In the Old Testament scripture of today’s Mass, we hear Job’s cry of desperation (Job 7:1-7). Job, a virtuous and religious man, abundantly blessed by God, has experienced a sudden and complete reversal of fortune losing his family, his possessions, and his health. Job wonders how such a tragedy could have befallen him. He is completely bewildered, not able to reconcile his plight with a just and loving God. In his anguish and devastation we hear Job cry out “my days are without hope…I shall not see happiness again”.
It can be the same for us. When life takes unexpected twists and turns, when we are faced with hardships and suffering, when we are hurt by some unjust action, when “bad” things happen that just don’t make sense, we may be tempted to question God’s wisdom and his love for us. We may even be tempted to question God’s very existence.
But we have one thing that Job did not have. We have the full revelation of God in Jesus. We always keep in mind what Jesus tells us – that in all likelihood there will be times of hardship and maybe even extreme suffering in our lives. And we also keep in mind what Jesus shows us – that by embracing our suffering with humility, courage, faith, and trust in God, an abundance of good can result.
For many of us, it is precisely during times of hardship and suffering that we tend to reach out to God most passionately. This is what Job did. Job entered into a prayerful dialogue with God. We can do the same. And as we more and more allow ourselves to put our concerns in Jesus’ hands and abandon ourselves to him, we find ourselves entering a deeper and more fulfilling relationship with him. With Jesus by our side, our experience with hardship and suffering can lead us to view our life in a more proper perspective. It can help us reexamine our life, our motives, and our priorities. It can help us reach a greater depth of wisdom and an increased desire to offer ourselves to others in their own sufferings.
Jesus’ words and actions show us that our suffering, when accepted out of love for God, and united to Jesus’ sacrifice, can be redemptive not only for ourselves but for the world. And most importantly, Jesus promises us that if we are called to suffer along with him, if we are called to carry our own cross, he will be there to help us carry it. Jesus shows us that no matter how bleak things might be, we can trust God’s promise that if we “die” along with Jesus, we will also “rise” with him.
So we pray to God for the wisdom to understand this mystery of suffering and how our own hardships help lead us to heaven. We pray for a steadfast faith and for the strength to persevere through life’s difficulties. We pray that we may feel God’s steady hand, his guiding light, and his unrelenting love during those dark days of our lives. We pray that we might patiently endure while placing our hardships and sufferings in their proper perspective against the promise of our eternal reward. And then, in the end, we will join Job in proclaiming – “while God kept his lamp shining above my head, by his light I walked through the darkness” (Job 29:3).