Job (pronounced "jobe"), was a rich farmer living in the land of Uz, somewhere northeast of Palestine. God is doing more in your suffering than you can see right now. Based on the book of Job, David Platt urges us to respond to suffering by meditating on God’s sovereignty. The Bible affirms that God is sovereign over the storms of this life and that he has good in store for his people in their suffering. What an atrocious and wrong outcome of Job's obvious devotion to God. The book of Job, one of the wisdom books of the Bible, deals with two issues crucial to every person: the problem of suffering and the sovereignty of God. The Mystery of God and Suffering 81 on the Mount describes God as showering rain on evil persons as well as good ones (Matthew 5:45). When we realize Who is in control of our suffering, what He is like, and what His purposes are, we can endure faithfully, giving God glory even in our pain. Enemy rule. The Mystery of Suffering and God's Sovereignty Richard P. Belcher, Jr. ... At the heart of the book of Job is a question about the character of God - and about how we should respond to Him. Job had a “for-realness” about his pain. In Job 1:11, the Accuser admonishes God and accuses Job of fair-weather faith (“But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.”) Here, Satan attacks the character of both God and mankind. Job teaches us that, though suffering is mysterious, we can and must trust in God, who is good and sovereign. Sin and suffering entered the world through Adam and fractured God’s perfect design. The account of Job shows us that God will not abandon those who suffer for his sake. God actually set limits on what Satan could do to Job. When we realize Who is in control of our suffering, what He is like, and what His purposes are, we can endure faithfully, giving God glory even in our pain. There is a great mystery in the relationship between God’s sovereignty and the existence of evil. Similarly, John’s Jesus heals the blind man and explicitly rejects the idea that suffering is punishment for sin (John 9:1–41, especially 2–5). He's drawing us closer and teaching us things about himself. God is growing our faith in the midst of our trials. I take comfort in what Francis Schaeffer told me many times: “We only see the debit side of the ledger now. To deepen the mystery, no matter how you slice it we cannot absolve God of the ultimate responsibility for Job's suffering. It is vitally important to understand that even though God ordains and uses suffering, He does not commit sin or evil. Based on the book of Job, David Platt urges us to respond to suffering by meditating on God’s sovereignty. Likewise, God wants us to have that same “for-realness.” In many ways suffering is a mystery. Download the weekly Bible reading plan to follow along with each sermon. 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