This series is in order. Click the Photo to watch the teaching:
Three reasons suffering seldom makes sense 1. Suffering can challenge our beliefs. Suffering can challenge our belief that God is in control. Suffering can challenge our belief that God is aware of our suffering. We can begin to believe all our suffering is caused by our sin. We can be tempted to walk away from God when suffering challenges our beliefs.
How to escape despair when you are suffering 1. Focus on God and not on the suffering. (vs.20) Ways Job kept his focus on God: He allowed himself to grieve. He worshiped God. He yielded to God’s will.
How to be a true friend to someone who is suffering. 1. Sympathize with them. Sympathize- To intentionally try to share in the feelings of another person. Expressing sympathy begins with being present. Expressing sympathy is an act of the will. Romans 12:15 Expressing sympathy requires an investment of both time and energy.
Why suffering can be exhausting. 1. Suffering zaps our strength. (vs.2) Suffering zaps our physical strength. Exhausted- Struggling to the point of feeling like you want to give up. Suffering zaps our emotional strength. Psalm 34:19 Suffering zaps our Spiritual strength.
If Suffering Has Exhausted You Job 38:36-41 Battling the exhaustion suffering has caused. 1. Be honest with God about your suffering. Tell God about how much your suffering has and is exhausting you. God already knows what you are thinking and feeling. Being honest about your suffering places you in a better position to listen to God. Being honest about your suffering helps you to experience God’s compassion.
Job 7:1-4, 6-7 1 Isn’t each person consigned to forced labor on earth? Are not his days like those of a hired worker? 2 Like a slave he longs for shade; like a hired worker he waits for his pay. 3 So I have been made to inherit months of futility, and troubled nights have been assigned to me. 4 When I lie down I think, “When will I get up?” But the evening drags on endlessly, and I toss and turn until dawn. 6 My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope. 7 Remember that my life is but a breath. My eye will never again see anything good. Job 7:1-4, 6-7 CSB
Job 21:16-18, 22-26, 34 Three things to think about when we feel our suffering is not fair. 1. Each of us will stand before God one day. (vss.16-18) Please listen to the words of warning this passage offers, and remember the very God we will stand before, is the One Who made the hope of heaven possible! Those in abundance and in need will stand before God. (vs.16) Happy and unhappy alike will stand before God. (vs.17) 1 Peter 1:3-9 Young and old will stand before God. (vs.18)
Job-A Study In Suffering Suffering and Disappointment Job 10:1-9 What can happen when we become disappointed in our suffering. 1. Disappointment can lead to complaining. (vss.1-3) Job’s disappointment led him to bring a complaint against how God was treating him. Job had grown disgusted with his suffering. Job’s disgust resulted in disappointment. Job has reached a low point in his life.
Finding Hope While Suffering Job 19:25-27, 42:10 Finding hope in the middle of suffering 1. Never forget you still belong to God. (vs.25) No matter how extreme the suffering, you still belong to God. Romans 5:2-5 You still belong to God and He will protect you. Redeem- To reclaim as one’s own You still belong to God and can place your future in His hands.