The Book of Job Can Help You When You Suffer - JEHOVAH ALLOWES JOB TO SUFER

 How we can benefit. Sadly, many people today have lost faith in God because they cannot understand why bad things happen to good people. Consider the example of Hazel from Rwanda. When she was young, she believed in God. But then things changed. Her parents got divorced, as a result, she was raised by her stepfather, who treated her badly. As a teenager, she was raped. When Hazel went to her place of worship for comfort, she did not receive it. Later, Hazel wrote a letter to God. In it she stated "God, I prayed to you, I tried to do good, but you repaid good with evil.  I am not leaving you, and I plan to do whatever makes me happy." Our hearts break for people who, like Hazel, have been led to believe that God is responsible for their suffering!

We, however, have learned from the account in the book of Job that God is not responsible for suffering-Satan is! We have also learned not to assume that those who are suffer are reaping what have sown. The Scriptures tell us that "time and unexpected events" can affect anyone at any time. (Ecclesiastes 9:11; Job 4:1, 8) And we have learned that by our enduring trials faithfully, we give Jehovah a reply to Satan's taunts. That helps to defend his reputation. (Job 2:3; Proverbs 27:11) We do not take what we have learned for granted-these insights enable us to know the truth about why we and our loved ones suffer. Later, Hazel studied with Jehovah Witnesses and came to understand that God did not cause her suffering. She said: "I prayed to God again from the bottom of my heart. I told Jehovah that when I had said I was leaving him, I was not really leaving him. After all, I didn't really know him. Now I understand that Jehovah loves me. I am finally happy and content." How grateful we are to know why God allows suffering! Let us now consider how the account of Job can help us personally during trials.

Nex time: The Book of Job Can Help You When You Suffer - HOW THE ACCOUNT OF JOB HELPS US TO ENDURE

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