Suffering Series

Job is synonymous with suffering. He lost his wealth in one day. He lost his children in one day. He lost his health. He lost the love of his wife, and he lost the compassion of his friends. We could say that with the exception of Jesus Christ that no one has suffered more than Job.

Suffering often results in loneliness. It did for Job. When we are suffering, we tend to lose our perspective and focus on ourselves. It can bring times when we worry more and that can lead to a time where we question our faith.

Here some of the vivid imagery to describe Job’s suffering.

In suffering we feel like an animal caught in a net.

know then that God has put me in the wrong

and closed his net about me. (Job 19:6)

When you suffer you feel as though you are trapped. You feel confined. All of a sudden you lost your liberty and are suddenly immobilized. You feel like you are an animal that has been trapped.

In suffering we feel like a criminal in court.

Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not answered;

I call for help, but there is no justice. (Job 19:7)

Job was standing before God, the judge and he was saying this is wrong. Why me? Job felt like he was declared guilty. He felt God was unfair. He cried out but God didn’t even answer. This is part of the loneliness of suffering. We cry out to God and sometimes God doesn’t answer our way.

The silence of God makes us hurt more and we feel like our faith is on trial. When we suffer, we feel as though we stand in court and there is no one to defend us. We are reminded about our past errors and guilt. We feel like a criminal in court.

In suffering we feel like a traveler stopped at a roadblock.

He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,

and he has set darkness upon my paths. (Job 19:8)

In suffering we feel that we were making such good progress and now everything is stopped. Our faith, family and work were progressing and then suddenly we have this roadblock put up in our way.

When we suffer our plans get changed. That is what can happen. Look at Job and how he was making progress in every way. All the events that caused his suffering blocked his way.

In suffering we feel like a dethroned king.

He has stripped from me my glory

and taken the crown from my head. (Job 19:9)

Job lost his physical glory. He is on the ash heap with ugly sores all over his body. His financial glory is gone. He was rich and now he is bankrupt. His power is gone. Before he told people what to do and he was respected and obeyed. Now he is a nobody like a dethroned king.

It is like a powerful CEO of a company in the hospital taking orders from a young nurse. He was powerful but some health problem changed everything in a moment.

In suffering we feel like a building destroyed.

He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone, (Job 19:10a)

Our body is like a building. As believers the imagery is we are like a temple of God, because the holy Spirit dwells in us. When we are suffering, we feel like a building that is being torn down. You feel like God sent in a demolition crew to attack you.

When we are really suffering our bodies don’t feel normal and don’t function like they did before our suffering. Job saw himself like a building being destroyed.

In suffering we feel like an uprooted tree.

and my hope has he pulled up like a tree. (Job 19:10b)

When you are suffering it seems like everything that has rooted you has now been pulled up. If there are no roots the tree will die. Without roots there is not much hope. Job felt like he was flourishing and bearing fruit and now he feels like a tree ripped out of the ground. He was like a beautiful tree and now it looks like he has no future at all.

In suffering we feel like God has turned against us.

He has kindled his wrath against me

and counts me as his adversary. (Job 19:11)

We can easily lose are perspective in suffering. We can even feel like God, who loves us has turned against us. Here is job feeling like God he is an enemy of God. This could not be further from the actual situation, but it sure feels like that when we suffer to the degree that Job suffered. It doesn’t even take near that much to cause us to lose our perspective.