A Good Man Suffers

Job is a book of the Bible that offers great insight, encouragement, wisdom, guidance, and testament to the might of God. However, it is often overlooked. Why? Well for me, I know exactly why. I don't think I have ever read the entire book of Job for several reasons. For one, it downright scares me. It is a scary thought that the righteous Job would be tested by Satan. It is not pleasant to read of a man losing everything on this earth. It shows us that no one is free from sin and its effects. It shows that life is not a bowl of cherries. That God does allow suffering, even for His children. This book brings up tough situations and fills my mind with questions. But, I think the greatest reason I have for not reading Job is that I am worried it will cause me to question God, to become angry. How can I read about a God-fearing man be drug through the mud and see the providence in it all? How can I accept God's will in his life, and what if God chooses a similar path for me? This is what scares me the most. But these questions should not keep us at a distance. Job asked the same things, and God was more than willing to answer Job, just as He is willing to answer you and me. But we have to be willing as well. We have to be ready to be made uncomfortable, to wrestle, to pray, to question. And then we have to be ready for God's mighty answer. It will come. And when it does, it will leave us speechless.