I wouldn’t have wanted to be him.  Losing my children and almost all of my possessions in the space of a few hours would have lowered me to a place that would have taken a lifetime to recover from.  And, as those who have suffered loss know, the wounds heal, but they never completely go away.

            Although the Bible doesn’t tell us, I think Job was a wounded, healing man all his life.  But there is one, striking and shining light in all his suffering.  He came to know God.  Those who don’t know Him scoff at this.  And after one sorts through all the attacks on and criticisms of God, the reason it is so difficult to reconcile this issue of suffering is that they don’t know Him.  Their view is myopic and earthly, not taking eternity into account.  But it is more than eternity, as astounding important as that is.  It is the knowledge of God, a knowledge that is so sweet and invigorating to the core of one’s being that it is impossible to describe within the limits of language. 

            Job complained, and his “friends,” over and over, told him that the wicked are the ones who suffer.  At the end of it all, God never told Job why He had allowed the tragedies in his life.  He challenged Job to know Him—and he did.  Job, to his everlasting credit said, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye has seen you.  Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

            I wouldn’t want to suffer like Job.  However, when faced with tragedy, I hope my response would be as full of faith.  I would hope that, no matter what, I would not reject Him.  The knowledge of God is the most precious thing in my life.