Growing a boy: Story of Job (By Tyler)

Job’s Story (By Tyler)

If I’m being honest, I never really liked the biblical story of Job.  I didn’t like that God allowed him to loose his family, friends, and belongings. Even though everything and more was restored to Job, I still didn’t like it. 

Over the last 6 months my family has been through quite a bit.  My mother passed after 3 years of barely holding on to a miserable existence in a nursing home.  Our finished basement flooded.  My wife’s pregnancy had some serious complications with our third child which was born with a severe life threatening lung defect.

It has been a difficult season to say the least.  In the midst of all of this, I continued to get more frustrated at God.  At moments I was angry and screaming at Him.  His response was to quietly tell me that even more suffering was on the way.  I work in an emergency room and see people during some of the worst times in their lives.  People on their death bed, afraid, regretful, realizing they have wasted their life chasing after things that don’t really matter.  As God has opened my eyes to the true suffering in this world, I finally just got pissed off and started asking Him why He allows it.  If our God is so powerful, why doesn’t he stop it?  Why is the creator sitting back and doing nothing?  

His response shocked me.  He used a song, Where Were You by Ghost Ship (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLf_Nlukra0).  That got my attention as I knew He was using this powerful song to speak to me about His plan, but I still didn’t have my answer.  Why God? Why do you allow people all around me to die, suffer and be broken?  Then I turned to the book of Job.  I always thought it would give a reason to why there is suffering.  I knew all the scriptures about trials and their benefits from Proverbs, James and Romans.  I had shared them with others so many times, but I still never liked Job.  I rarely talked about the book.

After studying Job I realized, God didn’t answer the questions.  He never said suffering is present because…, He just made more statements.  As I was essentially calling God unjust, He answered with showing me that I was not qualified to make that claim.  I was not in control of the complexities of this world or it’s creation.  I did not know enough to call Him unjust.  As I demanded an explanation from God for the reason of suffering, He invited me to trust in Him.  To actually believe that what I believe is really real. 

And that is the end.  I never got my answer, but I gained hope, joy, peace, and trust in the only trustworthy person.  Our God is an awesome God.  My mom got to see her first 2 grandbabies before she died.  Our flooded basement is now put back together and I gained amazing fellowship with friends, and a few new tools.  Our son is thriving after having his chest cut open and parts of his lung cut out on day 5 of life.  My life is being put back together, I have suffered trials and the testing of my faith has produced a perseverance. 

I am starting to have a new appreciation of the book of Job.  Even more, I have a new appreciation for the one inspired it.  My reply to His revelation is that I spoke of things I did not understand, things to wonderful for me.  Although I had no right to ask, my God knelt and answered me.