Tuesday, July 26
Read Job 1:6-2:10. What caused Job’s suffering?
There is something astonishing here. The angels come to see God, and Satan comes with them. God asks Satan where he has been, and Satan replies that he has been “going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it” (Job 1:7). Then God poses this question: “Hast thou considered my servant Job” (Job 1:8). The question itself is not remarkable; what is remarkable is the One who asks it. It isn’t Satan who points out Job as a subject for examination — it’s God. Knowing exactly what is going to follow, God calls Job to Satan’s attention. Down on the earth, Job has absolutely no idea how hot his crucible is about to become. And though it’s very clear that it is Satan, not God, who causes Job’s suffering, it is also clear that it is God who gives His explicit permission for Satan to destroy Job’s possessions, children, and his own physical health. If God is giving permission for Job to suffer, what difference does it make whether God or Satan is personally inflicting the suffering? How can God be righteous and holy when He actively allows Satan to cause Job such pain? Is this situation a special case, or is it characteristic of the way God still deals with us today?
It is possible to respond to such suffering in two ways. We can become bitter and angry, turning our backs on a God we believe to be cruel or nonexistent, or we can hang on to God more tightly. Job deals with his catastrophe by staying in God’s presence and worshiping Him.
In Job 1:20, 21, we see three aspects of worship that may help when in anguish. First, Job accepts his helplessness and recognizes that he has no claim to anything: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return thither” (Job 1:21). Second, Job acknowledges that God is still in total control: “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away” (Job 1:21). Third, Job concludes by reasserting his belief in the righteousness of God.
“Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21).
Going through a trial? Follow the steps that Job used. How might they help you, as well?
Wednesday, July 27
“For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead” 2 Corinthians 1:8, 9
As God’s chosen apostle, Paul had endured more than most people. Yet, Paul was not crushed. Rather, he grew in his praise for God. Read his list of hardships in 2 Corinthians 11:23-29. Now read 2 Corinthians 1:3-11.
In 2 Corinthians 1:4, Paul states that the reason for receiving God’s compassion and comfort is “that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God”. To what extent might suffering be a call to ministry? How could we become more alert to this possibility?
God wants to minister through us to hurting people. This means that He may first allow us to experience the same sort of hurts. Then we’ll offer encouragement, not from theory, but from our own experience of the compassion and comfort of God. This is a principle from Jesus’ life (see Hebrews 4:15).
Paul’s vivid descriptions of his hardships are not to make us feel sorry for him. They are for us to know that even when we’re in the depths, the Father still can intervene to bring His compassion and comfort. We may despair even of our own lives, and even be killed, but fear not, God is teaching us to rely on Him. We can trust Him, for our God “raiseth the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:9).
As Paul continues to set his eyes on proclaiming the gospel, he knows that God will rescue him in the future, as well. Paul’s ability to remain firm is supported by three things he mentions in 2 Corinthians 1:10, 11. First, God’s proven track record: “Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver” (2 Corinthians 1:10). Second, Paul’s determination to fix his concentration on God Himself: “in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us” (2 Corinthians 1:10). Third, the saints’ continual intercession: “Ye also helping together by prayer for us” (2 Corinthians 1:11).
What can you learn from Paul that can help you keep from falling into self-pity amid your own struggles?
