DEVOTIONAL SERIES JUL 6-9
This Devotional Series is based on a message delivered on July 5, 2026, and can be found at: https://www.kallamgrove.org/messages/why-does-god-allow-suffering/
God does not begin by explaining Job’s suffering
Job 38:1-2
Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?”
For much of the book of Job, people have been talking. Job has poured out his grief. His friends have offered explanations. Back and forth the conversation has gone, but now the Lord Himself speaks. It is striking that God does not begin by explaining Job’s suffering. He does not reveal the conversation that took place in heaven. He does not tell Job why these particular tragedies occurred. Instead, God redirects Job’s attention from the mystery of suffering to the majesty of the Creator.
We often long for explanations. We want to know why a diagnosis came, why a loved one died, why a relationship ended, or why prayers seem unanswered. While God sometimes gives insight into our circumstances, there are many times when He does not. What God does offer is Himself. The greatest comfort in the book of Job is not that Job finally understands everything. It is that Job encounters the living God.
There is a difference between having all the answers and knowing the One who holds the answers. A child may not understand why a parent makes certain decisions, but that child can still rest in a loving parent’s care. In the same way, we may not understand God’s purposes, but we can know His character. When suffering raises questions that have no easy answers, we are invited to trust the God whose wisdom is infinitely greater than our own. His silence is never evidence of His absence, and His lack of explanation is never a lack of love.
Reflection Question: Is there a question you have been demanding God answer instead of bringing your heart into His presence?
Prayer: Lord, help me trust Your wisdom even when I cannot understand Your ways.
Job’s response is not one of frustration but humility
Job 40:3-5
Then Job answered the Lord and said: “Behold, I am of small account. What shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further.”
When God finishes the first part of His questions, Job’s response is not one of frustration but humility. He realizes that he has been trying to evaluate God’s actions without possessing God’s wisdom. Humility is not the same as pretending our questions do not matter. Job had been honest with God throughout the book, and God never rebuked him for bringing his pain. What changes here is that Job begins to recognize the limits of his own understanding.
There is freedom in admitting that we do not have to know everything. We often carry the burden of trying to figure out every detail of God’s plan. We replay events in our minds, wondering what could have been different or why God allowed something to happen. At some point, faith means accepting that we are creatures and God is the Creator. His perspective stretches from eternity to eternity. Ours is limited to a small part of the story. That truth is not meant to discourage us. It is meant to bring peace. We do not have to carry the weight of understanding everything because that burden belongs to God alone. The more we grow in our knowledge of God, the more comfortable we become with saying, “I do not know, but I know Him.”
Reflection Question: What burden would you be able to release if you accepted that you do not need to understand everything?
Prayer: Father, give me the humility to trust You with the things that are beyond my understanding.
When talking about suffering, Paul speaks from experience
Romans 8:18
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Paul does not minimize suffering. He experienced imprisonment, beatings, rejection, hunger, and physical hardship. When he speaks about suffering, he is speaking from experience. Yet Paul also keeps suffering in its proper perspective. He calls it the sufferings of this present time. Those words remind us that suffering has an expiration date. It belongs to this present age, but it will not define eternity.
Our pain often feels overwhelming because it fills our vision. When we are hurting, it can seem as though nothing else exists. Paul lifts our eyes beyond today’s struggles to the promise of future glory. This does not mean Christians ignore grief or pretend everything is fine. Jesus Himself wept at the tomb of Lazarus. Scripture gives us permission to mourn honestly. But it also teaches us to hope confidently.
The resurrection of Jesus guarantees that suffering will not have the final word. A day is coming when Christ will make all things new. Every tear will be wiped away. Every injustice will be made right. Every sorrow will be swallowed up by joy. Until that day, we live between the reality of present suffering and the certainty of future glory. Hope does not erase pain, but it gives us strength to endure it.
Reflection Question: How does the promise of future glory help you endure present hardship?
Prayer: Lord, keep my eyes fixed on the hope You have promised when my present circumstances feel overwhelming.
Suffering can weaken us physically while strengthening us spiritually
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
One of the remarkable truths of the Christian life is that suffering can weaken us physically while strengthening us spiritually. Paul acknowledges that our bodies wear down. Age, illness, loss, and hardship leave their mark. Yet at the very same time, God is renewing His people inwardly. Notice that renewal is described as happening day by day. God often does not give us strength for the entire journey all at once. Instead, He provides fresh grace each day. Just as the Israelites gathered new manna every morning, we receive new mercies every day from our faithful God.
Paul also reminds us that affliction is not meaningless. God is using even our trials to prepare us for eternal glory. That does not mean suffering is good in itself. Suffering remains an enemy that entered the world because of sin. But our God is so wise and powerful that He can redeem even the hardest experiences for His good purposes. When we focus only on what is visible, discouragement easily takes root. But when we remember the unseen realities of God’s presence, His promises, and our eternal inheritance, our hearts are strengthened.
The suffering you carry today is real, but it is not the whole story. The God who is renewing you today is also preparing you for a glory that will never end.
Reflection Question: What unseen promise of God do you need to focus on today instead of your present circumstances?
Prayer: Father, renew my heart each day and help me live in the hope of the eternal glory You have prepared for Your children.