A L M A C I A S

DO WE FEAR GOD FOR NOUGHT?

One of the most often-asked questions is, "Why do the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper?" Why is it the case that some people seem to suffer, almost from the day they are born to the day they die, while others never really know suffering during their entire lifetime. The righteous have always been puzzled by this question of suffering and the providence of God. What do the scriptures tell us in regard to the problem of suffering? Many of us perhaps have read in the scriptures about the patience of Job and how he suffered greatly during his life on earth. We read about the many things that happened to Job and the difficult time he had in trying to understand why God was doing this to him ­ when, in fact, it was not God who was doing it, but Satan himself, with God's permission.

As we study the book of Job, we all learn that suffering cannot always be explained. We learn that not all suffering is bad, and that sometimes suffering is permitted by God to help us become better people. Sometimes God permits suffering in our lives so that we might get to know ourselves better. As we study the life of Job, we find that he was a special man in the eyes of God, so much so that God said of him, "Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?" (Job. 1:8b) What kind of a man was Job? He was a man who had prospered in all things. He was a man who had prospered spiritually, as well as physically. At the beginning of the book, we find Job enjoying the prosperity of health, of wealth, and of family. Job had it all, but was about to lose it all. In a meeting held in Heaven, the sons of God came to the Lord and in their midst was also found Satan. When God asked Satan about Job and the fact that he was such a great servant of God, Satan told the Lord that the only reason Job was such a good servant to Him was that God had prospered him so greatly in so many things; but that if Job lost all that he had, he would curse God to His face. So God allowed Satan to take all away from Job to prove to Satan that Job would be a good servant, whether God blessed him or not. When Satan did destroy all that Job had, even his family, Job said, "Naked came I out of my mother¹s womb, and naked shall I return thither; the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21) How many of us would fare the same way that Job fared in the midst of such terrible trials? Let us strive to be like Job and understand that we can be good servants of the Lord, whatever the circumstances may be.