In chapters 38-41 of Job, God asks Job if he is more wise, powerful, or just than God. God is not required to give reasons for our suffering. He has promised that it will work out for our good (Rom. 8:18,28; 2 Cor. 4:17,18) and that someday we will know (1 Cor. 13:12).

      Nowhere in the Book of Job does God answer any of the questions that caused so much debate between Job and his friends. He simply answers the need of Job’s heart. Job’s knowledge of God before his trials was primarily second hand, “by the hearing of the ear.” After passing through the fire of adversity, he sees God more clearly and gains faith and courage to trust Him more.

      God does not put just any of His children through a Job-like experience. It was because of Job’s God-fearing lifestyle that God permitted him to be tested by Satan, in order that his love and devotion might run even deeper.

      Are you facing a severe test of your faith today? View it, not as a sign that God has left you, but as a token of His desire to deepen and strengthen your commitment to Him.

      (Adapted from The Daily Walk, published by the American Tract Society, 1977.)