Suffering- Part 2

I believe that in the book of Job, we see two responses to what has taken place in his life.  In chapter 1, we read:

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:

Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

    and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; 

    may the name of the Lord be praised.”

Now, this is nice and pretty and it makes for a really nice song.  But I have to be honest...if both of my children were killed, my house burned down, my cars taken away, and almost everything else I owned was destroyed or stolen, I am not sure I could say, "Well, you know the Lord gives and the Lord takes away" like they were a toy car or something.  Trust me, I know that everything I have is a gift from God, but I am not sure that would be my response.  I know when I heard Caleb had cancer, it wasn't close to my response.  


However, if you read a couple of chapters later, chapter 3, the response is a bit different.  Maybe different is the wrong word, but I feel it is a little more honest and better look at what Job is feeling on the inside.  It says (just a few verses):


“May the day of my birth perish,
    and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’ 
⁴ That day—may it turn to darkness;
    may God above not care about it;
    may no light shine on it.


“Why did I not perish at birth,
    and die as I came from the womb? 
¹² Why were there knees to receive me 
    and breasts that I might be nursed?


What I feared has come upon me;
what I dreaded has happened to me. 
I have no peace, no quietness;
I have no rest, but only turmoil.”


The chapter has more to say and if you continue to read the book of Job, there is even more open and honest response that Job gives in the face of his tohu v vohu.  I mean he curses the day of his birth and even the one who helped in his birth.  That is pretty raw and honest!


Timothy Keller in a sermon he did on suffering said that usually in the church there are two responses to suffering.  He said:
Response 1- Don't question God!  He has reasons beyond your finite little mind.  And therefore just accept everything.  Don't question.
Response 2- I don't know what God is up to--I have no idea at all about why these things are happening.  There's no way to make sense of it all.  


I am not sure that either response is the greatest, but maybe there is a third way to look at suffering.  What if instead of saying that God has reasons beyond our reasons or who knows what God is up to we had a sense that God was going to use us exactly where we are?  What if God doesn't waste any pain?  What if God doesn't cause it but will use what we go through for good?  What if there is no reason it is happening other than it happens and God works through it all?  


What if our prayer is "God, whatever I face today, make me more like you!  Help me to act like you, think like you, and see people like you see them no matter where I am or what I face today!  I know that I cannot do this in my own power, so I will need your help...in fact, it would just be better if you could do it in me!  Help me to see you in everyone and everything and realize that there is nowhere that I can go that you are not already there!  Make me more like you every second of every day!"


What if I didn't act like God was in a far off place and someone who couldn't be engaged but rather someone who entered into life and the struggles of life with me?  What if I didn't make him smaller by not realizing that He can handle the questions?  What if I asked, "Ok, I don't understand and I think this really stinks, but I know I am not alone and that you are as upset as I am about this situation."  


I will close with another quote from Keller.  He said, "Scripture shows us that God identifies with the suffering  On the cross we sufferers finally see to our shock that God now knows too what it is to lose a loved one in an unjust attack."  Ok...actually one more quote that I used in my sermon on Sunday by a guy named John Stott.  He said, "I could never myself believe in God if it were not for the cross.  In the real world of pain, how would one worship a God who was immune to it?"  


Can I question God?  Sure.  Do I just accept the circumstances without wondering why?  I don't think so.  But one thing I can do, look for God and look for what I can learn about being more like Him through the suffering.  


I think suffering has one of two outcomes.  I can become bitter and angry or I can become compassionate and loving.  I would rather be the latter.  Bitterness and anger seem like a dead end street to me!    


Grace and Peace