Overview and Objectives

The most famous sufferer of all time was a man named Job. According to the Bible, Job lost his family to a “mighty wind,” his wealth to war and fire, and his health to painful boils. Through it all, God never told Job why it was happening. As Job endured the accusations of his friends, heaven remained silent. When God finally did speak, He did not reveal that His archenemy Satan had challenged Job’s motives for serving God. Neither did the Lord apologize for allowing Satan to test Job’s devotion to God. Instead, God talked about mountain goats giving birth, young lions on the hunt, and ravens in the nest. He cited the behavior of the ostrich, the strength of the ox, and the stride of the horse. He cited the wonders of heaven, the marvels of the sea, and the cycle of the seasons. Job was left to conclude that if God had the power and wisdom to create this physical universe, there was reason to trust that same God in times of suffering (Job 1-42).

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

• Identify the ways pain is used by God to bring us back to Himself.

As you proceed through this lesson have the following question in mind.
The Bible calls believers to live by faith; yet, on a practical level, how much do you live "by faith" during the course of a normal week? What are some of the things in our world that work against that conscious life of faith?