Job: The Suffering Father

How could he, a man of faithful goodness, be allowed to suffer so much? That question gnawed at Job day in and day out. Finally, he demanded that God give an answer for his suffering.

God did respond; he gave Job a glimpse of what few men are able to see, the vastness and glory of creation, and God’s powerful hand within it. Humbling himself before God, Job accepted that he might simply be unable to understand certain things.

Do you find yourself in dire circumstances beyond your control? Are you striving with God, trying to understand how he could allow such suffering? You have good company in Job. And yet, as with Job, sometimes trying to comprehend the whys of our lives is a futile process that only brings us more grief. Sometimes peace is found when we simply rest in God’s goodness and leave the big questions to him. He is our father and our comforter. He is over all and sees us in our time of trial. His vision goes far beyond ours, and even though we may not understand why we must endure difficulty, God is faithful to guide us through it.

Tragedy is a painful wound that the world gives to all of us in time; despair is a self-inflicted injury that refuses to heal because it rejects the Healer. When we let go of our need to control and understand, we are giving ourselves into the hands of the One who can make us whole again, despite our wounds.

Sally Clarkson is the author of numerous books. Her son Joel Clarkson is a composer and editor. Adapted from A Different Kind of Hero, the companion study guide to Different: The Story of an Outside-the-Box Kid Who and a Mom Who Loved Him (both Tyndale Momentum). © 2017. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.