Job 42:1-5
Why is there suffering? Why does God allow human beings to suffer? What is the origin of so much injustice and why so many hardships and difficulties in our life? The text in bold for today’s topic talks about Job. He went through so much and was one who probably asked the above questions and so many others while going through very crucial times in his life. These are also questions and doubts that all of us face at one point or another. However, you and I know that for some questions such as the ones above, we will never have an answer. This questioning shows how empty we are inside. It is an emptiness in which we seek to fill with wealth, pleasures, good health, or fame – and one who does not obtain such things ends up debating with these questions.
Job was always looked upon as a man of God, a servant of the Lord (Job 1:1). He was wealthy, had many belongings, and a healthy family. Isn’t it easy to serve God when all is going well? This was Satan’s argument (Job 1:10). Later on, when Job lost almost everything he had, he endured a lot of pain and suffering on his own body. Had he doubted God’s existence? Was Satan right in affirming Job only served God because of everything God had given him?
Job was empty because he had lost all his riches, family, and good health. But the truth is that his questioning made him seek God. His suffering put him closer to God. He filled the emptiness through his communion with God. So many people live like Job and know God only from hearing about Him. They question and doubt because they live far away from God and never experience His goodness and mercy. Thanks to our Lord, Jesus Christ, today we can come closer to God and have communion with Him. Only through Jesus, we can affirm that God’s grace fills the emptiness inside of us.
Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior is not a guarantee that life on Earth will go smooth; it is a guarantee that the Holy Spirit of God has led you to repentance and is working His way inside of you. This means that God loves you dearly and has shown you the way to salvation.
There is more to life than breathing in this world, building a family, and acquiring material things; eternity is forever. Let’s seek God while He can be found (Isaiah 55:6-7). The gap inside of you is only filled by His presence.
