When you think suffering is unfair…

You have the chance to see this dialog between Job and God. Job was indeed a righteous man yet in one day God allowed Satan to destroy his whole fortune, children and the next day his health as well. Oh, it surely seemed unfair!

That’s why Job wants to plead for his cause: "I am innocent, but God denies me justice. Although I am right, I am considered a liar; although I am guiltless, his arrow inflicts an incurable wound." Job 34:5,6

"What profit is it to me, and what do I gain by not sinning?" Job 35:3

Can you imagine what God’s answer could be in your case? Picture His answer to Job:

"From out of a storm, the LORD said to Job: Why do you talk so much when you know so little? Now get ready to face me! Can you answer the questions I ask?

How did I lay the foundation for the earth? Were you there? Doubtless you know who decided its length and width. What supports the foundation? Who placed the cornerstone, while morning stars sang, and angels rejoiced? When the ocean was born, I set its boundaries and wrapped it in blankets of thickest fog. Then I built a wall around it, locked the gates, and said, "Your powerful waves stop here! They can go no farther."

Did you ever tell the sun to rise? And did it obey?

Job, have you ever walked on the ocean floor? Have you seen the gate to the world of the dead?

And how large is the earth? Tell me, if you know!

Where is the home of light, and where does darkness live? Can you lead them home? I'm certain you must be able to, since you were already born when I created everything.

Who carves out a path for thunderstorms?

Who sends torrents of rain on empty deserts where no one lives?

Can you arrange stars in groups such as Orion and the Pleiades? Do you control the stars or set in place the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper?

Do you know the laws that govern the heavens, and can you make them rule the earth?

Did you teach birds to know that rain or floods are on their way?

When lions are hungry, do you help them hunt? Do you send an animal into their den? And when starving young ravens cry out to me for food, do you satisfy their hunger?

When do mountain goats and deer give birth? Have you been there when their young are born? How long are they pregnant before they deliver? Soon their young grow strong and then leave to be on their own.

Who set wild donkeys free? I alone help them survive in salty desert sand.

Would a wild ox agree to live in your barn and labor for you? Could you force him to plow or to drag a heavy log to smooth out the soil? Can you depend on him to use his great strength and do your heavy work?

An ostrich proudly flaps her wings, but not because she loves her young. She abandons her eggs and lets the dusty ground keep them warm. And she doesn't seem to worry that the feet of an animal could crush them all. She treats her eggs as though they were not her own, unconcerned that her work might be for nothing. I myself made her foolish and without common sense. But once she starts running, she laughs at a rider on the fastest horse.

Did you give horses their strength and the flowing hair along their necks? Did you make them able to jump like grasshoppers or to frighten people with their snorting? Before horses are ridden into battle, they paw at the ground, proud of their strength. Laughing at fear, they rush toward the fighting, while the weapons of their riders rattle and flash in the sun.

Did you teach hawks to fly south for the winter?

Did you train eagles to build their nests on rocky cliffs, where they can look down to spot their next meal? Then their young gather to feast wherever the victim lies."

God seems to also have some questions for Job, in fact 77 of them, and you’ve seen some here. It is remarkable to see Job’s attitude after hearing these questions:

"You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.' My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."(Quotations are taken from the book of Job.)

Many times we don’t understand why God chooses to do certain things … yet, He created all things and indeed He knows best; shouldn’t we give Him credit when the clouds cover our sky? It is through His light that we see the light, yes we will see the sun again! Yes Job received everything back, even twice as much wealth and 10 more children. Trust God even when you don’t have an answer, sometimes we are to small to understand it completely.