How I long for the months gone by,
         for the days when God watched over me,
        when his lamp shone upon my head
         and by his light I walked through darkness!
        Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,
           when God’s intimate friendship blessed
                        my house, when the Almighty was still with me,
                         and my children were around me,
                         when my path was drenched with cream
                        and the rock poured out for me streams
                           of olive oil. (Job 29:2-6)

We are not suffering like Job but we do experience some difficulty with aging. Health issues as we get older affect our quality of life. It seems that we spend more and more time at the doctor’s office trying to maintain what we took for granted for years.

The age old question is why is there suffering in the world.   Why do some suffer more in other countries? Job sure did not know why he was experiencing difficulty and his friends sure didn’t have a clue. I guess we will never know, but God does. That should be enough.

The following are a few principles that Job taught on suffering taken from my study Bible.  I think these are worth mentioning:

1.  Some suffering is caused by Satan.

2.  Suffering doesn’t always come as a result of sin.

3.  God is all powerful and good.

4.  God will reward and punish fairly in a final judgement after death.

5.  God does not condemn doubt and despair.

6.  No one person has all the facts about suffering.

7.  God is never totally silent.

8.  Well-intentioned advice can sometimes do more harm than good.

9.  God asks for faith.

10.  Suffering can be used for a higher good.

~Marc