A True Premise, but a Wrong Application
Much of what Job's friends said to him was correct. They knew that God punished people for their sins. However, what they said to Job was wrong, because they assumed Job had sinned to cause his suffering, and he had not. When Elihu, the younger friend, took his turn to address Job, he brought up another true premise, but he had a wrong application, too. His premise was that it is impossible for God to do anything evil; He could do no wrong. (Job 34:10) Let's see where he went wrong with his application to Job's life, because people make the same wrong application today.
God never does anything that is evil or wrong. He doesn't sin, and He can't even be tempted with sin.(James 1:13) I am so glad that is true. God is also love, so He always does what is best for us, at all times. The problem comes when people think that all bad things that happen to us are evil, so they could not come from God. That is a false application, because trials and pain are not evil, and they are not bad for us, if we trust the Lord through them. They are difficult, and we suffer for a while, but God allows them or causes them, so we can grow in our faith. (James 1:2-4) That means God is not doing evil by sending a trial, He is doing good. That is what Job's friends could not see, and it is what many people today misunderstand. They think it would be evil for God to cause us to suffer, so all pain, suffering, and trials must come from Satan or some other source. This is simply not true. Problems can be very good for us, so God, our Loving Father, brings them into our lives so we can be more like Jesus, who suffered more than any of us.
#NHBaptistdotorg
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 35-38.
God never does anything that is evil or wrong. He doesn't sin, and He can't even be tempted with sin.(James 1:13) I am so glad that is true. God is also love, so He always does what is best for us, at all times. The problem comes when people think that all bad things that happen to us are evil, so they could not come from God. That is a false application, because trials and pain are not evil, and they are not bad for us, if we trust the Lord through them. They are difficult, and we suffer for a while, but God allows them or causes them, so we can grow in our faith. (James 1:2-4) That means God is not doing evil by sending a trial, He is doing good. That is what Job's friends could not see, and it is what many people today misunderstand. They think it would be evil for God to cause us to suffer, so all pain, suffering, and trials must come from Satan or some other source. This is simply not true. Problems can be very good for us, so God, our Loving Father, brings them into our lives so we can be more like Jesus, who suffered more than any of us.
#NHBaptistdotorg
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 35-38.