Book Of Job: Suffering

Term Paper Title	Book Of Job: Suffering
# of Words	851
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	3.4

Book of Job: Suffering

     The book of Job 1:3, in The New Oxford Annonated Bible, states "Job was the
greatest man among all in the East."  He was a faithful servant of God, he owned
thousands of animals, and had many servants and friends.  Job had a very large
family with seven sons and three daughters. Why was Job chosen to suffer and
receive punishment at the hands of the Lord one may ask?  The major themes in
the book describe the ways Job deals with suffering and despair the Lord handed
him.  How one deals with despair and suffering is what makes a person who he or
she is.
     The Lord is not a stranger to suffering.  Psalms 69:33-36, states �The
Lord hears the needy and does  not despise his captive people.  Let heaven and
earth praise him.  The seas and all that move in them.  For God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then people will settle there and possess it;
the children of his servants will inherit it; and those who love his name will
dwell there.�  God does not intentionally inflict despair and heartache on his
believers for no reason at all.  I think the despair we experience, and how we
deal with it, is a test to show our true selves.
     The Lord does not make us suffer because of what we have done.  Through
suffering, we become better people and grow as an individual.  You find your
identity through terrible experiences.  I have dealt with serious heartache and
do believe that I have grown from it.  I have learned how to react to certain
situations and how to overcome them.
     I looked up the word "suffering" in the bible, I was directed to Psalms
73:21-26. It states,  �When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was
senseless and ignorant;  I was a brute beast before you.  Yet I am always with
you;  you hold me by my right hand.  You guide me with your counsel, and
afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth
has nothing I desire besides you.   My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is
the strength of my heart and my portion forever�.  These verses explain that God
is always with us.  No matter how bad circumstances get, God will be beside us
through it all.  This is the main reason that Job does not understand why God is
making him suffer.  Job had always been true to the Lord's word and had never
done anything to deserve what he was being handed.  His fame,...

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