understand

It happened so suddenly. Without warning. Yesterday everything was going smoothly for the Herrens. Today their whole world turned upside down.

This morning Keith Herren left for work -- a middle-level executive's position with a national corporation. He drove his company car out of his nice neighborhood, past the church his family really loves. When he got to the office, he and a number of colleagues were called into the conference room for a surprise meeting. Without warning, the company (like others) has decided to downsize for economic reasons. A large number of jobs are being terminated. Keith's is one of those positions.

"Don't worry!" company officials chirped. "There will be a very generous severance package." And it's true that Keith is young enough and talented enough to find another job. But as he drives home he thinks about having to start all over. "Lord, I don't understand. We really love this place. After five moves in ten years, we've finally found a community and a church where we feel at home and where we'd like to put down some roots. And now you're making us start all over again.

Suddenly Keith's eyes are filled with tears,and he can barely see the road. Many people think that believing in God protects them from trouble, so when calamity comes they question God's goodness and justice. But the message of Job is that God allows us to have bad experiences (Job 2:10).

Faith in God does not guarantee personal prosperity, and lack of faith does not guarantee trouble. If this were so, people would believe in God simply to get rich and feel better. God is able to rescue us from suffering, but He may also allow suffering to come for reasons we cannot understand. It is Satan's strategy to get us to doubt God at exactly this moment. Job showed a perspective broader than that of seeking his own personal comfort. If we always knew why we were suffering, our faith would have no room to grow.

Psalm 42:11  "Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God."