Suffering is one of the most universal yet personal human experiences. Whether it's loss, illness, betrayal, or unanswered prayers, we often find ourselves asking: Why would a good God allow this? The story of Job in the Bible does not give easy answers, but it does give a divine perspective.
Job's life challenges us to confront the tension between our pain and God's power.
Job – a righteous man in a broken world, was not suffering because he did something wrong; in fact, he was suffering because he was righteous (Job 1:8). His life shatters the myth of "good things happen to good people."
God Himself describes Job as "blameless and upright," yet allows Satan to test him - first with the loss of his possessions, then his children, and eventually his health.
Job lost everything and yet He never turned His back on God even when He was prompted by His wife (see Job 1:6-2:10).
This forces us to re-evaluate our theology of suffering. Sometimes, pain is not punishment - it's permission, and in Job's case, it was permission given by a sovereign God who had purposes Job couldn't see.
Job cries out, laments, argues, and defends himself. He questions God’s justice. He is honest with Him about his pain and suffering, his confusion and anger… he demands answers of God!
His friends offer theological clichés instead of comfort. This middle section of Job feels painfully real to anyone who has waited in the silence for God to speak. And though God remains silent, Job never turns away from Him (Job 1:11, 2:5).
But what we are often too quick to forget, is that God's silence is not absence.
The sovereignty of God means He is not hurried by our timelines nor manipulated by our demands. His silence is strategic, not neglectful. Sometimes, God is doing His deepest work when He seems the most distant.
When God finally breaks the silence in Job 38, He doesn't give Job the answers he was looking for. Instead, He gives him a deeper revelation of who He is. He asks Job, "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" (Job 38:4). God doesn't explain the "why"; He reveals the "Who" and the lesson is that God's sovereignty is not always something to be understood - it's something to be trusted. Job doesn't get clarity; he gets awe. And sometimes that's the point. See also Job 38-41 and Job 42 v 1-17.
Job’s experience turns quickly from “why” to worship and a beautiful thing happens – Job humbly repents for questioning God’s ways and becomes a timeless example of endurance and faith in suffering (James 5:11).
In chapter 42:5, Job says, "My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you." Suffering shifted Job's posture from questioning God to beholding God. This doesn't erase the pain he went through, but it completely changes his perspective. What a beautiful notion.
God never promised to prevent all suffering.
He promised to be sovereign in it. And in the end, Job receives restoration, but more important than that, he receives revelation.
Like Job, we live in a fallen world. Suffering will find us, but so will God's sovereignty. The real hope in Job's story is not that everything gets restored - it's that God was never out of control - not for single moment. Not in the whirlwind. Not in the silence. Not even in the ashes.
Job’s life demonstrates that God can use suffering to shape, refine, and glorify His purposes.
“Though He slay me, yet I will hope in Him…” Job 13:15
“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Job 1 v 21
Job’s story teaches us that there’s a holy tension we must learn to live in and that, is the space between ‘faith’ in God’s power and ‘trust’ in His will.
Yes, we believe. Yes, we pray. Yes, we stand on His Word that says,
“By His stripes, we are healed.” Isaiah 53 v 5
But we also surrender to a higher truth: God is sovereign.
We believe and have faith that God will heal. He is able, more than capable of performing miracles. But, He may choose not to - and we need to be at peace with that.
Sometimes, God says no. Or not yet. Or not this way.
Even Jesus, in the garden, asked for the cup to pass… but then said,
“Not My will, but Yours be done.” Luke 22 v 42
We don’t stop praying. We don’t stop believing. But we yield - fully - to the One who sees the whole picture.
In our own "Job season’s" - where life doesn't make sense, prayers seem to echo back unanswered, and faith feels fragile, never lose sight of God's sovereignty. These seasons are not a reason to fear, but a reason to rest. The One who flung the stars into place, is holding your story, too.
When suffering meets sovereignty, pain becomes a platform where God's power, wisdom, and mercy are revealed.
Let your faith be strong enough to believe for a miracle.
And let your trust be deep enough to accept His answer, whatever it may be and may you always rejoice in Him and give Him praise for who He is.
Amen.