It was no prank. Moments later our dean of students would take the platform and describe the horrors that were taking place in New York City. Soon after we were dismissed and I returned to my dorm in Lamp Post to watch the rest of the morning's events unfold.
Events like that one twelve years ago stick with you. We are all forever impacted by the tragedies of that day. As Christians, times like those force us to deal with age-old questions like, 'Why do bad things happen to good people?' and 'Where is God in all of this?'
The answers aren't easy nor are they easy to come by. As this pastor searches the Scriptures for help, the story of Job seems more pertinent than any other.
Before we delve into the lessons we can take from Job's life, we ought to heed C.S. Lewis' words regarding human suffering:
"The ancient man approached God (or even the gods) as the accused person approaches his judge. For the modern man the roles are reversed. He is the judge: God is in the dock. He is quite a kindly judge: if God should have a reasonable defence for being the god who permits war, poverty and disease, he is ready to listen to it. The trial may even end in God's acquittal. But the important thing is that Man is on the Bench and God in the Dock."
C.S. Lewis, "God in the Dock" as quoted by Philip Yancey The Bible Jesus Read. Zondervan Publishing House. pg. 53
When we take the position of judge and put God on trial, we have completely reversed the proper perspective for events like 9/11.
When we sit as judge, we are then led to demand an answer to the "Why?" question. Some will even question God's very existence. In his best selling book When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Rabbi Kushner went so far as to conclude that God is weak and lacks the power to prevent suffering.*
His conclusion runs completely contrary to the clear theology of God's Word that holds our God to be the almighty Creator who is sovereign over all of history and all of mankind.
But if God is omnipotent, we are still left to wonder why He wouldn't intervene. How are we to make sense of the sufferings and tragedies of our world? How are we to deal with events like 9/11?
Philip Yancey's exposition on the book of Job which I've already cited provides biblical principles we can rely on as we work through these things.The following is a summary of his points:**
- Satan is responsible. Job 1-2 demonstrate that Satan, not God, caused Job's suffering. God permitted it to answer Satan's challenge, i.e., that Job was only faithful because of the good things God gave him. Likewise, we still live in a world where evil exists and Satan seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. We can't know for sure what's going on behind the scenes, but we should realize there are evil forces at work in our world.
- God is not weak or powerless. Job 38-42 highlight his great power and control over all of creation. When he appears at the end of the story of Job, Job is left trembling while acknowledging God's great power (42:1-3).
- Suffering is not always a punishment for our sin. Some claimed this was the reason God let 9/11 happen. God was punishing our country for our sins. Is it possible they were right? Yes. Is it possible they were wrong? YES! Job wasn't being punished for his sin, he was being tested. He was being used as an example to defeat Satan. Like the blind man in John 9:1-7, Job had to endure difficulty so that God's glory would ultimately be magnified.
- True 'fairness' and 'justice' is not limited to this life. As Yancey states, "the pleasure that Job enjoyed in his old age is a mere foretaste of what is to come". Earthly rewards and blessings may come to God's faithful servants. But whether they do or do not, they cannot be compared to the eternal rewards God has in store for His faithful servants in heaven.
- God allows us to question and protest His plan. David did it in the Psalms and Job openly questions God as well. Yet God is not threatened by our questions or our outbursts. He invites it. It is ok to struggle with trials. It is ok to struggle to seek God's plan during difficulty. It is far worse to offer cliches or simplistic theology as if God needed our protection. Job's friends tried to 'defend' God by offering trite theological explanations but at the end of the book, they were the one's reprimanded by God, not the overtly distressed Job.
- Sometimes neither side of the argument is correct. Chapters 1-2 disclose the reality of the situation that was hidden from Job and his friends. It is in those early chapters that the reader is given the reason 'why' this happened to Job. And the truth is not even close to what Job and his friends had asserted. Like them, we lack all of the information when dealing with suffering in our day. So we should be cautious when making bold pronouncements and speaking for God in present times.
- Suffering can be redemptive and serve a greater good. Job's painful suffering was used to win a decisive victory over Satan, foreshadowing in many ways Christ and the Cross.
- How we respond to suffering matters. God never told Job why He let tragedies destroy his life. He did not tell him about the cosmic drama that went on behind the scenes (Job 1-2). God was concerned with how Job would respond. For that matter, so was Satan. Would Job reject God after all God's blessings were taken from him? Would he curse God as his wife suggests (2:9)? Or would he trust God despite being completely disoriented by the chaos of death and loss? God ignores the question of why suffering happens. Instead, He puts all His confidence in Job would respond in faithfulness to the suffering he would encounter. As Yancey says, "Job convinces me that God cares more about our faith than our pleasure."***
*Philip Yancey The Bible Jesus Read. Zondervan Publishing House. Grand Rapids MI. pg.69
**Ibid. pg. 69-72
***Ibid. pg.63.
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