Some of you are facing what could easily be called an unsolvable problem. It’s you I hope to encourage today. Often the situations with no human answers form the basis upon which God does some of His best work.
This is illustrated beautifully in the life of Job, who, in my opinion, is a living example of unsolvable problems. Job’s biography includes a clipboard full of questions about suffering.
Is God fair? Is this situation just? What is a person to learn when going through deep waters of suffering?
In Job, we have a unique and rare look within the veil of heaven and behind the scenes on earth.
The LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” (Job 1:7–8 NASB1995)
What would God say about you if He were to address Satan right now and tell him about your life? “Have you considered _______,” and then He calls your name. As He describes you, what would He say? With some of you, it might fit very closely to what He said about Job— “blameless and upright.”
Job’s life was a wonderful model of courageous living. Job trusted God in the good times. Now the scene was set to determine if Job would trust God in humanly impossible situations.
The next chapter of Job’s life is a dark one. He endured loss like few have known. His home...destroyed. His family...perished. His health...ruined. His finances...wiped out. His friends...questioned his godly reputation.
In the long process of working through his questions and struggles, Job finally resolved to trust God—no matter what. He had worshipped. He had humbled himself. He had sat in silence. He finally responded to his wife, I accept what God has sent. I have accepted good, now I accept adversity. Read that once more. It is the secret of his stability.
I find three real reasons Job could respond like this. First, he looked up and was comforted by God’s sovereignty. He saw more than God’s actions; he saw His heart. He accepted what God gave and took away. He saw God’s sovereign love, and he said to his wife, Should we not receive both without question?
Job also looked ahead and was reminded of God’s promise. In chapter 19, Job said,
“I know that my Redeemer lives,
And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.” (19:25)
Job was reminded of God’s promise that at the end all will be made right. Looking ahead, he felt spurred on.
Lastly, Job looked within and was shaped by God’s instruction. Job 42:6 states that he looked at his life, and he repented “in dust and ashes.” He saw that God had instructed him in his suffering and illness as in no other way. He said, in effect, “Lord, for the first time, I honestly can say, ‘I give myself to You as never before.’”
It’s a courageous thing for a believer to give themselves to a sovereign God while facing impossible situations. Perhaps that’s exactly what you need to do right now. I recall what a wise and surrendered person once prayed:
Lord, I am willing to receive what Thou givest. I am willing to lack what Thou withholdest. I am willing to relinquish what Thou takest. I am willing to suffer what Thou inflictest. I am willing to be what Thou requirest. Lord, I’m willing.1
My friend, if your days have been difficult and nights have been like a tunnel, dark and long, find your comfort in God’s sovereign control and everlasting love. Your Saviour knows your breaking point. The bruising and crushing and melting you are enduring are designed to reshape you, not ruin you. Your strength and courage increase the longer He lingers over you. Remembering Job’s secret can make all the difference.
Adapted from Charles R. Swindoll, “How to Trust When You’re Troubled,” Insights (February 2002): 1-2. Copyright © 2002 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.
1 Clark, Dougan. The Theology of Holiness, 1893. Public Domain.
