Draw Near – 365 Guides to Greater Intimacy with GodSample

WHY? When a person loses a loved one by death, the question automatically comes, "Why?" Somehow we think that if we could see some sense to the tragedy, it would give us a certain consolation. Job sought the same answer during his time of trouble. Yet God chose to demonstrate through his life that a man can love God and find peace without knowing the source of his troubles. Tragic though his life was, the Bible says: In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong (Job 1:22). After losing his wealth, his family, and everything he had worked for, Job was struck down with a form of leprosy and probably elephantiasis. For almost two years, these painful ailments gnawed at his nerves, making them bloody raw. Four friends came to "comfort" him and pointed out that obviously Job's trouble came because of some great secret sin in his life. Later, when Job was healed, these same four men were instructed by God to ask Job to pray for their forgiveness. Three prominent lessons are learned in the book of Job: (1) Human suffering is not necessarily an evidence of God's displeasure with the suffering one; (2) God is with His people at all times, even though they cannot feel Him; (3) While suffering may be permitted by God, it is brought on by Satan. Satan would confuse these three principles. He would like us to think that God forgets His people and is the creator of sorrow. The true believer looks beyond the sorrow of the moment to the sunrise of God's love. He, like Job, can say: My Redeemer lives! Remember, after the cross, the resurrection always comes.