The next of Job’s friends to speak up is Elihu. He continues to say some of the same things as Job’s other so called ‘friends’ but he is less accusatory and speaks with a bit more wisdom. He doesn’t try to prove Job’s guilt, rather, he challenges what Job is saying about God. He assures Job that God is not refusing to hear or speak to Job. Elihu suggests that God may use suffering in a more positive refining sense, not just as punishment for some specific wrong. He says that suffering, like dreams and angels, can be a kind of divinely transforming message to us. There is some validity in this perspective, but again we must be careful about claiming any definitive answer to situations like this. The kernel of truth that we may draw out of what Elihu says is this: God is always at work even when we feel completely abandoned. When we go through difficult situations we can get preoccupied with trying to understand and control our circumstances. This is generally quite futile. I would recommend a more fruitful approach: rather than focus on your situation, focus on what God is doing in your situation. A situation may arise through all sorts of terrible intentions as was the case with Satan’s desire to torture Job. But God’s intention for us always prevails in every situation. God’s intention for us must therefore become our focus. God does not always prevent suffering and evil but he is always at work in the midst of it. What we need in these situations is to connect with what God is saying and doing.
Reflect on what God is saying and doing in your life at present.
Read Job 32 and 33
