“On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan answered the LORD, ‘From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.’ Then the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.’ ‘Skin for skin!’ Satan replied. ‘A man will give all he has for his own life. But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.’ The LORD said to Satan, ‘Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.’ So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, ‘Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!’ He replied, ‘You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?’ In all this, Job did not sin in what he said” (Job 2:1-10, NIV).
God gave not only good things, but also trouble, as we read part of Job 42:11, “They comforted and consoled him (Job) over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him…” God used Satan as His instrument to discipline Job.
We welcome comfort and convenience. We long for favors and whatever pleasant things from God. But we try to avoid trials, problems, or pains. There are even those who think they can eliminate suffering during their present life, so they use whatever resources in trying to realize it.
But if we believe that it is the Sovereign God who gave good things and bad things – adversity, or whatever trial and difficulty, should we not accept whatever He allows or even causes to happen in our life?
Paul wrote, “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him” (Phil. 1:29). Surely, it is God who granted His people the privilege to believe on Christ. He also granted them the experience “to suffer for him.”
We also read in Jonah 1:17, “But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.”
We read the first part in New American Standard Version, “And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah…” In the New King James Version, we read: “Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah.”
Perhaps, God had not provided, appointed, or prepared a great fish to swallow us, but He could provide, appoint, or prepare a great problem to “swallow,” or to envelop us!
Consider what happened to Paul.
He related his experience in 2 Corinthians 12:1-7, “I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know-God knows. And I know that this man -- whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows -- was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say. To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”
The Updated Edition of New American Standard Bible renders verse 7, “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, THERE WAS GIVEN ME A THORN IN THE FLESH, A MESSENGER OF SATAN TO TORMENT ME -- to keep me from exalting myself!”
Another example is David. He suffered various trials and pains in his life. And one of them: though he was a king, he endured dishonor and bitter remark (actually, a curse) from his subject.
Let’s read the account in 2 Sam 16:5-11 –
“As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. As he cursed, Shimei said, ‘Get out, get out, you man of blood, you scoundrel! The LORD has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The LORD has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a man of blood!’ Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, ‘Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.’ But the king said, ‘What do you and I have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD said to him, “Curse David,” who can ask, “Why do you do this?”’ David then said to Abishai and all his officials, ‘My son, who is of my own flesh, is trying to take my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.’”
Notice the last sentence of David in verse 11, “Leave him alone; LET HIM CURSE, FOR THE LORD HAS TOLD HIM TO.”
God is not only the cause of honor (1 Samuel 2:8). When David was cursed, he said, “Let him curse, for the Lord has told him to.”
Like Job, we could also ask, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” – Shall we accept only solutions and favors from God and refuse problems and difficulties?
But it is only natural for us to avoid or reject pain, or whatever that will discomfort or offend us. Just think of Jonah.
When the people of Nineveh “turned from their evil ways, he (God) had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened” (Jonah 3:10). We continue in Jonah 4:1, “But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry.”
Notice his reaction in verses 5-8, “Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, ‘It would be better for me to die than to live.’"
When God provided him with comfort, Jonah was happy. When God provided “a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head,” he wanted to die – just to avoid the pain of discomfort.
When Job suffered greatly, his wife also advised him: “Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9.)
We learn from God’s Word that God -- who declared, “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things” (Isa. 45:7) – is just. “He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you” – the believers (2 Thess. 1:6).
And those who are stubborn and unrepentant, those who are seeking only for comfort and pleasures in this world – who reject God as the Source of their comfort -- will ultimately suffer “trouble and distress.”
We read in Romans 2:5-9:
“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God ‘will give to each person according to what he has done.’ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”
God is just and holy. He will not allow even His own children – the believers – just to go on with their sins in this life.
We read in Hebrews 12:7-11, “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
Does it mean that sin is the only reason why God allows trouble, pain or difficulty to happen in an individual?
In John 9:1-7, we read about a blind man from birth. When his disciple asked Jesus, “…who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" His answer was, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” Then, He proceeded to heal the man.
What is your pain right now? What is your difficulty or trial? Perhaps, it happened “so that the work of God might be displayed” in your life. God may not heal you, but He may comfort you. He may encourage you. He may provide for you. He may strengthen you. He may prosper you. He may bless you physically, or spiritually.
Let’s go back to Job. Because of his trials, he became more acquainted with God (Job 42:1-6). Not only he was blessed spiritually, but “The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters… Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers” (Job 42:12-13, 15).
How about David? Why did he accept the “pain” that God had handed to him? David said in 2 Samuel 16:12, “It may be that the LORD will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today."
God did see and realize David’s distress and He fully and abundantly repaid him “with good.”
In the case of Jonah, when the Lord had provided “a great fish to swallow” him, God actually prevented him from getting drowned. It was not pleasant to be in the stomach of the sea creature just for an hour. But while inside it for three days, he was alive.
Let’s realize that great problem may come to inconvenience us; but it could actually save us from greater trouble – perhaps, we would not even know it!
Now, the Apostle Paul even prayed three times for the removal of the “thorn” in his flesh that tormented him, but the answer he received from the Lord was: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9).
So, in spite of his suffering, Paul went on to say: “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (verses 9-10).
Paul was able to delight in the presence of weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions difficulties, not only it prevented him to become conceited but the work of God was displayed in his life – the power of Christ was promoted, though Paul became more aware of his lowliness.
Peter also wrote in 1 Peter 1:3-8, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade -- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith -- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire -- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
Not only Paul, but every believer could delight -- according to Peter, “greatly rejoice” – “while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.”
Peter wrote further, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name” (1 Peter 4:12-16).
Like the other men of God, let’s welcome not only the solutions, but even the problems He gave. Let’s also say what the writer of Romans stated, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” ( Rom. 8:18).
Let’s remember our Savior. God the Father was pleased (NKJV), or it’s God’s will “to crush him (His Son) and cause him to suffer (Isa 53:10), so He could bring “many sons to glory” (Heb. 2:10).
Finally, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). In like manner, for the glory that is set before us, let’s endure whatever pain we suffer. Our God is not only Just and Holy, He is also Almighty, All-Knowing, Merciful and Loving. Because He loves us, He knows and has the power to give whatever is best for us – even the pain to prepare us for His Glory.
PRAYER: Our Almighty and Loving Father -- Just and Holy God -- may You grant us not only the trials that will refine and prepare us for Your Glory, but also the strength, comfort and encouragement we need to endure. Fill our heart also with joy, as You’ve given us the privilege to share in the suffering of Your Son, our Savior and Glorious King. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
