Job had badass faith.

When a Christian suffers, is it because he has sinned and needs correction, or are there other reasons that are far more probable? The best example given in God’s Word concerning suffering and trials is found in the Book of Job. Job lost everything he had, his possessions, his family, and even his health. There are some who believe that when a Christian suffers, it is because God is correcting them for some unconfessed sin in their lives. Although this can be true, it is far from the most common reason. Usually, the suffering, mature Christian has no idea why he is experiencing a trial. If he did, the growth he could gain in faith would be lessened, so God often allows the saint not to know the “whys.”

Job is the story of a good man suffering for no apparent reason. In contrast, the Apostle Paul suffered for his “thorn in the flesh,” knowing that it was to keep him from becoming overly puffed up by all the revelations he was receiving. We know this because Paul specifically asked God about the “whys,” and God told him. We know that David lost his child that was born to him from his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba and because he murdered her husband.  This time, God told him that the child’s death was punishment for his sins. And the sin in the Garden, well, we all know what that cost our first parents.

But outside of these examples, I know of no other instance in the Bible where God explained to a godly person why they were suffering. So, why did Job suffer the loss of everything? I believe one reason was that he was the perfect target for Satan, not because of sin, but because of his righteousness, and God had confidence that Job was badass enough to handle it.  His trial was not punishment or correction, but a back-handed compliment from God that he was up for the challenge, and that forever he would prove as an example of how godly people should respond to tragedies and other distressing situations in their lives. An additional reason, I believe, was to be a witness to unbelievers of the reality of God and his faithfulness, even in the worst of circumstances. And as an aside, that when the devil boasted that Job would curse God to His face, it had to be satisfying for God to put it back in the devil’s face instead.

I believe another reason for Job’s ordeal was so that God could confront his “friends,” and their legalistic, judgmentalism toward Job. Often times, the worst part of a righteous person’s suffering is the condemning attitude of the very people that should be a comfort to them. Finger-pointing, pharisaical, self-righteous critics, who apparently believe the Holy Spirit has retired and has appointed them as His replacement, only increase the believer’s misery and often leads them to self-condemnation and isolation. The more mature you are, the more likely God lets you experience trials that have nothing to do with you, but He allows them for the sake of others.

Author: Changing from Glory to Glory

I was saved in the "Jesus People Movement". You can see the movie, “The Jesus Revolution,” it was just like that, the real deal. I cut my long hair and never looked back. We were the last revival America has seen. Many of us became preachers, including myself. In 30 years, my family and I planted churches in Canada and South Africa. We saw many conversions and healing miracles, especially in South Africa. Much of our ministry overseas involved standing against the false revivals of charlatans like Rodney Howard-Brown and Kenneth Copeland, also known as “Dominion Theology” and the New Apostolic Reformation. My family paid a great price to stand against these false revivals, even in my own church organization, even to this day. Before salvation in 1976, I fought in the Vietnam War, a bronze star, and then like many disillusioned young people of my generation, I became a hippie. Vietnam wasn’t just about giving us hippies an excuse to get high and medicate our anger, but it was an attempt at stopping Communism’s aggression in Southeast Asia. We failed, and millions of innocent Vietnamese and Cambodian people died, the eventual result of all tyrannical takeovers. Now, in my latter years, I find myself fighting again, here at home, only this time it’s a global takeover, where even our own nation is against our freedoms. God impressed on me as a young convert that I would see the Rapture of the church, and now we are very certainly living in those days just before the Tribulation Period, also called “Daniel’s Seventieth Week,” and “Jacob’s Troubles,” a time when God’s wrath will be poured out upon the unbelieving world. This judgment is not for the Church, the Bride of Christ. We’re going up in the First Resurrection. Paul says to “encourage one another with this hope.” Personally, I’m ready to go home to heaven. We’ve had a great run, Laurie and I, and we had many unforgettable apostolic experiences building churches on the Word around the world. Now, I live on the northwest Oregon coast, and with the help of my beautiful wife Laurie, I write romantic, time traveling comedies about the End Times. View all posts by Changing from Glory to Glory