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God is present and compassionate in our brokenhearted seasons.
This is a promise we’ve heard before, but sometimes it feels far from the truth when we’re personally experiencing loss or deep loneliness. Even when we don’t feel or believe it, God promises to be present and compassionate in the brokenhearted seasons of life.
The story of Job helps us see how to process our emotions and respond during loss and suffering.
Job’s life begins with a debate between God and Satan. Satan tells God the only reason Job worships Him is because of his wealth and health. God says you can test him, but you cannot kill him. Job’s story goes from triumph to tragedy quickly; one day he was a wealthy and healthy man, and the next day he loses just about everything.
- Read Job 1:20-22
Think about the magnitude of Job’s pain. All his children are killed. This is one of the most traumatizing griefs a person can experience. On top of it all, Job’s wife says this to him:
- Read Job 2:9
In our loss and suffering, some voices share their doubts about God’s goodness. But the lesson from Job is that we should talk to God in vulnerable worship, rather than accusation or avoidance.
Job had a strong faith in God, and yet he could’ve easily thrown that out to accuse or “cancel” God. Instead, he leans deeper into his trust and adoration of God. God wants us to talk to Him!
Shortly after this, Job encounters his three friends who spend the next few chapters going back and forth with Job.
- Read Job 8:3-6
In our loss and suffering, some voices share their opinions about God’s motives. People love to share opinions, podcasts, and books on what they have learned. But Job shows us a powerful lesson during this back and forth with his friends:
- Read Job 7:11-16
Job talks directly to God with raw lament, rather than about God in religious theories. God can handle your honesty!
Eventually, God speaks.
- READ 38:1-4
God reminds Job He does not prevent pain, but He will redeem it. There’s something bigger going on that we can’t comprehend, but we can trust Him. In the broken situations we experience, God is for us.
How does Job respond?
- READ Job 42:1-6
Job talks to God in repentance and with a new and deeper perspective of God’s goodness and love.
So, in times of suffering and loss, Jesus’ resurrection lets us seek, and point others towards, God’s voice.
About this Plan
Whether it’s the loss of a loved one, an end of a relationship, sickness, or a seemingly unfulfilled promise, pain and suffering affect us all. Is God close to the brokenhearted? If so, how should we respond in these times? This plan will walk through the journeys of different people in the Bible who walked through disappointment and see how their pain drew them closer to God.
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