimaginable pain.
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I’ve been dealing with depression most of college but always had this incredible amount of support from my boyfriend of 3 years. October 2019 I was drugged and raped by some random guy at a party and my boyfriend literally helped me heal and never left my side. He literally lived for the both of us during this difficult time. Me and him were supposed to go to Tennessee for one week together and 48 hours before the trip he was in a fatal car accident and died instantly. He is my best friend and who I was planning on marrying within the year. I’m trying really hard to find God and continue to pursue him through all of this but it is so difficult.
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Wow Meredith you are dealing with so much. It’s encouraging to see how you are trying to find God and pursue him even in these awful circumstances. Praying for you today.
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May God fill you with His love and grace, know that He loves you especially when we can’t trace Him.
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I’ve been dealing with depression most of college but always had this incredible amount of support from my boyfriend of 3 years.
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‘What if we saw a difficult journey as one God handpicked us to take, knowing that He Himself would strengthen us to make the trek, and more importantly, that His glory would be illuminated through our efforts?’ This has really spoken to me after grief just overwhelmed me to weep over circumstances I have found myself in. It’s not an easy task to change our perspective but I pray that the Holy Spirit will move within me during this study to help nurture this change within my heart.
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