Job gives us an example of how faith needs to work in our lives. Job had to persevere without seeing invisible results. Believers today, rely on their faith in God to give them patience to persevere through suffering without knowing the unknown. While working through the pain, Job was satisfied with trusting God. Trusting in God gives believers assurance, though they may not understand everything. In spite of all he lost, Job placed his hope in God. In the mist of tragedy, faith gives believers hope that God will redirect their lives. Job never stoppped trusting God, even though he questioned God in the mist of his suffering. Like Job, humble submission brings trust to a believer that God is on their side.
The book of Job gives us a “how” to deal with suffering. We must understand what suffering is. Suffering can be a pathway to maturity (Job 42:1-5; Rom. 5:3-5; James 1:2-4). Suffering is a time of testing our faith. We can ask God to teach us and ask Him to show us our faults. God is in control of every situation, whether we are given answers to our troubles or not. God is there to help us through our trials. God’s desire for us is to grow in our faith and glorify His name. Often there is much more to God’s plans than we can know from our finite perspective. In the mist of our pain, we can be positive God is working for our good. All that God does is ultimately for our good.
Suffering reduces our dependency on others and our old ways and makes us lean more on God for hope and help. Job did not believe the advice his friends gave him, instead he faithfully turned to God for answers. Suffering prompts us to be more attentive to God’s voice. Throughout his suffering, Job expressed his feelings openly and honestly to God. He was so busy talking that he missed hearing what God was saying to him. Job began to feel uncertain that God was not listening to him (30:20). He had not given God a chance to anwer. God taught Job to sit still and wait for Him to speak to his heart. Job’s testing taught him to learn to live by faith, rather than his own strength. Job’s testing of faith drew him closer to God and allowed him to see God more clearly. He came to a point of desperation to know why, but God never answered him. He realized his attitude was arrogant and he demands God to answer him. God bought Job to a point of humble acknowledgement that He is righteous and just. Job begins to listen to what God says to him and begins to see the sovereign God at work in his life. God allows suffering in our lives to help us develop our faith and strengthen our understanding of Him (4:7-11). Just as gold must be melted to get the impurities out, so we must go through trials to purify our faith.