What does the Bible say about suffering? The book of Job doesn’t explain suffering—it places suffering inside a bigger story. Here’s what Francis Chan’s RightNow Media study on Job teaches us about pain, God’s sovereignty, and where our hope really comes from.
If God is good and all-powerful, why does he allow suffering? People have debated this issue for millennia, but how does the book of Job reconcile God’s goodness, his power, and our suffering?’’
The book of Job doesn’t answer the question of suffering the way we want it answered. Instead, it gives us a behind-the-scenes, heavenly perspective on our hardships. Job doesn’t resolve suffering with a simple explanation. It places suffering inside a bigger story than the one we can see.
Job is introduced as blameless, and God himself confirms it: “Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.’” (Job 1:8, CSB)
Job is a man of perfect integrity. And yet, Job loses nearly everything. As Francis Chan puts it in Session 1, “[Suffering] may have nothing to do with your actions.”
It’s wise to examine our lives when hardship comes. But Job makes it clear from the very first chapter that suffering is not always tied to personal sin. Sometimes the hardest thing we’re carrying has nothing to do with anything we did wrong.
Job 1 and 2 pull back the curtain for us as readers. God and Satan are in dialogue in the opening chapter. Job’s suffering is connected to a spiritual reality he can’t see—a conflict playing out in the heavens, far above his own field of vision. His response to that suffering matters in a space he can’t even see.
“I meet very few people on the earth that live as though they’re being watched . . . Job’s actions were impacting this dialogue that’s going on in heaven,” Francis says in Session 2.
It’s worth noticing the contrast in Job’s own household. Job trusts God in his loss, while his wife urges him to curse God and die. Suffering has a way of exposing what we believe about God.
So maybe the question worth asking isn’t only, “Why is this happening to me?” It’s also, “What does this reveal about how I see God?”
The Bible doesn’t ask sufferers to fake composure. Job 3 opens with raw, unfiltered grief: “After this, Job began to speak and cursed the day he was born.” (Job 3:1, CSB)
We see this same honesty in Jesus, who wept at Lazarus’s tomb even while knowing Lazarus's resurrection was only moments away. Grief and faith were never meant to be opposites.
As the Session 3 Study Guide puts it, “Our faith allows us to grieve deeply without succumbing to hopelessness and encourages us to comfort those who do.”
Much of the book of Job is taken up by his three friends, who each try to explain his suffering—and they each get it wrong. Eliphaz insists Job’s righteousness should defend him (Job 4–5). Bildad argues God wouldn’t reject someone truly blameless (Job 8). Zophar assumes Job’s suffering must be uncovering some hidden sin (Job 11).
God’s verdict on all this talk is blunt. God says to Eliphaz, “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” (Job 42:7, CSB)
If you’ve ever sat with someone in pain, there’s a lesson here for us too. As Francis Chan observes in Session 4, “The wisest thing Job’s friends did was that period of time when they were just quiet and they mourned with him.” Sometimes the most faithful thing we can offer a suffering friend isn’t an explanation. It’s our presence.
For pastors and church leaders, Francis’s observation is worth pondering. Members of your congregation will look to you for answers when tragedy strikes, and the pressure to say something wise and comforting can be strong. But Job’s friends remind us that a quick answer can do more harm than good. The most pastoral response we can offer a suffering friend is to show up and stay quiet long enough to grieve with them.
We are never given access to heaven’s conversations the way Job’s story lets us see them. Francis asks the question plainly in Session 4. “Did God and Satan have a discussion today? . . . I hope your answer is, ‘I have no clue.’”
We’re not meant to have all the answers about why suffering happens. As the Session 5 Study Guide puts it, “When we counsel suffering people, we should always remind them of God’s sovereign, all-powerful nature and encourage humility.”
Instead of forcing answers we don’t have, we can point people toward God’s power and his sovereignty.
After thirty-seven chapters of questions, God finally speaks in Job 38—but not with the explanation Job (or we) might expect. God never tells Job why he suffered. He never reveals the conversation that happened in heaven.
Instead, God answers with questions of his own about his power, his wisdom, and his authority over creation. God doesn’t give Job a reason for his suffering. He gives Job a clearer vision of who he is. And that turns out to be the answer suffering people actually need.
When Job finally sees God rightly, his response is immediate humility. Job tells God: “I am so insignificant. How can I answer you?” (Job 40:4, CSB) “I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2, CSB) “I had heard reports about you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore, I reject my words and am sorry for them; I am dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5–6, CSB)
A bigger view of God reshapes our response to suffering. As Francis says in Session 7, “A clear picture of God . . . is the only thing that can truly humble us.” Suffering becomes the very means by which our small view of God gets corrected.
For those who lead others, whether from a pulpit, a small group, or a staff meeting, this is a good check for your own heart before you try to help someone else through pain. Leaders are not exempt from needing a bigger view of God. If anything, shepherding people through suffering will regularly expose how small your own picture of him has become.
Job’s story does indeed resolve on earth. Job 42:10 reads, “After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and doubled his previous possessions” (Job 42:10, CSB).
But that’s not the whole answer. Sometimes suffering does resolve in this life, and sometimes it doesn’t. Regardless of what happens on earth, our real hope is eternal. Faithful, obedient disciples don’t always receive their reward in this lifetime, but they will see God’s purposes fulfilled in eternity.
As the Session 8 Study Guide reminds us, “We cannot judge our faithfulness or God’s goodness by our circumstances. Rather, we should be faithful to the one at the center of the cosmos who promises us an eternal reward. We exist to make his name great—not our own. The book of Job points us to the majesty of God, his splendor, enormity, and holiness. When we can keep our perspective on God rather than ourselves, we position ourselves to receive his grace in good times and bad.”
The book of Job doesn’t end suffering’s mystery once and for all. It ends the lie that suffering is a referendum on you. It shifts the focus from you to God—and that shift is how we’re meant to live our whole lives.
As Francis concludes in Session 8, “The point of my existence is not about me. It’s about me living in such a way that [God’s] name is glorified, and that there’s going to come a day when our humility, our repentance, our steadfast faith in his reward is all going to make sense.”
Want to walk through the full story of Job with Francis Chan? Explore The Book of Job with Francis Chan for the complete study, available exclusively on RightNow Media.
Disclaimer: This blog was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice. If you find content that is inaccurate or otherwise needs to be reviewed, please email social@rightnowmedia.org.
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