Dear Friends,
As we continue in this Lenten season, a time when we focus on acts of both love and restraint, we will also encounter discomfort and suffering. As much as we are creatures of comfort and seek to avoid the harder times in life, it seems they are intricately tied to our growth and good times. While we may grumble through these times, just like the Israelites during their forty years in the desert after being rescued from slavery, there is growth and healing offered through it all.
While I am not suggesting that our suffering is easy, nor that it should be taken lightly, I am asking us to consider how we approach it. There are things that happen to us that are totally out of our control, and while it is totally justifiable to feel angry, sad, scared, and confused, there is also a point at which we have to accept the reality of the situations we are in. In that acceptance, as counterintuitive as this may seem, there is actually a sense of peace that can come from that.
The story of Job has much to teach us in this area. You see, just as Jesus was tested in the desert by Satan, so too, Job was tested. Job was also seen as an upstanding leader of his community, and while not THE son of God, he, too, was a son and follower of God and sought to be righteous in his daily activities. Because of this, Satan wanted to see if he could throw enough at him to turn him away from God, and while God told him he could not kill Job, Satan did not hold back. Job lost his children, his wealth, and his health. In popular culture, we are told that Job epitomizes patience; however, what he actually represents is someone who doesn’t give up on God — despite his massive amounts of suffering. He does question God, however, and begs God to address his case and tell him why he suffers so.
When Job’s friends come upon the scene and see how he suffers, they weep on his behalf. When they sit next to him, there are no words available to console him nor fix the problem, so they simply sit with him for 7 days and nights in silent solidarity. Their ability to feel his pain and be silently present with him in his deep suffering is one of the best examples of empathy in the biblical texts. What happens next, however, is the direct opposite of empathy, and instead represents his friends’ fear. They hear Job begging God for answers and pleading his case of innocence, and they condemn Job for speaking to God like that, and tell him that surely he must have done something to deserve this suffering. While we as readers of the text know that Job is, in fact, not the cause of his own suffering, his friends cannot bear to think of God as allowing the innocent to suffer, as that means they could be next! Fear causes them to lose their empathy, and instead of being a support for their friend, they become another part of his suffering.
Most of the book of Job is the back and forth between Job and his friends, and Job crying out to God, but there finally comes the time when God answers Job, and not in the way we would expect. God's response from the whirlwind is a pivotal moment, specifically found in Job chapters 38 through 41, and it underscores His sovereignty over creation. He questions Job about the foundations of the earth, the boundaries of the sea, and the dawn's command (Job 38:4-12). These questions highlight the limitations of human understanding compared to God's infinite wisdom. The passage serves to remind believers of the Creator's ultimate authority and the mystery of His ways. This direct encounter with God profoundly impacts Job. In Job 42:1-6, Job responds with humility and repentance, acknowledging his limited understanding: "Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know." This transformation highlights the intended effect of God's response—to lead Job, and by extension all believers, to a deeper trust and submission to God's will. Job further realizes that he is not alone in his suffering, and it teaches him even greater empathy towards others. He sees that everyone suffers, and some from a place where they never even started with the level of blessings he had. He not only keeps his faith in God, but he becomes even kinder and more generous, which is what we hope we all do after surviving tough times!
The book closes in chapter 42, when God addresses Job’s friends, saying in vs. 7-8 “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering, and my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has done.” They do as instructed, and God restores to Job all that was taken from him and more.
When we suffer, there is opportunity for us to cry out to God in our authentic pain and be heard. There is also opportunity to learn that the world is bigger than we can imagine, and that we are not alone, and this, in turn, can increase our kindness to others. When we love our neighbors as ourselves, our joys and suffering are communal, and the burden is lighter. And while God does not intend for us to minimize the pain we feel, there are always lessons for us to learn, and opportunities to grow us in the ways of God. For this we can take a position of gratitude amidst the sorrow, and truly, gratitude does ease some of the pain.
I know many of you are suffering in this time, and that you don’t deserve it, but I want you to know that neither are you alone! God is with you, I am with you, and your community at large is with you. If you need support during this time, do not hesitate to reach out. I will sit with you and support you in whatever way I can. And remember, God is big enough to hear your anger and questions as much as your love and praise!
May you be blessed through all your struggles as well as your joys, Pastor Amie