Put Pain In Perspective

Daily Old Testament Reading: Job 4-6

Daily Focus Passage: Job 4-5

How we perceive pain drives how we understand the existence or occurrence of struggles. In Job 4-5, the first three friends appear to engage Job and provide him encouragement and counsel amid his hardship. Eliphaz becomes the first friend to speak to Job and offer a perspective concerning difficulties. Unfortunately, his viewpoint contains false perspectives that continue to plague people's understanding of the presence of pain today. Thus, when we understand these false perspectives, we can identify some truths concerning hardships.  

FALSE PERSPECTIVE

Eliphaz unfolded his perspective on the struggles Job faced. His commentary on Job's life provided three false perspectives concerning Job's hardships. Eliphaz held that bad things only happen to bad people. This false view revealed that Eliphaz believed that hardships occur as punishment because one lives in disobedience before the Lord. Thus, he desired Job to evaluate his life and see his sin. This false viewpoint still plagues people today, equating hardship as only the consequence of wrongdoing. Yes, hardship can come from this, but hardship does not have to occur because of this dynamic.  

Eliphaz demonstrated a second false perspective by instructing Job to seek forgiveness from God, and all the hardship would disappear. This falsehood flows from believing that the struggle will never exist when one enters a right relationship with the Lord. Thus, if a difficulty arises, one must seek reconciliation with the Lord, and all pain will disappear. Unfortunately, this false viewpoint still influences the thought process of people today. People falsely hold that a right relationship with Jesus will make life easy. Yes, Jesus provides the needed hope and strength for endurance, but a right relationship with Christ does not remove the presence of pain.

Eliphaz declared a third false perspective that flows from seeking forgiveness for healing. The third false viewpoint reveals that the absence of pain marks one standing right before the Lord. This view distorts the sinful condition and humanity and places reconciliation in the ability to carry out righteous works. Thus, the concept centers on doing the right thing mean that no pain would exist. Unfortunately, today, people still attempt to live in this manner. They often believe that if they just do good, the bad can be avoided.

TRUE PERSPECTIVE

As Eliphaz unfolded these false perspectives concerning the presence of hardships and pain, we must see the counter, true views. First, we need to recognize that hardship and pain affect every individual. All people face pain because all people live in a fallen world. Difficulties do not occur just because someone messes up and faces the consequences; all people face hardship because of the presence of sin in the world. The Bible states that those who live for the Lord and those who are against the Lord face difficulty. Thus, we must recognize that dealing with pain exists in everyone’s life.

The second truth gleaned from Eliphaz's speech is that difficulties and hardships exist for strengthening, correcting, and as a consequence. The Lord allows pain to happen to strengthen the faith of his children. The presence of hardship forces us to lean into the Lord and trust in him for guidance and strength. At the same time, pain can lead to correcting believers when they step outside the will of the Lord. The presence of hardship can open our eyes to the issues in our lives and drive us back to obedience. At the same time, difficulties can result from one's disobedience as part of the consequence and curse. Thus, we must develop a proper understanding that hardship affects everyone and occurs for various reasons.

The speech of Eliphaz and the answer of Job teach us today that pain does not always make sense from our perspective. As we content to understand the problem of pain, we often ask the why question. We desire understanding and clarity but often receive none. We must recognize that often we must just trust the Lord in the inability to understand the reason for the presence of the hardship and trust that He will walk us through. Thus, the third truth is that we may not always understand why hardships exist.

What do you think about hardships and pain? Do you seek to understand and develop a false perspective concerning hardships thoroughly? Do you strive to live with a true view and allow the moments to strengthen your relationship with the Lord? As we journey through the Book of Job, may we seek to grow in understanding the issue of the presence of hardships.