‘You Know Best’

“Then Job replied to the LORD, “I am nothing”—how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say.”   Job 40:3

The book of Job reveals four different views on suffering.  Job’s three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar believed that suffering is God’s judgment for sin.  Elihu’s perspective was that suffering is God’s way to teach, discipline, and refine.  The Fourth view presented here is Satan’s view on suffering.  Satan’s view is that people believe in God only when they are prospering and not suffering.

But what about God’s view? From what I see, God’s view on suffering is completely different than ours. Sound familiar?  God’s view is that suffering is causes us to trust Him for who He is…..not for what He does.

Throughout all Job’s time of suffering,he longed to have an opportunity to plead his innocence before God.  Job finally get’s his wish and  God appeared to Job and gave him that opportunity. But Job decided to remain quiet because he no longer had the need to speak. God had shown Job that, as a limited human being, he had neither the ability to judge the God who created the universe nor the right to ask for God’s reasons.

It is common during our individual seasons of sufferings that we come to understand these simple truths, that God will do whatever is necessary in His eyes what is needed for us to turn our eyes to Him, and take our eyes off things that will not matter in the eternal picture.  Suffering becomes a tool for God to keep us from losing control altogether.  We will all go through some type of major suffering sooner or later, and so it is important that we learn from the responses of the saints that have gone before us; especially those written in the Bible.  They are for our good, so that when sufferings come, we are not taken by surprise.    Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:8 in what manner we might approach these sufferings that are brought to us from God as follows:   “Concerning this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Bottom line this morning, God’s actions don’t depend on ours; in what we do, think. He will always do what He knows is best, regardless of what we think is fair. Nonetheless, God came to Job and showed Job his love and care.   In this, is why we learn to cling to Him, because we learn in our suffering that everything He does is covered in a blanket of love and a pillow of care, because He is holding us throughout this time, nursing, holding us in His arms.  When He sees we are ready, He will set us down and we will walk with a stronger purpose, because we have experienced first hand, why we need to trust Him.

Here’s Today’s Video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSXr8s4Iv8o