Suffering Well

Preface

Confusion

The smell of freshly roasted beans permeated the warm air of the dimly lit, two-story coffee shop on Milwaukee’s East Side. It was a welcome escape from the brisk winter night as I sought out the other members of my evangelism team—brandishing Bibles and surveys in the hope of conversing with some representatives of the open minded, intellectual community for which the East Side is known.

I found them at the top of a creaky, narrow staircase, seated on the floor with a student from the local university. He was asking probing questions about the Book of Job, and I was quickly drawn into the discussion. Sadly, we found ourselves unprepared for his inquiries, as he had more profound thoughts about the book than we did, and he willingly admitted his confusion while we were ashamed at our own.

In retrospect, I find it intriguing that, of all the topics in the Bible, Job was the book that inspired the most conversation that night. Perhaps it’s because the book of Job is about suffering—something we’re all destined to experience in this life, along with emotions from panic, anxiety, despair, depression, and exhaustion. But for most of us, suffering is above all confusing; we have a hard time making sense of it. For the most theological among us, even though we trace it back to sin, we’re still left with questions such as, “Why did suffering miss them but hit me?” and “What does God have to do with this calamity in my life?”

In our search for answers, we may run to a Christian book or our Study Bible to look up suffering. Almost inevitably, we’re encouraged to read the book of Job.

Been there, done that? If so—and if you’ve followed this advice by plunging in to the book of Job—you may have yet another question: “Why was I led to such a complicated book of the Bible during the most perplexing time of life?” Theologians refer to such questions as theodicy, which tend to spur us to seek out the best books on the subject, or commentaries and sermons on Job, or send us straight to Google for the latest thinking.

More often than not, we’ll end up even more confused. The simple truth is that during times of suffering, we want answers and we want them now. Our confusion drives our questions, which leads us to interpret the book incorrectly, and we end up even further away from God during our time of greatest need. Ironically, our search starts with a motivation to figure out what Job did to cause his misfortune. If we can find the answers to this question, we reason, we can discover the formula to cure our own pain.

In this volume, you will find a unique approach to the difficult subject of suffering—an approach that will both reduce your confusion and shed new light on your own suffering. I begin with a fresh look at how the Word of God instructs the discerning reader to look at Job. Just as a single key is used to open a door, I’ll use one key verse as the way to unlock this mystery and unveil the lessons that God wants His people to learn from this wonderful Old Testament book. My hope is that, during times of deep suffering, these insights will help Christians come away from the book of Job encouraged, because they saw with new eyes how a man of stubborn faith managed to suffer well.