Job had a “for-realness” about his pain. Download the weekly Bible reading plan to follow along with each sermon. God permitted Satan to implement the torment, but when he was petitioned "why" by Job, He did not skirt the responsibility by pointing blame on Satan. When we realize Who is in control of our suffering, what He is like, and what His purposes are, we can endure faithfully, giving God glory even in our pain. Then Satan went out and caused the loss of Job’s possessions and children, but he was not permitted to harm Job … In the first round of suffering, God said, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him” (1:12). Similarly, John’s Jesus heals the blind man and explicitly rejects the idea that suffering is punishment for sin (John 9:1–41, especially 2–5). There is a great mystery in the relationship between God’s sovereignty and the existence of evil. The account of Job shows us that God will not abandon those who suffer for his sake. The book of Job, one of the wisdom books of the Bible, deals with two issues crucial to every person: the problem of suffering and the sovereignty of God. God actually set limits on what Satan could do to Job. What an atrocious and wrong outcome of Job's obvious devotion to God. I take comfort in what Francis Schaeffer told me many times: “We only see the debit side of the ledger now. The Bible affirms that God is sovereign over the storms of this life and that he has good in store for his people in their suffering. The Mystery of Suffering and God's Sovereignty Richard P. Belcher, Jr. ... At the heart of the book of Job is a question about the character of God - and about how we should respond to Him. In Job 1:11, the Accuser admonishes God and accuses Job of fair-weather faith (“But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.”) Here, Satan attacks the character of both God and mankind. To deepen the mystery, no matter how you slice it we cannot absolve God of the ultimate responsibility for Job's suffering. Job teaches us that, though suffering is mysterious, we can and must trust in God, who is good and sovereign. Sin and suffering entered the world through Adam and fractured God’s perfect design. Based on the book of Job, David Platt urges us to respond to suffering by meditating on God’s sovereignty. Enemy rule. When we realize Who is in control of our suffering, what He is like, and what His purposes are, we can endure faithfully, giving God glory even in our pain. Based on the book of Job, David Platt urges us to respond to suffering by meditating on God’s sovereignty. God is growing our faith in the midst of our trials. It is vitally important to understand that even though God ordains and uses suffering, He does not commit sin or evil. Framework for understanding God’s sovereignty in our earthly lives comes in the next lines. 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