Groups Guy

I just finished up reading through the book of Job. What a powerful book. The depth of that this book mulls over the issue of pain is powerful and scary. Pain has its all encompassing effect on our lives. When you are in the midst of a struggle it saps all your mental and physical capabilities. Difficulty can so color your world and knock the wind out of you. In the midst of suffering it almost seems impossible to think about anything else. But the book of Job does offer some answers. Here’s  as I read through it.

In chapters 1 & 2 Job is faced with losing everything: his cattle, his children, his home, and finally his health. Nothing was left in his life, only his wife and three friends. These four were hardly helpful. They seemed to think their job was to needle Job. God had pulled back his protective grace and allowed Satan full access to harm and hurt. Job was left with nothing to cling to, except the Lord himself. God in most of life doesn’t allow this kind of tragedy to happen, particularly in such short period. But we see in the account of Job what can happen when the Lord pulls back his protection …mayhem, pain, suffering beyond what we can bear. Here’s some good news. The Lord does protect us. He does watch over us. Few of us go through such tragedy like Job. God’s love protects us in so many ways every day. So much more could happen to us, yet because of the Lord’s intervention and choice we don’t experience all of the possibilities. When life’s difficulties are in our lives we must remember that the Lord is protecting us even now. Much more could be happening to us. In the midst of pain we can still celebrate and be thankful that God is good. He is saving us from so much more that could happen. As I watch others go through pain I am so sharpened by their ability in their suffering to say, “God is good.” May we be able to do that as well through the Lord’s strength. God is still good despite life’s difficulties, irritations.