Why do bad things happen to good people? Lessons from the book of Job

Lessons from the book of Job

Introduction:

Suffering is the one human experience that we all share. Which makes one ask: Why do bad things happen to good people? And where is God when we suffer? What is the ultimate purpose of suffering? 

So, in today's episode I will be sharing 5 lessons about suffering from the book of Job.

1.    GOD IS SOVEREIGN:

Key verses from Job: Job 38 – 41, 42:1-6

God is completely sovereign over every aspect of His created universe.  God’s sovereignty is demonstrated in the questions and statements that God puts to Job in chapters 38-41.

2.    GOD IS SOVEREIGN OVER SATAN:

Key verses from Job: Job 1:12, Luke 22:31-32

God is ultimately in control of the devil. God gives Satan permission and sets the limits for Satan’s testing of Job.

3.    GOD IS SOVEREIGN OVER HUMAN SUFFERING:

Key verses from Job: Job 1:14-19, 2:7

All human suffering is either caused by nature or human nature. We see both these forms of suffering in the book of Job.

3.1.       God is the initiator behind all that happens to Job

Job 1:8

God doesn’t just allow suffering, He ordains it—which is to say it is part of his sovereign His plan

3.2.       God gives Satan permission to test Job

Job 1:12

3.3.       Job recognizes God, not Satan, as the one who has caused his suffering.

Job 1:20-22
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
Job 2:9-10
"Shall we actually accept good from God but not accept adversity?”
Job 42:11
"...and they sympathized with him and comforted him for all the adversities that the Lord had brought on him."

4.    Being a good person or being righteous in this life does not guarantee that you will not suffer:

The book of Job teaches us that Job was righteous. So he did not experience these trials because he sinned. 

5.    Possible reasons for suffering:

5.1.       Character:

Malachi 3:3
James 1:2-4

5.2.       Disobedience:

Jonah 1:1-4

5.3.       Salvation:

Genesis 45:4-8

5.4.       Revelation:

Job 38-41 | Job 42:1-6

6.    God will restore us:

What is our hope through all this suffering? God will restore us in the end just like he did with Job. In this life or the next.

Job 42:10 | Romans 8:28

God’s justice will prevail.

God is just but He exacts his justice with an eternal perspective. Yes, the unrighteous will be punished and the righteous blessed. But God doesn’t always do it now. This is a call for faith. The point of the book of Job is to teach us to trust God. He knows what he is doing even when we don’t.