Why do bad things happen . . . . (Job 29-30)
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+30
It’s a frequently asked question: “Why do bad things happen to good people?” I’ve been asked this question many times, and often by those going through great hardship. This question looms in the background – and sometimes the foreground – of the book of Job.
These chapters are one of those times. Job here is not just claiming that he had done nothing deserving of the misery that has overtaken his life. He claims on the contrary that he is actually quite a good person. His rather self-aggrandized description in chapter 29 makes it appear that not only was Job a good person, he was known to be the best person, around whom others felt unworthy.
Job’s point is clear. He has been done an injustice. Someone who has lived such a life should be spared the suffering that he has undergone. But in making this point, he shows himself to be somewhat in agreement with his “comforters.” Their point is that we can tell who the sinners are by looking at the amount of blessing and misery in their life. What Job is struggling with is that he basically agrees that this is as it should be, but it has not been true in his life. He is essentially saying that such a “karmic” system would be quite just, but he has been dealt an injustice. He has not received the blessings that he has earned, but has instead received the curses that should only fall upon the unrighteous.
Obviously there is not time in a brief devotion to even begin to wrestle with the “why” question. But any answer that we might ultimately devise has to begin with this truth: The center of Christianity is the unjust suffering of our God. The one person who only deserved good instead suffered the torments of hell. This is God’s ultimate answer to the brokenness of the world, and the broken justice that we perceive. Jesus has come, has died, and has risen to life. The injustice will be overcome and transformed into new creation blessing.
So my prayer today again is for those who are suffering, and especially those who are struggling with their faith because of their suffering. I pray that the crucified and risen Jesus strengthen them, comfort them, and walk with them in their pain.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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