Explanations for PainSample

We don’t know why

Pain makes us wonder why. Why aren’t the kids at school nicer to you? Why isn’t God blessing the plans for your career that you prayed so often about? Why did God take your spouse to heaven so early and leave you behind on earth for so long?

For 35 chapters, Job and his friends fiercely debate why God allowed so much pain in Job’s life. Was Job bad, a hypocrite who was hiding secret sins? Was God bad, an unjust judge who condemned innocent Job to a life of suffering? If you have (a lot of) time today, read the back-and-forth about one of life’s biggest questions. And don’t miss the brilliant answer tucked in Job 28: “Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing. . . . God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells” (verses 20,21,23).

Where will you find specific answers to your pain? You won’t. God alone knows, and he, for some reason, has not chosen to tell you. You can get mad at God, yell at God, question God, even deny God, but no Bible passage specifically explains why you are dealing with _________. Insist on it, and you’ll lose your faith in God . . . and still be left with the same pain.

So why would you trust a God who doesn’t answer your rawest question about life? Keep reading. The book of Job will tell you.