WHY DO GOOD PEOPLE SUFFER?
Reading: Job 1:6-22
NIV: Then the Lord asked Satan, "Have you seen my servant Job?" (Job 1:8)
An adult Sunday School class at my church studies one book of the Bible each week. Starting with Genesis, we pay attention to the theme, structure, and uniqueness of each book. At that time I did not realize that in the class I was leading there were two women who were impatient to immediately study the book of Job. They work as nurses who deal with human suffering every day, and they often get sharp questions about God's role in suffering.
Often the explanation for the problem of suffering is the same as that of Job's three friends who came to accompany him. One by one, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar tell Job that Job deserves to suffer for his sins. A young bystander, Elihu, joined in and said the same to Job.
The real reason why Job suffered was because Satan, the leader of the apostate angels, tried to turn Job away from God. Satan cannot defeat God, so he opposes Him by attacking His followers (1 Peter 5:8). Satan attacks God by tempting us to fall into sin.
One of the reasons why we suffer is because suffering is part of the struggle in this universe. When trouble strikes, we are asked to choose: trust God or turn away from God. If in enduring every affliction we will trust in an immovable God, then we will thwart Satan's efforts and glorify God --DCE
WHEN YOUR WORLD SHAKES. TURN ON GOD, OUR ROCK
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