At the time of this writing, I’m halfway through my deep dive into the book of Job, and I just came across some frustrating words spoken by Eliphaz…
If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.
(Job 22:23-26)
Imagine being Job and hearing this. You’re being told that God is punishing you because you’re a sinner but if you repent and turn to God then He’ll spare you, have delight in you, and lift up your face to Him again. That’s all well and good except Job hasn’t done anything he needs to repent of. As far as he’s concerned, he already has turned to God, and yet he’s still being punished. There’s nothing he can do. Turning to God isn’t the secret to avoiding hardships in life. So what is? How do you avoid the problem of evil and suffering in this life?
YOU DON’T!
Evil and suffering are going to happen whether you are faithful to God or not. Granted, if you’re wicked, God might punish you in this life. On the other hand, if you’re faithful, the Devil might torment you in this life. The solution is to forget about trying to fix this life. The solution is to concentrate on being prepared for the next life.
That’s where being faithful to God comes into play. It’s not about unlocking the secret to a happy life here and now, it’s about being content with here and now, even if it’s terrible here and now, because later on, after this life is done, all the hardships here and now will be worth it when you’re blessed forevermore. On the other hand, living for the world and trying to avoid hardships here and now is a good way to be unprepared for the next life, meaning you might have an easy life on earth, but you’ll have a tormented eternity.
The problem people have with “the problem of evil and suffering” is they keep focusing on the suffering of this present life. God would have us prepared for the next life, and viewing the present hardships as bumps in the road on our way to eternal bliss.
~Matthew