The question of “why?” may be life’s most difficult question.

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?”

Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”

And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”

Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”

And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

While he was yet speaking, there came another and said,  “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” (Job 1:6-19)

 

Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?”

Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”

And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.”

Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.”

And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” 

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” (Job 2:1-9)

 

What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him, visit him every morning and test him every moment?  How long will you not look away from me, nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit? If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind? Why have you made me your mark? Why have I become a burden to you? (Job 7:17-20)

God is asking Job: “Will you honor Me, no matter what?”

“I’ve served in the ministry thirty years, almost thirty-one, and I’ve come to understand that there are two kinds of faith.  One says ‘if’, and the other says, ‘though.’  One says, ‘If everything goes well, if my life is prosperous, if I am happy, if no one dies, if I’m successful, then I’ll believe in God, and say my prayers, and go to church, and give what I can afford.’  The other says, “Though the cause of evil prosper, though I sweat at Gethsemane, though I must drink my cup at Calvary like Christ; nevertheless, precisely then, I will trust the Lord who made me.’”

“Faith boils down to a question of trust.  If I stand on a bedrock of trust, the worst circumstances will not destroy the relationship.  Abraham climbing the hill with his son at Mt. Moriah, Job scratching his boils under the hot sun, David hiding in a cave, Elijah moping in a desert, Moses pleading for a new job description…. All these heroes experienced crisis moments which solely tempted them to judge God as uncaring, careless or even hostile.  Confused and in the dark they faced a turning point – they could turn away embittered, or step forward in faith.  And in the end, all chose the path of trust, and for this reason we remember them as giants of the faith.”

– Phillip Yancey, Reaching for the Invisible God

Our only choice is to sit in the ashes and wait for the Lord.

Remember God’s faithfulness to you in the past

Abraham and Isaac – Genesis 22

Worship God in your suffering

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:20-21)

Don’t expect that God must explain himself

Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. (Job 4:7-8)

God gives me up to the ungodly and casts me into the hands of the wicked. I was at ease, and he broke me apart; he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces; he set me up as his target; his archers surround me. He slashes open my kidneys and does not spare; he pours out my gall on the ground. He breaks me with breach upon breach; he runs upon me like a warrior. I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin and have laid my strength in the dust. My face is red with weeping, and on my eyelids is deep darkness, although there is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is pure. (Job 16:11-17)

God wants to be trusted, not analyzed.

Unwavering trust is a rare and precious thing, because it often demands a degree of courage that borders on the heroic.  When the shadow of Jesus’ cross falls across our lives in the form of failure or rejection, abandonment, betrayal, unemployment, loneliness, depression or loss of a loved one; when we are deaf to everything but the shriek of our own pain – and the world around us seems a hostile and menacing place – at those times we may cry out “How can a loving God permit this to happen?” At such moments our seeds of distrust are sown.  It requires heroic courage to trust in the love of God no matter what happens to us.

– Brennan Manning, Ruthless Trust

Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him. (Job 13:15)

God constantly encourages us to trust him in the dark.  When God created the heavens and the earth, darkness covered the face of the deep.  When the Eternal Son became flesh, he was carried for a time in the sweet virgin’s womb.  When he died for the life of the world, it was in the darkness, seen by no one at the last; when he arose from the dead, it was very early in the morning, no one saw him rise.  It was as if God was saying, “What I am is all that need matter to you, for there lie your hope and your peace.  I will do what I will do.  It will all come to light at last, but how I do it is my secret.  Trust me and don’t be afraid.”

– AW Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy

 Keep your eyes focused on eternity

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)

God never explained to Job anything about why things happened the way they did.

I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.  I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; …therefore I repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:2-6)