God Promises: Pain.

Job 36:15
15 But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering;
he speaks to them in their affliction.

I'm using a scripture from Job to describe pain and suffering once again today because Job teaches some very good lessons about the issue.

This week I'm going to talk about what God promises. Similarly, during the second half of last week, I introduced to you a few false promises. Pain is one of those that goes in both categories. The fact that Christians won't suffer is false, but the fact that pain is clearly evident for all is a promise.

When you're faced with the question "Why me?" it's a perfect time to turn to the teachings of Job and thus God. Here are a list of 10 general statements that I have learned with regard to suffering and pain:

1. God is good. Throughout the book of Job, God's goodness always prevails. Some seem to think that God is weak if he allows suffering to exist. However, God's power is never questioned in the book of Job.

2. Some suffering is a direct result of the devil. In the beginning of Job, it was evident that God didn't cause the problems, but Satan did.

3. Suffering isn't always a consequence of sin even though "a man reaps what he sows." God makes it evident in the New Testament that isn't always the case despite what Job's friends kept trying to tell him.

4. God does not condemn doubt and despair. In fact, Job was praised when he went to God grieving. I always mention it, but honesty is the way to go in your relationship with God.

5. God is always there. God uses his wisdom and power through the beauty of nature sometimes. He's always there even if you feel like he's not.

6. Good friends can sometimes lead you astray. Let's face it, Job's friends gave him advice that did more harm than good; they argued with his faith.

7. God wants you to be faithful. God never gave a reason for Job's suffering, instead he wanted to hear Job's response. The important thing was whether or not Job would continue to trust God when everything went haywire.

8. Your pain is not always comparable to other people's pain. There's always someone suffering more than you. Count your blessings and what you do have. I think sometimes we go through obstacles of different heights depending on what we need to learn.

9. Suffering is often a tool for growth. For Job, God used pain to help him defeat Satan. In retrospect, Job could see why God did what he did; then, he continued to trust God.

10. No matter what, we'll never have this suffering thing figured out completely. Job and his friends thought God was unfair, but they didn't see the whole picture. Furthermore, his friends believed that his pain was a result of his sins.

Job is a prime figure of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. This innocent man had some of the most intense pain recorded. Even though God didn't answer all of God's questions, God caused all his doubts to go away. God dominates in every situation!

Realize today that God doesn't promise anywhere in the Bible that we will be happy all the time. He actually promises that we'll experience seasons of challenges.