The Book of Job is unparalleled in its literary excellence, a verbatim transcription of God’s words that enable us to understand God’s great love and His eternal purposes in a unique, though somewhat disconcerting and surprising way.
Does God send suffering as punishment for sins? The book of Job contains no compact theory of why good people suffer. It is an amazing account of the best man on earth experiencing the worst calamities. Eloquently, powerfully, Job demanded answers from God, and God seemed indifferent.
God’s magnificent speech in Job 38-42 has attracted much attention. I too marvel at the wonderful images from nature and yet along with my awe and wonder come a nagging sense of bewilderment. God’s speech seems most striking in what it does not say. In fact, the speech avoids the issue of suffering entirely.
Although Job may help us form our questions about unjust suffering, it fails to give many answers for a very simple reason… Job is on trial. The book does not provide direct answers to the problem of pain – but poses a test of faith in its most extreme form. God has known all along that the real question traces back to the original challenge of Job’s faith.: “Does Job fear God for nothing?”…” Will he continue to trust God even after he forfeits it all?
Will you continue to trust God even after He takes your health, all that you own, love and treasure? “Like Job we are called to trust God even when all the evidence seems stacked against us” (Philip Yancey).
In this series of paintings inspired by Job 38:1-38 in the Holy Bible, I would like you to take glimpses of the wonders of God’s creation. Whatever you maybe going through right now, I pray that you trust in God alone through faith in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. May you find joy and comfort in the truth that those who are in Christ have an awesome Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent God who is in complete control!
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that
the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
-James 1:2-4
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