In today’s Old Testament scripture (Job 7:1-7), we hear Job’s cry of desperation.   Job, a virtuous and religious man, abundantly blessed by God, has experienced a sudden and complete reversal of fortune losing most of his possessions and becoming afflicted with a variety of illnesses.   Job wonders how such a tragedy could have befallen him.  He is completely bewildered, not being able to reconcile his plight with a just and loving God. 

It can be the same for us.  When life takes it’s 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 his existence.

But we have one thing that Job did not have – we have the full revelation of God in Jesus Christ.  And we know what Jesus told us – that there would indeed be times of hardship and maybe even extreme suffering in our lives.  And we know what Jesus showed us – that by embracing our suffering with a spirit of humility, with courage, and with faith and trust in God – that an abundance of good can result.  Indeed, it is in times of hardship and suffering that we tend to reach out to Christ.  As we more and more are able to put our concerns in his 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 reexamine our life, our motives, and our priorities.  It can help us reach an increased depth of wisdom and an increased desire to offer ourselves to others in their own sufferings.  We then become the “face of Christ” to others in need.   

 Jesus’ words and actions show us that our suffering, when accepted out of love for God, 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 as he did, 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, and that it is through our own “crucifixions” that we discover our resurrection and salvation.

So we pray to God for the wisdom to understand how our own hardships and suffering 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 in our lives.  And then we can proclaim along with Job – “while God kept his lamp shining above my head, by his light I walked through the darkness (Job 29:3).