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Suffering and the Sovereignty of God

Job 42

The Old Testament story of Job is one of the most famous in world literature, and not just because it is beautifully written. It is famous because it touches the most universally intense subject of all: theodicy—the justification of divine goodness in spite of human suffering. Critics of the biblical God have suggested that, in light of human suffering, God is either unable (not omnipotent) or unwilling (not all-loving) to alleviate human suffering. Either shortcoming disqualifies Him from being God who by definition must be all-powerful and all-loving.

The book of Job (and the rest of the Bible) suggests a different possibility: God is not only omnipotent and loving, He is also sovereign. If He allows human suffering there will be a reason (as in the suffering of His own Son—Hebrews 5:8).

Though unknown to Job, God allowed Satan to afflict Job and strip him of all human blessings (Job 1-2). God's goal was to prove to Satan that Job was a man of integrity who would not cease to worship God just because his blessings were taken away. On that count, Job proved God correct—in the face of immeasurable suffering, Job refused to curse God for what had happened (Job 1:22; 2:10). But, consistent with Old Testament reasoning—we suffer because we sin (John 9:1-3)—Job wanted to know what he had done to incur God's displeasure. He invested thousands of words of debate with his friends toward that end: "Why won't God show me why I am suffering?"

In the end, Job stopped demanding answers from God because he acquired a different kind of wisdom—an appreciation of the sovereignty of God: "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. . . . I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:2, 5-6).

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