The Problem of Pain and Suffering

As a pastor it was often my duty to stand at the bed of a man, a woman and sometimes a child suffering great pain and loss. Some were feeling this pain because of an illness or the death of a loved one, others because of an accident and some because of a foolish mistake or judgment. I remember attending to a physician in the ER. He had been attempting to diagnose his illness and treat himself only to be forced to deal with the fact that a man who tries to be his own physician is an idiot. As a result he was seriously ill and even close to death.

There are many reasons for suffering and pain, but beneath them all are the dark questions: Why? And, Why me? And further, Is God punishing me?

I invite you to join me in these next weeks as we seek answers to these questions by searching God's Word about suffering as it is preserved in the Book of Job. There is an adequate introduction to Job in the Wikipedia article on Job. You may wish to peruse it. We will, however, go beyond what that article says as we walk chapter by chapter through this ancient book.

Leon Bonnat's Job

Who was Job? Some say he was an historical figure. Others say he is a literary fiction created by one of the prophets.  I view Job as an historical figure. This is based upon the fact that the prophet Ezekiel speaks about him.

"Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord GOD. - Eze 14:13-14 ESV

"Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness. - Eze 14:19-20 ESV

Again James writes about him in the New Testament.

As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. - Jas 5:10-11 ESV

Ezekiel saw Job as a faithful man of God, equal to Noah who with his family survived the flood and Daniel who survived being thrown into a den of lions. James in turn views the man called Job as an example of patience amidst suffering. He calls him steadfast, a man of perseverance, enduring all his suffering, but never questioning God's purpose for his life. This is the man who has much to teach us all. We will walk with him in the next weeks and invite the Spirit to open our hearts to the lessons of faith that Job has to teach us.

What If God Gives You No Bread?

"Give us this day our daily bread." So you prayed today, fully expecting that God would grant you what you need for today. But . . . what if disaster strikes? What if you suddenly learn that you have cancer or that your mother just died from a heart attack? What if your house burns down after being struck by lightning or is burned up in an unstoppable forest fire? The what ifs can be multiplied.

What then? Can you still pray and give thanks as the Apostle instructed in yesterday's post?

. . . give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. - 1Th 5:18 ESV

In ALL circumstances? How is that possible? Surely Job's wife was correct when she advised,

Job by Leon Bonnat, c. 1860

"Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die." - Job 2:9 ESV 

Mrs. Job spoke with deep irony, for her word for curse is used in most other contexts of the Bible as the word for speaking a blessing, e.g.

And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. ... He also said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant. - Gen 9:1, 26 ESV 

Yeah, right. So when God knocks me down and takes it all away, I'm supposed to say thanks and bless Him? You've got to be kidding! You've already damned me, God! You've taken everything precious away and I will not thank you for that.

What's the lesson for us when we're poor, beaten down, filled with fear, loss and sorrow? How can we give thanks in those circumstances? How indeed?

Job's answer to his wife is most instructive.

But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips. - Job 2:10 ESV

As hard as it may be in that moment, consider again how it is that you even dare to call yourself a child of God. Remember again that you are a member of God's family only by the grace and mercy of God freely displayed in Christ. Remember how you were called to faith, brought out of the certain eternal death we all deserve by the renewing work of the Holy Spirit. Remember that Jesus took you with Him into death and hell and from there to new life. Do not return to that foolishness that says that you deserve to have a perfect and wondrous life in the here and now. Too many name-it-and-claim-it false prophets teach that drivel.

Learn again what Job knew: "Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?"

But why?

Here we turn to Hebrews 12:1-13. Read over carefully the entire chapter several times. Ponder its meaning for you when you face adversity, suffering, sickness and loss. The writer makes several very important points.

• In Christ Jesus we truly are God's children and loved by Him. Already we have eternal life and we shall certainly share with Him in the imminent resurrection and renewal of all things.

• In the meantime we remain in this world, a world filled with dark powers, temptations, idolatry and evil. Our sinful flesh is constantly pulled toward them. 

• We truly need discipline and training in our struggle against sin. Who better to provide such discipline than our heavenly Father? If He were not to discipline us, then we would have to consider ourselves as illegitimate children and not His sons and daughters. 

• As we grow up, we eventually learn to respect our earthly fathers and mothers for their discipline and training. At the time we may not have. It was most painful and not at all pleasant to be denied and forced to do what we did not want to. But later on we learn how important it was that they did care enough to discipline us. 

• So should we not much more be willing to accept the discipline of our Father in heaven, the Father of all those who have gone before us into heaven? 

• Therefore pick up those hands that are clenched or have fallen helplessly at your side. Stop complaining and wobbling on your knees. Stand up, straighten your back. Take a deep breath and let out a prayer of thanks—yes even for this. 

• And then get on with what stands before you. Pull out that noxious "root of bitterness." It is very toxic and can only bring further suffering and sorrow. 

• Before us is the kingdom that cannot be shaken. And beyond this world's dark valley the Father's house awaits. The door is open and your room is already prepared. 

Our Father in heaven . . . give us today our daily bread!

Rebel Son And Grieving Father

We're looking stories from Holy Scripture that tell us about the grieving of parents over the death of children. One such is the story of Absalom, son of King David, born in Hebron of Maacah the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur (2 Samuel 3-18 and 1 Chronicles 3:2). Maacah was one of David's six wives, women he married while at war with the house of Saul, Israel's first king. David married most of those women so he might establish political alliances. The anonymous writer of that history makes no direct judgments upon this practice. The history tells it all.

David's family history is filled with hate, war, murder, adultery, lies, intrigue, rebellion and political maneuvering. What amazes me each time I look at it is the patience, mercy and forgiveness of the LORD God who chose David to lead these people. Ultimately, the story brings us to an out and out rebellion against David, led by Absalom and Absalom's death during the final battle (2 Samuel 18:1-19:15). Absalom's pillar (2 Sam. 18:18) can be found in the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem to this day.

Lets look at a few details.

Absalom had himself crowned king. He mounted an army of thousands from the north to overthrow David. David's thousands met them in the oak and fir forest of Ephraim, east of the Jordan river, on the north bank of the river Jabbok and near the city of Mahanaim (two camps in Hebrew) in Gilead. It was here that Jacob had a vision of angels (Genesis 32:2) and gave the place its name. Here also was where David had set up temporary headquarters after Absalom's army had driven him from Jerusalem.

David's men defeated the Israelite army that day. Some 20,000 are reported to have died. ". . . and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword" (2 Sam. 18:8). Absalom, known for his beautiful long hair, fled on his mule. But as he rode through the woods his hair became tangled, trapping him in the branches of a great oak. Acting against David's direct command, Joab, David's commander, together with ten of his armor-bearers, caught up to Absalom and killed him. They threw his body into a pit and covered it with stones. At the news of his death Absalom's army scattered and fled.

A Cushite messenger made it to David with the terrible news. David asked, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?" The Cushite replied, "May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you for evil be like that young man." At that, David was overwhelmed with grief. How often have parents made similar laments upon hearing of their child's death. David cried over and over, "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!"

David continued to lament his son's death so strongly that his victorious army returned to camp as if they had been defeated. Finally Joab, fearing a worse rebellion, forced David to show himself to his people and resume his leadership. We hear no more in this history about David's grieving for Absalom.

There was more to David's grief than the death of his son. Through his own lust and folly David had earlier lost an illegitimate son after his affair with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12). Though that son had died shortly after birth, David was assured that the LORD had taken the baby to Himself in heaven. But Absalom—for him only hell awaited. David was the LORD's anointed king and in rebelling Absalom had rejected the LORD. Little wonder that David sobbed and cried at the news of his son's death.

Not only had Absalom gone to hell, David must bear great guilt for leading him in that direction. Contrary to God's clear plan for marriage, David had taken many wives and concubines. Absalom's mother was one such. David had played the game of thrones with Saul—and won. Besides all that, David was a murderer. He had arranged for the death of Bathsheba's husband and then taken her for yet another of his many wives. What a model for his children! David had failed as a father.

It is bitter indeed when parents learn that a child has died while rebelling against them, their life styles and their religious beliefs. For instance, you may know, as do I, of children caught up in the drug culture who committed suicide or were murdered by their peers or killed in an automobile accident. Bitter and unending is the pain when a parent realizes that this child will never be with them again, even in heaven. Bitter and unending is their pain when they realize that their parenting contributed to this rebellion and eternal death. 

What remains for such grieving parents? Only the confession of sins given to us by David in Psalm 51:1-12.

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

As David, this notorious sinner, was forgiven, so also may parents caught up in such grief. To them Jesus also says, " I have borne your grief and carried your sorrows. I was afflicted by God and pierced upon the cross for your transgressions, crushed for your iniquities. And now I bring you peace. With My wounds—and only with my wounds—are you healed. But you are and so rest in my peace, for I plead for you and all your family before the throne of my Father in heaven" (Isaiah 53:1-12). 

Children Are Not Supposed To Die

One fall, back when I was a student at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, five of us rode together from Minnesota back to the apartment we shared. It was a hot, muggy afternoon when we arrived. Someone suggested that we go swimming in the Missouri River. I merely went along for the drive, because I had never learned how to swim. When we arrived at a park along the river everyone except me dove in and began to swim around, splashing and laughing in the refreshing coolness. I puddled along the bank and watched.

Suddenly I heard David cry out something. He was maybe twenty-five feet out into the river in deep water. For a time he seemed to splash and thrash and then his head disappeared. I screamed at the others, "David, David, he went under! Help him!"

I remember feeling so very, very helpless. There was no boat, no lifeguard, no rope to throw to him, nothing. Vic and Wayne swam out to where he was last seen and began diving down, searching, hoping, but he was gone. We never saw him again until the police divers pulled his drowned body from the river.

David was from southern Minnesota. The next week those of us who had witnessed his drowning made the sad journey back from Missouri to Minnesota to attend his funeral. David's parents and his mother in particular were devastated by his death. For years after she kept his room exactly the way it was before he died. She could not let him go.

Many have said that the death of a child causes the most intense grief known. David was not supposed to die. He was well on his way to becoming a pastor. Suddenly that dream was all ripped away and with his death a part of David's mother and father also died. For a long time after they were disoriented and confused. Like so many parents they were forced to confront something extremely painful. They needed to deal with the overwhelming pain of his death and move on, but how? They also needed to keep his memory present. How can you do both?

When a child dies parents face a wide variety of issues as they deal with their grief. The process of grieving is complex. Though we all must grieve in our own way, the process of grieving will always include the so-called 7 stages of grief. These do not happen in a particular order and you may cycle back to any one of them again and again.

1. Shock and denial - It didn't happen. It couldn't have. This is a way to protect yourself from being totally overwhelmed, even though you're not consciously aware of why you feel this way. 
2. Pain and guilt - The pain is unbelievably deep and seemingly unbearable. Why did  I or why didn't I? . . . The temptation is to drown your sorrows and escape the pain with alcohol or drugs. 
3. Anger and bargaining - Others are at fault. Why me? If only I had . . . Oh, God, bring her back and I'll never . . . But that doesn't work either. What can I do? What?!
4. Depression and loneliness - Especially as you reflect on what has really happened. And then your friends try to talk you out of feeling so down. But you need time, time to yourself, time to focus on the past, to feel empty and to despair. 
5. The upward turn - Ever so slowly things become a little better, more organized. Your depression begins to lift. But even then you may drift back to an earlier stage. 
6. Reconstruction and moving on - Maybe, maybe you can deal with life without your child. Oh, you do not want to, but you must, somehow you must move on without him. 
7. Acceptance and hope - You begin to accept the reality. It happened. I can't change that, but he is in the hands of Jesus. We will meet again. My life will never, ever be the same, but I see now that there is a way forward. 

David's death touched each one of us in a different way, but none of us grieved in the way that David's parents did. In my next postings I'd like to look at some examples of parents grieving as recorded in the pages of Scripture and see what the Holy Spirit has to tell us about how to deal with this most painful reality. 

What Is The Spirit Of Christmas?

For so very many Christmas is not a happy time at all. It is a deeply painful, scary and lonely time. All around them are silver bells, silver bells singing, "It's Christmas time in the city. Children laughing, people passing, meeting smile after smile and on every street corner you'll hear silver bells, silver bells." No, I'm not trying to be Mr. Bah, Humbug. Nor am I planning to be the Grinch that stole Christmas.  I'm simply stating a fact and not one very difficult to grasp either. The so-called spirit of Christmas is a demon that dangles a candy cane before their eyes, but pulls it away every time they reach for it.

I got into this mood by meditating upon Romans 15:1-13, the Epistle reading for this second week of Advent, another week of preparing our hearts for the true celebration of Christmas. The apostle writes,

"We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me" (Psalm 69:9). 

The Apostle is telling us that the true spirit of Christmas is the Spirit of the Christ who was born in a stable and who emptied Himself for all of us weak, helpless, hopeless and lonely sinners. By quoting the ancient Psalm, the Apostle is saying that those words of Scripture were fulfilled in the life, death and resurrection of Christ. In his adult life he was rejected by his family, particularly by his brothers, cousins, aunts and uncles (Mark 6:1-6). The government and the religious leaders plotted to kill him and succeeded. He died alone on the cross of his enemies.

Psalm 69 gives us insight into Jesus' feelings throughout those days, weeks and years of rejection and hatred. We are with him in those many lonely nights of prayer and most especially in the Garden of Gethsemane as we read,

"I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold. . . I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. . . I am in distress. . . Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. . . I am afflicted and in pain. . ." 

He knows how we feel. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4-6).

If the spirit of Christmas is indeed the Spirit of Christ, then we who have his life within our hearts, we who are strong in him have no choice but to reach out in accord with him to the weak around us. I am thinking particularly about the millions—yes millions—who try every day to mask their inner crying, despair and pain with alcohol, sex, food or any other drug of choice available. We who are strong have an obligation, writes the Apostle. It is an obligation imposed upon us by the Spirit of Christ. We are obliged to take up, to bear and to carry the burdens of those imprisoned by their despair and hopelessness. Those folks are not hard to find. They work next to us. They live across the street. They go to school with us. They are our relatives, sometimes even our best friends. Every day they reach for the candy cane and every day the demon pulls it away.

If indeed the spirit of Christmas is the Spirit of Jesus Christ, then we can find the true meaning of peace and joy by reaching out to those near to us in Jesus' name.

My Dog Will Be Resurrected Too

I have been thinking about the appointed Old Testament lessons for this second week in the Advent season. In one the prophet Isaiah describes what shall happen when the promised Christ or Messiah comes as a shoot from the apparently dead stump of the family of Jesse, David's father. Using poetic language he writes,

"The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den" (Isaiah 11:6-7). 

Frankly, those images have always disturbed me. They make no sense to me. As much as I like the idea of security and safety for humans and all other creatures, this image of a new creation where bears, wolves, leopards and lions eat grass and straw just blows my mind. How can a bear be a bear and a lion be a lion by turning into a herbivore? They're not built that way. Their whole bodily systems demand other kinds of food. Is the prophet, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, telling me that the entire food chain will be destroyed? It does not make sense to me, based upon what I see around me in the current way the natural world operates.

Is my problem of interpretation unique? And am I pushing language too far, trying to make poetry become literal prose? Perhaps I should simply accept the prophet's language as his inspired image of tranquility and peace in all of God's creation.

My problem is, in fact, not unique at all. C.S. Lewis struggled with the idea of cutting live animals open to study them. In an essay on vivisection he wrote that performing operations on live animals for scientific experiments, particularly when done on the higher animals who have consciousness, i.e. dogs, was completely unjustified.  In his small book "The Problem of Pain" he explored the theology behind his views. He insisted that higher animals are sentient and the idea of animals preying on other animals, especially where their prey is sentient, is contrary to the Creator's original plan for natural things. In that he agrees with Isaiah's vision that in the renewed creation such animals will no longer choose one another for food. They will be content to live of off lower forms of life that are not sentient, incapable of suffering and pain. One can see how he envisioned this future by reading about how he treats sentient and talking animals in his fantasy series, "The Chronicles of Narnia".

Several such animals have been part of our family's life. We name them, take photos of them and live with them for many years. Currently Wee-Z Zacchaeus So-cute  (his full name), a Pekingese-Poodle crossbreed, is a very intimate part of our life. I am inclined to believe that he and Pepper, a Schnauzer-Poodle mix who lived with us for over 18 years before passing away, will be resurrected with us in eternity. I base this conclusion upon the promise that our Lord will one day put all things right and things would not be proper and right without our beloved animals (Romans 8:16-25). They know us and talk with us. We communicate, laugh, play, travel, sleep—and suffer with them and they with us. Eternity will not be eternity without them. And yet I note that dogs, like their ancestral wolves, are apparently natural predators who prefer to eat meat.

Obviously this discussion could get us deep into another related one about scientific experiments with DNA marketing, cross-breeding, cloning, etc., but I'm not going there today. I'm simply wondering what Isaiah was revealing about the wonder that awaits us in the new creation.

Big Boys Don't Cry

My Tears In His Bottle by Mary Meadows: "Thou countest my wanderings; put my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? - Psalm 58:8"

First, thanks to Ms. Meadows for her words: "Tear-bottles were small urns of glass or pottery, created to collect the tears of mourners at the funeral of a loved one and placed in the sepulchers at Rome and in Palestine where bodies were laid to rest. In some ancient tombs these bottles are found in great numbers, collecting tears that were shed with great meaning.


"As comforting as knowing God will one day wipe away every tear from our eyes is the thought that the one in heaven does not see our pain here as a pointless or empty occurrence. Just as our tears will be tended to in eternity, the psalmist reminds us that so our tears on earth do not go unnoticed. Our pain is not haphazardly viewed by the one who made tear ducts that spill over with grief and anguish. God has kept count of our sorrowful struggling; each tear is recorded as pain steeped with meaning. Like a parent grieving at a child's wound, God reaches out to you in your pain, speaking gently into your heightened sense of awareness. And with the Son who wept at the grave of Lazarus, God collects your tears in his bottle until the day tears will be no more."


However, Big boys don't cry. That was my upbringing. In one way or another I was taught to avoid crying. Girls like Mary Meadows might cry and write about it, but we big boys, never. How strange therefore to encounter these words in the writings of David, the warrior-king of Israel. He conquered the Philistine giant Goliath and killed many others. Yet here he is, openly admitting that he cries. How very unlike we who are descended from the northern Europeans, i.e. Germans and British. Stiff upper lip and all that.


OK, I'll admit it. I get teary eyed at funerals, weddings, syrupy movies, the birth of my grandchildren, graduations—oh, for goodness sake—in far too many ways. But, but then my childhood training kicks in and I try so very hard to cover it up: "I must be coming down with a cold, etc."


Hey, all you big boys, it's OK to cry! It really is. Jesus did it. He burst into tears  at the grave of his good friend Lazarus (John 11:35). There are all kinds of Bible references to men crying. Other examples: 

• Genesis 43:30 - Joseph wept when his brothers came to Egypt. 
• Job 30:25 - Job wept for men who struggled with hard times. 
• Luke 19:11 - Jesus himself wept over Jerusalem's refusal to accept his love and the impending doom that awaited them. 
• Romans 9:1-2 - Paul wept for his Jewish brothers who continued to reject Christ. 

We must not hide our feelings, bottle them up inside ourselves. This harms us in many ways. Read the link above. On the other hand, I know I won't change the attitude of many of us real men. We need to be strong, right? And tough, right?


OK, but know this. You still have feelings and Jesus understands them. He knows our griefs, our pain, our sorrows. Read again Isaiah 53:3 and Hebrews 2:17-18. He is like us men "in every respect." He understands even our reluctance to let our pain and sorrow show and is with us, nevertheless, to forgive and see us through them.