Finding Hope in the Valleys Lessons from Jobs Suffering

The main ideas from this information are: - The devil is like a roaring lion, seeking to devour people. - Suffering is a part of the spiritual warfare between God and Satan. - Job is a righteous man who experiences great suffering. - Job's trials include the loss of his possessions, family, and health. - Job exhibits stages of grief, such as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. - The stages of grief are not necessarily linear and can be experienced in different orders. - The stages of grief can be applied to Job's experiences. Today, I want to talk to you about suffering. Be sober. Be vigilant. Because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him. Steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. That's 1 Peter 5, 8-9, in KJV. I'm going to talk today about the story of Job. The story of Job provides profound insights into the realities of suffering and how we as Christians can find hope and comfort even in life's darkest valleys. We believe in the great controversy between Christ and Satan that unfolds throughout salvation history. Job's trials remind us that suffering takes place within this larger context of spiritual warfare. While God is sovereign and works all things together for the ultimate good of his people, Satan acts as the accuser who seeks to destroy and discourage believers in their faith. Job is described as a righteous, blameless, and God-fearing man who lives in the land of Uzz. He is blessed with a large family and great wealth. The heavenly council, the scene shifts to heaven, where God is holding a council with the heavenly beings, including Satan, or the adversary in Hebrew. God's praise of Job. God points out Job's righteousness and integrity to Satan. Satan's challenge. Satan argues that Job is only faithful because God has blessed him abundantly. He challenges God, saying that if Job's blessings were taken away, he would curse God. God's permission. God allows Satan to test Job by taking away his possessions and family. But the Lord said to Satan, very well then, he is in your hands, but you must spare his life. Here are some of the trials that Job went through. 1. Loss of oxen and donkeys. Job 1.14.15. Details. 1. The Sabeans attacked and took away the oxen and donkeys, killing the servants. Modern equivalent. 2. Loss of valuable business assets, equipment, or vehicles, essential for one's livelihood. 2. Loss of sheep and servants. Verse. Job 1.16. Details. Fire from the sky burned up the sheep and the servants. Modern equivalent. 3. Loss of investments, stock portfolio, or employees. 3. Loss of camels and more servants. Verse. Job 1.17. Details. 4. The Chaldeans formed three bands and made a raid on the camels, taking them and killing the servants. Modern equivalent. 5. Loss of additional business assets, property, or close friends. Examine what Satan is doing. He is becoming more aggressive and is getting closer to what Job finds important for. 6. Loss of sons and daughters. Verse. Job 1.18.19. Details. 7. A great wind struck the house where his children were feasting, causing it to collapse and killing them. Modern equivalent. 8. The death of one's children is the most devastating loss anyone can face, regardless of the time period. 9. Affliction with painful sores. Verse. Job 2.7. Details. 10. Satan afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. Modern equivalent. 11. Serious illness, injury, or disability that causes immense physical suffering on top of the emotional anguish from the other losses. In the biblical book of Job, the titular character exhibits several stages of grief, outlined in the KBL-era Ross model, although not necessarily in the same order. Here's how Job's experiences align with the stages. The KBL-era Ross model, also known as the Five Stages of Grief, was introduced by Elizabeth Kouleros in her 1969 book On Death and Dying. This model describes a series of emotional stages experienced by survivors of death or other forms of personal loss. The five stages are 1. Denial. This is the initial stage where individuals believe the diagnosis is somehow mistaken and cling to a false, preferable reality. It is a defense mechanism that buffers the immediate shock of the loss. 2. Anger. When the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue, they become frustrated, especially at proximate individuals. Certain psychological responses of a person undergoing this phase would be, Why me? It's not fair. How can this happen to me? Who is to blame? Why would this happen? 3. Bargaining. The third stage involves the hope that the individual can avoid a cause of grief. Usually, the negotiation for an extended life is made in exchange for a reformed lifestyle. People facing less serious trauma can bargain or seek compromise. 4. Depression. I'm so sad. Why bother with anything? I'm going to die soon. So what's the point? I miss my loved one. Why go on? During the fourth stage, the individual despairs at the recognition of their mortality. In this state, the individual may become silent, refuse visitors, and spend much of the time mournful and sullen. 5. Acceptance. It's going to be okay. I can't fight it. I may as well prepare for it. In this last stage, individuals embrace mortality or the inevitable future, or that of a loved one, or another tragic event. People dying may perceive the survivors in this state, which typically comes with a calm, retrospective view of the individual and a stable condition of emotions. It's important to note that these stages are not necessarily linear and that individuals may experience them in different orders or revisit certain stages throughout the grieving process. The K. B. L. A. Ross model has been widely influential and is often used in both clinical and lay contexts to understand and support individuals experiencing grief. In a certain way, Job experiences many of the stages of grief that were written by K. B. L. A. Ross. 1. Denial. While Job doesn't explicitly deny the reality of his losses, he does express shock and disbelief at the sudden and drastic change in his circumstances. Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground in worship. And he said, 2. Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. Job 1.20-22.2. 3. Anger. Job expresses anger and frustration throughout the book, both towards his friends who accuse him of wrongdoing and towards God for allowing his suffering. For the arrows of the Almighty are within me. My spirit drinks in their poison. The terrors of God are arrayed against me. Job 6.4. 5. He tears me in his wrath and hates me. He gnashes at me with his teeth. My adversary sharpens his gaze on me. Job 16.9. 6. Therefore I will not restrain my mouth. I will speak in the anguish of my spirit. I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. Job 7.11. 7. My soul loathes my life. I will give free course to my complaint. I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. Job 10.1.3. 8. Bargaining. Job 10.2.13.3. 9. Job expresses his desire to argue his case before God, which could be interpreted as a form of bargaining, that he wants to understand the reason for his suffering and plead his innocence. For he is not a man as I am, that I may answer him, and that we should go to court together. Nor is there any mediator between us who may lay his hand on us both. Let him take his rod away from me, and do not let dread of him terrify me. Then I would speak and not fear him, but it is not so with me. 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