Any discussion on suffering and trials must begin with the most troubled, distressed, despairing believer of all time. The man I’m talking about was a righteous, faithful, God-loving servant, devoted to prayer and worship. Yet, when sorrow and trouble overwhelmed his life, this same man began to sound like an atheist.
At the very height of his suffering, this servant concluded the following: “If I had called, and he [God] had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice. For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.”
Of course, the person I’m describing is Job (see Job 9:16-17). Here was a man who lost everything dear to him: his family, his health, his goodwill, his possessions, his hope. Job’s statement about God in the passage above is just one of many despairing remarks this poor man made as his awful pains were multiplied.
To make matters even more unbearable for Job, all of his calamities came upon him suddenly, in one day. Job declared, “He [the Lord] will not suffer me to take [catch] my breath, but filleth me with bitterness” (9:18). Eventually, at his deepest point of despair, Job also stated, “He will laugh at the trial of the innocent” (9:23). In so many words, Job was saying, “It doesn’t pay to be holy or walk uprightly. God treats the wicked and the pure the same. We both suffer. So, why labor to be upright?
“I loved God with all my heart. I was a praying man, just and honest. I was kind and compassionate, caring for the poor and clothing the naked. And I was a dedicated, repentant believer. I raised my children in the utmost fear of the Lord. Yet, look at what has happened to me. My life now is nothing but sorrow, trouble and hardship.
“No one really cares about me. And nobody is able to give me any advice or comfort. I don’t have an intercessor in my corner. Oh, please, let God take his rod off my back. Let him stop terrifying me. All of these disasters are overwhelming me. If the Lord is at work in any of these things, I surely don’t see it. My life seems like a joke, and God is mocking me in all my sorrows.”
What I’m about to say may surprise you. It’s simply this: Job’s example should be a great comfort to all of us. You see, I believe Job represents the latter-day believer who will undergo fierce trials in the days ahead. Indeed, multitudes of God-fearing Christians are going to face the same fires that Job experienced. And we need this suffering man’s example in order to draw hope for ourselves.
I believe our nation is hurtling swiftly into a period of trouble beyond all comprehension, a time such as the world has never seen. Right now, trouble upon trouble is piling up in the lives of many wonderful, devoted Christians. Some have lost their jobs in the recent economic slowdown. Others have been out of work for weeks or months. Like Job, numbers of these dedicated believers have been stripped bare. And nothing they’ve experienced in their previous years has prepared them for such hardship.
Moreover, multitudes of Christian marriages are being tested. Families are coming under incredible pressures, facing heartaches of all kinds. Young people are being lost to the insanity of the hour. And, on top of all these domestic woes, our national and personal wealth is vanishing. Our health is also declining, as new diseases afflict people both young and old.
As we survey the troubles mounting all around us, we find ourselves gazing out from an ash-heap of despair. Looking into the future can be a frightening prospect. All we may be able to see are more uncertainties, fears and crises. Like Job, our hearts may cry out, “What are we going to do? Why is all of this happening to faithful servants of God? Why doesn’t the Lord intervene and stop it?”
Yet, what we see happening to our generation is exactly what happened to Job. And we can learn much by examining his story.
In the days ahead, we can’t let our hope rest in remaining safe within some cozy cocoon of comfort. That’s a pipe dream. It’s simply not going to happen for anybody. Like everyone else, Christians are going to see trouble on all sides. Yet, we can be assured of this: our heavenly Father will be faithful to deliver us through all our afflictions, just as he did with Job.
I hear this truth being preached from pulpits all across America. It’s being proclaimed by ministers whom God has raised up as prophetic voices in these last days. These faithful shepherds are determined to prepare the Lord’s people for what is coming. And now, as hundreds of such pastors gather to pray in various cities, they’re hearing similar reports from one another: “Never have so many of my sheep been so deeply tested. Something has been unleashed in the land over these past few months. Many of the godly men and women I know have fallen under a flood of trouble, hardship, suffering and sorrow.”
This flood of trouble has a personal entity behind it: Satan. The fact is, the devil was Job’s troubler, and he’s still the troubler of God’s people today. Once again, the enemy is standing before the Lord, making great accusations against his church. He’s challenging God, saying, “You have no true body in this last hour. You don’t have the spotless bride your Word prophesies of. Take a good look at your people, God. They’re not wise virgins. Most of them are sound asleep. They’re materialistic, self-centered, grasping for riches and the good life. They don’t care about spiritual things. They’re preoccupied with making life better for themselves.
“Just listen to what their leaders are teaching. They’re telling the people they don’t have to suffer. They claim that every material thing is theirs for the taking. I dare you now, God: take down your wall of protection from around your people. Let me at them for just a short time. I’ll put all your fattened followers to the test.
“You know full well that this generation has been pampered like no other. If you’ll just allow me to sift them, you’ll see for yourself that you won’t have a remnant left. I’ll smite them with fiery arrows of temptation, bring them to poverty, pour out a spirit of despair on them. Then you’ll see all of your spoiled followers fold. I assure you, God, they’ll crumble and quit within the first hour. There aren’t any Jobs left in your body on earth. They’re all spiritual wimps.”
The apostle John writes prophetically, “Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (Revelation 12:12). Today, as the devil brings indescribable woes upon humankind, many people are crying out in utter confusion, just as Job did.
Of course, as God’s children, we know that Satan can’t touch us. That could only happen if our Lord decides to let down his hedge of protection and allow the devil to try us. In my opinion, that is exactly what’s happening right now, throughout the church of Jesus Christ. The Bible warns us very clearly that in these last days, God will put his people through a purifying fire. And now, as we face trouble upon trouble, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for us to place our trust in the Lord, through every trial.
Of course, this wasn’t the counsel Job heard. When this suffering man was at his lowest point, he was besieged by critics posing as counselors. These so-called friends only further discouraged Job. They accused him of having hidden sin in his life, and urged him to repent. However, the Lord revealed to Job that these men’s accusing words were mere foolishness.
I want to issue a warning right now to every Christian who isn’t suffering but who knows a dear brother or sister who is. Maybe you have a believing friend who’s unemployed, with no job in sight. Or, maybe a sudden calamity has struck your friend’s home. Or, perhaps your friend is being flooded with problem after problem, with no end in sight.
My warning to you is this: It’s a wicked thing to misrepresent the Lord to those who are suffering. Therefore, when you see such a person discouraged by his trials, don’t judge him. Only God can see into that person’s heart and know whether sin lodges there.
So, be careful not to add to your brother’s sorrows. Instead, put your arms around him and encourage him. Let him know you care for him, with the very love of Christ. If your friend weeps, weep with him. If he grieves, grieve with him. That is truly godly counsel, because it comes straight from God’s Word. And pray that the Lord gives you his own heart of compassion for his suffering people. After all, you may be the next one to face the furnace of affliction.
Perhaps right now you’re suffering an excruciating trial. Yet, you know the reason behind it isn’t that God is dealing with sin in your life. So, you wonder, why is the Lord allowing you to endure such awful pain?
It could be that the furnace of your affliction is meant to bring you into a life-changing revelation. This is exactly what happened with Job. In the midst of his suffering, Job made an incredible discovery: despite his pure knowledge of God, he didn’t truly know the Lord. He confessed, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).
At the time Job experienced this trial, he was at least seventy years old. And he had known about God all his life. At some point, Job had erected an altar to the Lord, where he spent many reverent hours praising and worshipping God. For years, God had taught him about his ways and mysteries. Job had been taught about the Lord’s consolations, his holiness, his character, his nature, his wrath. And he had learned about the majesty of God’s power and wisdom.
Yet, when Job’s mind-boggling crisis came upon him, he wasn’t able to see the Lord at all. Instead, God became to him nothing more than a vague theological term. The Lord who had been so much a part of his everyday life now seemed absent from everything Job was going through. Suddenly, God only seemed like a series of sermons, a dead word, a knowledge without any power or life behind it.
I believe this is what the Lord wanted to bring to the surface in Job’s life all along. You see, our loving Father wants his children to know him more deeply than merely through worship services, Bible study or prayer time. He wants us to know him intimately, in every aspect of our lives. And that includes our deepest trials and sufferings. Our Lord longs to be to us more than a God of some dead-letter theology, especially in our times of pain. He wants us to know him as a Father who is all-knowing, ever near to us, holding everything in total control, in the very hollow of his hand.
Yet, the sad fact is that many Christians have built their house of faith on the sands of ease and blessing. And, tragically, when the storms of trial and suffering arrive, those believers will be blown away completely.
Already, I see faithful men and women being blown down by calamities that have swept upon them suddenly. They’ve never learned the role that suffering plays in the life of every follower of Jesus. Instead, they’ve been taught that because they’ve believed in God, they should be entitled to a prosperous, pain-free existence. They think their every prayer should be answered immediately, with no testing at all.
Yet, the Bible never says the Lord will keep us from afflictions. Rather, it says he will deliver us out of them. And that’s exactly what God did for Job. Suddenly, a whirlwind appeared before Job, representing trials and sufferings. And from the midst of that supernatural whirlwind, the Lord revealed to Job how to rise above his troubles.
How did the Lord do this? He made his servant look into the faces of two awesome monsters: the mighty hippopotamus and the serpent-like crocodile. God said to Job, “Behold now behemoth [the hippopotamus], which I made with thee” (Job 40:15). “Canst thou draw out leviathan [the crocodile] with an hook? Or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?” (41:1).
First, the Lord posed this problem to his servant: “Look, Job, here comes the hippopotamus after you. What are you going to do? Can you wrestle him down in your physical strength? No? Maybe you can try to sweet-talk him.
“Now, behold the crocodile that’s threatening. How will you handle him? Will you simply walk up to him and put a rope through his nose? Can you tame him like a pet, or play with him at will? Tell me, do you have the strength to pry open his massive jaws and look at his teeth? Of course not. This creature has a heart of stone. He has no concept of mercy.”
Make no mistake: this was more than a simple lecture about the animal kingdom. Rather, God was telling Job something about life’s “monsters.” He was showing his servant that these two awesome, ferocious, overpowering creatures represented the monstrous problems raging in Job’s life. The Lord was pointing out to Job, “If you think you can fight these two massive creatures, you’re terribly mistaken. No matter how hard you try, you can never win. And I assure you, you’ll never forget the battle.
“Consider the hippo. He tramples down everything in sight. He’s simply too big a problem for you to handle, Job. So, tell me, how can you wrestle him down? Will you lasso him, or bribe him with a bushel of corn? No, you’re no match for him whatsoever. Nothing you can do will tame him. Only I, the Lord, know how to stop such a monstrous creature.
“And what about the crocodile, Job? Those razor-sharp teeth you see in his jaws are the same demonic teeth Satan has bared at you during your trial. No human can do battle with such a creature. And nobody in his own strength can strip the crocodile of his thick armor. The same is true of your spiritual enemy, the devil. Only I can win the battle with him.”
Do you hear what God is saying in this speech? He’s speaking not just to Job, but to all believers. And he’s declaring, Face the truth about the monsters in your life. You can’t handle them. I’m the only one who can.
At this point, I imagine a small light suddenly clicking on in Job’s head. He must have realized, “These monsters the Lord is showing me — huge, overwhelming, fearless creatures — they’re all my troubles. And I’ll never be able to wrestle them down.
“All this time, I’ve been sitting on this ash-heap, trying to figure out why God has allowed these monstrous problems to come against me. I’ve been trying to come up with a way to fight them and chase them away. But the truth is, I’ve forgotten that my God can do everything. And he’s going to fight for me.”
Now Job’s words had a different tenor. Scripture tells us, “Then Job answered the Lord, and said, I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee” (Job 42:1-2). Job was saying, in essence, “My God is all-powerful. He can do all things. And no purpose of his can ever be thwarted. Therefore, I know my life is not out of order. God does have a plan behind all my suffering.
“I know my Lord is standing over me right now, with a sword in his hand to defend me. And he’s going to deliver me at the exact moment he sees fit. No man or monster can change his mind or affect his plan. He’s absolutely going to have his way. I know I can’t stand up against the hippo or the crocodile. But that doesn’t matter. I know God can. My part is simply to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.”
During my early years in ministry, I spent entire days walking the streets of New York City, preaching to drug addicts and gang members. After a while, I became worn out, broken in body and soul. I ended up developing mononucleosis, and I had to be hospitalized for six weeks.
At one point, I developed a growth in my throat. I couldn’t drink or swallow. At times, I couldn’t even catch my breath. Soon, my weight fell under 115 pounds. There was no way I could travel, which was how I raised funds for our ministry. So now, as my stay in the hospital grew longer, the ministry’s funds began to dry up. Soon it looked like the end was near for our ministry to drug addicts and alcoholics.
The old crocodile was baring his teeth. And now, as I lay flat on my back in the hospital, I was more than a little irritated at God. People came to visit me, but I didn’t find comfort in their company; they only made me nervous. In fact, I soon began to feel like Job. At least three people came to my room to speak a “word from the Lord” that only depressed me.
Finally, one night, I cried out to God in desperation. I pleaded, “Lord, I give up. I can’t fight this. I realize this entire matter is in your hands. I’m just going to have to trust you. I only have to ask one thing of you, though. If you want to close the doors of this ministry, that’s your business. But please, Lord, take this thing out of my throat.”
Within an hour, I coughed up a growth the size of a large walnut. And, suddenly, in that brief amount of time, I was well again. I left the hospital soon afterward, and my physical strength began to come back.
When I went back to the Teen Challenge offices, I discovered that while I was gone the ministry had survived. I still don’t know how the Lord accomplished this. It certainly wasn’t through some miraculous, large check I’d been hoping for. And, the fact is, during the time I was sick, the ministry staff had begun to trust the Lord instead of looking to me. I believe that’s what God had intended to accomplish all along.
You see, our troubles in life aren’t simply unforeseen accidents. No matter what we face, or how deep our pains reach inside us, God is right on target through it all. And he’s right on time in fighting our monsters for us. At times, we may think the devil has come in and interrupted God’s plan. But that’s never the case. Our Father always has everything under his control. And he’s going to harness everything Satan means for evil and turn it into our good.
When we’re in the midst of a trial, we have to get our eyes off the monsters. In just such times, we need to encourage ourselves, saying, “My God can do anything. And he hasn’t forgotten me. He has his eyes on me right now, as I endure this awful trial. And I know, no matter how bad things look, he has everything under control. Nobody, and no power, can change the plans he has for me.”
Maybe you’re discouraged right now, wondering, “I can’t see any way out of my trouble. Will I ever get out of this fiery trial? Or will my suffering continue until Jesus comes? Lord, will I ever be able to rejoice again?”
Here is God’s answer to you: “Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (James 5:11). “The Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10).
You may not double what you’ve lost, as Job did. But you will possess something much greater. You’ll have a true heart-knowledge that God is in control of your life. His love for you will no longer be just a theological concept. Instead, you’ll know his deliverance deeply, in a personal way. And you’ll never again fear any adversary or hardship. Why? You will have come through your trial more than a conqueror, seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus.
Right now, like Job at the beginning of his trial, you may know God only from hearing about him, through sermons and Bible studies. That’s good, because Scripture tells us that is exactly where our faith comes from: hearing the Word of God. Yet, now God wants you to see him as well. He wants you to develop an absolute trust that he has a divine plan designed for your life. And his eternal purpose can’t be thwarted by any demon in hell, nor by any monster that appears in your path.
Then, in the midst of your greatest trial, you’ll be able to testify of God’s goodness, as Job did. And you’ll quote confidently this great statement of faith: “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15).