Job on Suffering: An Open Letter of Encouragement

Dear Friend,

I am so very sorry for your pain and your loss that you are going through right now. My understanding of your situation and of the suffering that you are experiencing must be just a trifle compared to the incomprehensible horror of the reality which you are facing each day. Although there are no words that I could summon that would relieve you of your sorrow and grief, I thought that I would write this letter to you so that you might know that I am thinking of you and praying for you as you endure the anguish of your present circumstances.

I also wanted to share with you some thoughts about suffering that I have discovered recently in my study of the book of Job. I could not help but think of you as I studied this book. On the one hand it would be unwise and unhelpful for me or anyone else to try to compare one person’s suffering to another. The circumstances of Job were exceptional, no doubt, and quite different from your situation. But I do think that many of the general issues surrounding human pain and suffering seem to apply equally well to the modern world as they did to the ancient world. My intent in offering these insights to you is to encourage you and not to preach at you. You will find no suggestions in this letter on how you should behave or think; rather I hope that you might find some observations about Job’s suffering that encourage you during your time of suffering.

My first observation from the book of Job is this: the writer of Job does not minimize the reality of pain in the life of one who is hurting. The text of scripture conveys without criticism the deep sense of despair and loss that occurs in the wake of calamity. In some ways this observation runs contrary to the thinking of some Christians that I’ve met regarding the reality of suffering in the life of a believer. The series of catastrophes that hit Job were physical, concrete disasters: terrorists and nature destroyed his monetary assets and murdered his employees (1:14-17); a tornado ripped through his oldest son’s house and killed all of his children (1:18-19); and severe physical diseases tormented his body (2:7-8) and rendered him unrecognizable to his friends (2:12). It seems that many Christians today are of the opinion that the proper reaction to pain and suffering in the life of the believer should be to “count it all joy” and rejoice when disaster strikes. But the example of Job counters this flawed view of a believer’s response to suffering. The text never suggests that Job was wrong for recognizing and reacting to his immense suffering. Rather it gives a straightforward account of Job’s response to these waves of personal calamity as if this were a valid and expected response. For example, Job 2:11-13 records how Job silently sat in a pile of ashes at the local garbage dump, immobilized by his loss and mutilated by his diseases. His first words in chapter three record his desire to escape his suffering through death, an indication of his utter despair of life. The many speeches by Job further express the reality of his pain, all without condemnation.

My second observation from this book is that friends may often disappoint during times of suffering. Words spoken from a sincere heart and with good intentions may have the opposite affect and actually cause further grief to the suffering soul. Job’s three friends thought they were doing a good thing by voicing their opinions and giving recommendations about the circumstances of Job’s suffering. Eliphaz stated at the end of his first speech that his intention behind the giving of wise counsel was for Job’s own good (5:17). Yet Job’s response to Eliphaz reveals that his words have been of no help at all. In fact, Job describes the “counsel” he has received as treachery!

To the one in despair, kindness should come from his friend even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. My brothers have been as treacherous as a seasonal stream, and as the riverbeds of the intermittent streams that flow away… For now you have become like these streams that are no help. (Job 6:14-15, 21)

He later reveals to them that their hurtful words have made them ‘miserable comforters’ (16:2). Yet the three friends continue to give Job their advice with little regard for his basic need of compassion. They seem to have it all figured out and proceed with amazing indifference to give Job “what he needs to hear” (18:2). According to Job, what he really needed was someone willing to just listen (21:2). It is important to note that God condemns these unhelpful words of Job’s friends and requires them to go to Job so that he can intercede for them. (42:7-8)

It has been my experience that most Christian friends are very well-meaning and offer their words with good intentions. Yet the fact remains that many would-be comforters hinder rather than help with their words. Just like in Job’s situation, most friends of a suffering person have not experienced the particular set of circumstances that are unique to the sufferer. They are therefore not qualified to determine what is best for that person. Job knows that, were their positions exchanged, things would be different (16:4-5). Additionally, many people offer trite one-liners such as “God works all things together for good” or “just look at the bright side” which prove to be unhelpful in the least and may ultimately do untold damage to the individual. The three friends often gave platitudinous suggestions to Job: “Practice what you preach” (4:4-6), “Just rejoice” (9:27), and “I would seek God if I were you” (5:8). What these people do not know is that the hurt experienced from these encounters actually becomes another source of grief that adds to the burden of the one in need of comfort. Please know that I am praying to our God that such unhelpful advice from would-be counselors would be minimized in your situation.

A third and final observation from my study of Job reveals that God desires to hear the open and honest cries of his people. As one who enjoyed intimate friendship with God prior to the onslaught of his circumstances (29:4), Job presumed that he could speak honestly before God. After stating that his life would “come to an end without hope” (7:6), Job turned to God with a simple plea: “Remember, O God” (7:7). A few verses later Job spoke the following words to God: "Therefore I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul” (7:11). Examples of the open and honest speech of Job before God abound throughout the book. Job felt the freedom to let God know the depths of his suffering. In his first reply to Eliphaz, Job’s cries of agony screamed out to God for death: "Oh that my request would be realized, and that God would grant me what I long for! And that God would be willing to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and kill me” (6:8-9). In surprising boldness that would shock most Christians today Job elsewhere declared the cruelty of the hand of God upon his life:

With great power God grasps my clothing; he binds me like the collar of my tunic. He has flung me into the mud, and I have come to resemble dust and ashes. I cry out to you, but you do not answer me; I stand up, and you only look at me. You have become cruel to me; with the strength of your hand you attack me. You pick me up on the wind and make me ride on it; you toss me about in the storm. (30:18-22)

Astoundingly, God accepts this speech as heart-felt worship! In the epilogue of the story, God reprimands Eliphaz with a surprising revelation:

"My anger is stirred up against you and your two friends, because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job will intercede for you, and I will respect him, so that I do not deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has” (42:7-8).

Note that God repeats the fact that Job has spoken what is right about God, emphasizing the divine stamp of approval that He placed upon the honesty of Job.

God listens to the language of lament. The book of Psalms emphasizes the fact that He desires every child of God to express to him even the darkest emotions of the soul. The laments contained in scripture serve as models for how we can express ourselves during periods of grief and sorrow. These inspired prayers form the largest genre of songs within the Psalter. Over and over again they validate the fact that the various dark emotions that are experienced during true sorrow and grief can be expressed openly and honestly to God. The psalmists routinely use language that we often would dare not utter to God. Yet God accepted it as heart-felt worship. All lament psalms, except for one, contain some positive expression of confidence toward God. Psalm 88, void of any positive note of confidence in God, reminds us that there is room in worship even for the tortured soul who cannot muster even a single phrase of gratitude. My encouragement to you as you go through these times of suffering is that you feel the freedom, as Job and the psalmists did, to express the feelings of your heart to God. Cast off any restraints that have been placed upon you by the rigid expectations and requirements of those who may dissuade you from being honest before God.

It has been my goal in this letter to encourage you with a few observations from the book of Job. I hope that it is helpful to know that God does not minimize the reality of pain and suffering in the life of a believer. My prayer for you is that your painful experiences with unhelpful ‘counsel’ from well-meaning individuals will be minimized. Finally it is my sincere desire that you discover the freedom of speaking your feelings openly and honestly before God, who accepts your heart-felt speech as worship. Please know that I am so very sorry for your suffering and your painful circumstances. As best as I am able, I grieve with you and lift my voice to God on your behalf.

Yours truly,


Matt

A Mathematical Perspective on Open Theism

X = set of N possible outcomes of a single future decision made by a free being
X = x(1), x(2), x(3), ... , x(i-1), x(i), x(i+1), ... , x(N-1), x(N)
P = set of probabilities that a possible outcome will be the actual outcome
P = p(1), p(2), p(3), ... , p(i-1), p(i), p(i+1), ... , p(N-1), p(N)
where
a. p(i) = Probability that x(i) will be the actual outcome
b. p(1)*x(1) + p(2)*x(2) + ... + p(N)*x(N) = 1

A. AXIOM (open theism): p(i) < 1 for all i
B. AXIOM (classical theism): p(i) = 1 for one and only one i

Mathematically speaking, B. is simply not possible, while A. is a very easy statement to accept as true. This lines up nicely with what Process Theism advocates. In my opinion, Open Theism easily accomodates a process theistic view of reality to explain how relates to possibilties of the future without requiring actualities.

BUT this view fails when it tries to handle the existence of prophecy. Adopting any view of real prophecy requires B. to be true for prophetic events. Process Theology cannot handle this irregularity in its system. Open Theists musts switch to another system to handle prophecy while accomodating the process theistic view for all other situations.

Rapid Reading

I'm in progress through a rapid reading course to improve my reading speed and comprehension. Today we discussed the minds amazing ability to decode and unscramble words that one might think get tangled up during Advanced Grouping and Pacing while reading rapidly. I found the contents of one of the slides particularly interesting:

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteres are at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a tatol mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.

I started laughing when I realized that my brain could actually read and comprehend the selection without any problems.

Could there be a spiritual application lurking in this little incident!

For more information on this 'Cambridge research' see http://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/cambridge.asp

How should Christians respond during suffering?

Supposing for the moment that “perpetual happiness” in a fallen world is unattainable, can we be assured of any positive aspect of suffering to which the believer can cling to? Although most Christians would answer “Yes” to this question there remain different perspectives on the identity of the positive element that is present during suffering.

Answer 1: Suffering is a form of testing by God.
The New Testament book of James indicates that believers will go through times of testing that serve a good purpose of purification. Yet I do not think that the Bible teaches that all suffering is a result of testing. There is real evil in the world that inflicts pain on both the just and the unjust, and there is no good purpose behind it. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). There are forces at work in the world that are opposed to God’s good purposes, and God is opposed to these works. God will ultimately triumph over evil by destroying death, the last enemy of God (1 Cor 15:26).

Answer 2: God enables all believers to experience joy in the midst of suffering.
Yes, there are situations where many believers are able to express their confidence in God with joy even in the midst of horrible circumstances. Yet I have met many individuals, myself included, who have not experienced joy at the loss of their loved ones. I would caution against raising that as an expectation, for I believe that the scriptures themselves allow for periods of mourning that do not include any expression of joy.

Answer 3: We can express our confidence in God during suffering.
For me, the positive element to which we can cling during suffering is hope rooted in our faith in God. The laments contained in scripture serve as models for how we can express ourselves during periods of grief and sorrow. These inspired prayers, which form the largest genre of songs within the Psalter, over and over validate that various dark emotions experienced during true sorrow and grief can be expressed openly and honestly to God. The psalmists routinely use language that we often would dare not utter to God. Yet God accepted it as heart-felt worship. All lament psalms, except for one, contain some positive expression of confidence toward God. Psalm 88, void of any positive note of confidence in God, reminds us that there is room in worship even for the tortured soul who cannot muster even a single phrase of gratitude.

Does God command Christians to be happy?

John Piper states in the opening paragraph in the preface to his book Desiring God:

This is a serious book about being happy in God. It’s about happiness because that is what our Creator commands: “Delight yourself in the LORD!” (Psalm 37:4). And it is serious because, as Jeremy Taylor said, “God threatens terrible things if we will not be happy.”

According to Piper, the spiritual life should be one characterized by happiness and joy even in the midst of suffering and pain. He uses Jesus as an example, citing Hebrews 12:2: “…who endured the cross for the joy set before him.” Unfortunately this interpretation of scripture leads to a dangerous form of theology that tends to minimize true human sorrow and sidestep biblical instruction for dealing with pain and suffering.

I have encountered this theology in my former Christian context. Individuals with good intentions try to ‘encourage’ a believer struggling in the pain of his suffering to live beyond his circumstances and experience the ‘peace that passes all understanding.’ Unfortunately I have witnessed that this kind of exhortation has little positive impact upon the one who is suffering, and usually introduces an element of frustration and guilt that pushes the distraught soul farther into depression.

In my opinion, a proper biblical theology of happiness must also engage the theme of human pain and sorrow as it occurs throughout the scriptures. The Bible seems to indicate that human sorrow, although not in God’s ideal world (Rev. 21:4), is a normal part of our fallen condition. God chooses to enter into human suffering and identify with mankind by experiencing the pain and sorrow of the fallen world. The narrative account of the passion of Jesus in the gospels reveals that our Lord experienced emotions resembling depression and traumatic grief, a far cry from the euphoric happiness implicit in Piper’s interpretation of the ‘joy set before him.’

There is a place for happiness in the life of the believer just as there is a place for true human despair and sorrow. For one tormented by the tragedies of a fallen world the heavenly ideal of happiness as a governing emotion is unrealistic. For a segment of Christians, particularly those of us from more affluent Western Christian contexts, happiness may be more characteristic than sorrow. But the realities of many believers are ruled by sorrow, not happiness. It would be wise for us to accommodate this broad spectrum of valid human responses to pain and suffering within our theology and, more importantly, within our ministerial practice. All of us though can take comfort that a day will come when all oppression and evil will be defeated, and those who delight in the Lord will experience true everlasting happiness.

How should Christians remember 9/11?

I attended a memorial service two days ago that took place on the five-year anniversary of the tragedy of 9/11. I was intrigued by the opening statement made by the program host which stated the purpose of the memorial: to uplift the name of God and honor him as the sovereign Lord who is in control of the world. Psalms were read, songs were sung and testimonies were given which emphasized God’s sovereignty in the world. The contrast with other memorials I had witnessed over the past few days was evident. Some chose to focus on the devastation and disaster while others desired to remember those who died on that day. The question came to my mind: why did the organizers of this Christian memorial service choose to seemingly overlook the remembrance of the fallen and instead emphasize God’s sovereignty?

A possible answer, shared by a fellow seminary student, is that many people gain a great deal of comfort from the reassurance that God is in control when tragedy strikes. This may be true, especially for immediate consolation after a calamity. The tendency is to ask “Why did God allow this to happen?” amidst the shock of disaster. Over time, however, these kind of theological questions submerge under the overwhelming tide of grief and loss that comes when the protective bubble of shock bursts and the realities of a new world emerge in the lives of the victims. The surviving victims of 9/11 are living in a reality that has seen most of the world resume to normal while they are left to themselves to reconstruct their devastated existence and rebuild their lives into a “new normal”.

Perhaps Christians ought to acknowledge the long-term suffering of the victims of 9/11 by remembering their dead loved ones and resolving to acknowledge their continued grief and sorrow. Doing so builds a bridge into their “new world” and provides opportunity to impact their lives with the hope of the Gospel, a hope whereby the King of the universe desires to enter into relationship with them and promises to judge the evil that destroyed their lives.

Remembering 9/11

I was up early this morning making preparations to show our guests a good time in San Francisco.

My Dad and his wife are in town from Indiana, and I promised to show him my place of employment in the heart of the financial district. My early rise from bed was triggered by the voice of someone leaving a message on our answering machine. Slightly irritated yet feeling refreshed from a hot shower and a clean shave, my journey from the bathroom to the kitchen revealed that I was the first one up this morning. No worries, for I had work to do. The ideas of what to do in the city that had been forming in my mind over the past week needed some final logistical planning. We would simulate my daily commute by taking BART from Concord to Montgomery Street station, walk five minutes to my building, ride the elevator to the 16th floor and greet my boss and fellow workers. We then would walk to my favorite eating place in Chinatown, Hunan Homes, followed by a ride on the cable cars to Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square. A fun ride to Pac Bell Park on the trolley would be followed by a tour of the ballpark. The 40 minute ride on BART back to Concord would complete our day. As I took my seat in front of the computer I hit the ‘play’ button on the answering machine to listen to the message that had awoken me 20 minutes earlier:

Matt, this is Greg. Due to the events that have happened this morning I highly advise you to not travel to the city today. We have evacuated the building and are awaiting instructions on what to do next. I have sent everyone home, and instructed the team to plan on working from their homes the next few days. I hope you and your family keep safe. I’ll try to reach you again soon.

As I reflect on the events that my family and I saw unfold on the TV screen that day, the sheer evil and horror of the situation is as incomprehensible to me today as it was five years ago. The devastating damage done to the lives of thousands upon thousands of people is irreparable, and the overwhelming loss felt by so many can never be replaced. My prayer goes out to the families and communities that have been impacted by this event. I pray that sensitive souls will uphold the memory of their loved ones. I pray that those who listen to their cries of grief will respond with compassion and not judgment. I pray that our government will have success in fighting the continued war against this evil. I pray that Christians will engage the spiritual dimension of this war on evil with prayer and diligence.