Answers from God

The name Job is a name synonymous with suffering. God allowed Job to endure so much, including the loss of his wife and children, and he is remembered for remaining faithful.
Still, there was a point at which Job wasn’t so faithful. You might remember Job saying, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away,” but do you recall when he angrily demanded answers from God?
In Chapter 30, Job says, “I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer. I stand up, but you merely look at me. You turn on me ruthlessly; with the might of your hand you attack me. You snatch me up and drive me before the wind; you toss me about in the storm. When I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness. Let the Almighty answer me!”
Anger at God is a common response from people who face great suffering.
Do you find yourself sometimes feeling anger toward God when bad things happen in your life? Do you feel tempted to believe that God doesn’t care about you or is disinterested in answering your prayers? That’s how Job felt.
Humanity’s situation as a whole is a lot like Job’s. We have lots of trouble but few answers. We are troubled by our sin, and the sin in our world is pervasive. It manifests itself everywhere. As we cry for answers, God does not answer as we expect.
No, his response to us is far better. It is because God is our good and gracious Father that he promises to be with us and not leave us in despair.
God has heard the pleas of his people, and in these last days he has given us an answer to our suffering, to our sin, and to death.
Children loved by God, this answer is not given to us as lists of reasons and explanations for his mysterious ways. Instead, God's answer has come to us in flesh and blood. God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to be the answer to our condition.
Yes, Jesus is our heavenly Father's answer to us. Jesus allowed himself to be sacrificed for our sins, to bear the punishment we could never pay, to take Satan and death head on so that no matter the temptation or suffering we face in this life, the battle has already been won.
The victory has been secured with the blood of Jesus on the cross. Because of Jesus, your sins are forgiven!
Because of the free gift of faith — the gift of trust — that he gives us, our perspectives on life have changed.
Our trust in God frees us to worship Him. Our trust in God frees us to live in service to our neighbor. Our trust in God frees us from having to know all the answers, as we now look past the suffering and death of this life to the new world to come, where there is no more suffering or pain, only life with God.