When Suffering is Not Because of Sin – Lessons from the book of Job:1:6-12

Do bad things happen to you? Are you going through a tough season, and do you think that maybe someone has bewitched you? Maybe it is the devil who is causing this. Or when something bad happens to others, you think it is because they have sinned against God—or you yourself too. Today we are going to learn from the book of Job why bad things happened to Job and why bad things happen to us. In Job 1:6-12, the devil and the angels present themselves to God. Satan’s mission is to question Job’s loyalty to God and ask if he could test Job’s faith. God agrees, but He limits the trial Job would endure.

 1 Corinthians 10:13 says God cannot let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. Satan takes away all Job’s wealth and children and afflicts him with boils, but Job remains faithful to God. Job’s three friends visit him and see his affliction, and they accuse Job of wrongdoing. They tell Job he might have sinned, and perhaps that’s why God has allowed suffering in his life (Eliphaz – Job 4:7-8, Bildad – Job 8:4-6, Zophar – Job 11:13-14). But Job had not sinned against God. In the beginning, we saw that it was God who allowed suffering in Job’s life to test his loyalty and faith. It happened to me a few weeks ago. 

There was a student of mine who had passed and done well in her exam. She was admitted to Maseno University but didn’t have fees. I helped her apply for HELB, and, by God’s grace, she qualified. She got a scholarship from the government. She was supposed to pay Ksh 127,000 per semester, but through scholarship and HELB she only had to pay Ksh 24,000. I really wanted to help her because I knew her background. But at the same time, I was struggling with whether to help or not, because someone had said a negative thing about her character. So I prayed to God, asking if I should help her or not. 

The answer came “No” three times. I thought maybe God didn’t want her to go to school, or maybe God was saying no because He wanted her to rely on Him or strengthen her faith. I even thought maybe she had sinned against God, and that was why He was not providing. But still, in my heart I wanted to help, so I prayed once again, and it was still a “No.” I decided not to meddle in her affairs with God. I didn’t want to come between her and God.

On Saturday morning, I met her, and she told me that our director had offered to pay for her university fees. Earlier, she had declined. She told her that she will pay because God wanted her to go to school. I was happy, and we celebrated, and I told her the whole story of what happened to me. One thing I learned is that God said “No,” not because she had sinned or done something bad, as I thought. God did not say “No” because He didn’t want her to go to school. He said “No” because He had a good plan for her—He had already provided through our director.

This changed my view: not in all situations do bad things happen to people because they have sinned against God. God rebuked me and wanted to change my mentality, just like Job’s three friends who thought that Job had sinned and that’s why he was afflicted. God rebuked Job’s three friends and changed their mentality. Sometimes something bad does not happen to people because they have sinned. It is not always the case.

 I know we reap what we sow; if we do bad things, we reap bad things, and God may judge us because of our sins. Because He is a just and righteous God—He punishes those who sin against Him. But in Job’s case, He allowed it to test Job’s faith and loyalty. Today, you may be going through suffering and wondering, "Where is God, and who is in control?" Rest assured, God is in charge of the situation. Though it may seem that evil is dictating your current circumstances, every trial comes with God’s permission for the purpose of building your faith.

Conclusion: Are you suffering today? It may not be because you have done something bad or sinned against God. God may be testing your loyalty and your faith—whether it is genuine or fake. Next lesson, we will learn why God allows hardship in our lives because we have sinned against him.