You might be surprised that we bounce over to the Book of Job this week. It seems rather odd to step out of Genesis mid-story, go into Job for a week, then return to Genesis. But there are two reasons why we are doing this. First, this is where many scholars believe the account of Job took place. They see Job as a contemporary of the patriarchs largely based on his role as family priest and how his wealth was measured in terms of livestock. So with our desire to honor the chronology of the story, we have inserted Job here. But there is a second reason: the theme of Job couples well with the sessions we have been looking at.

• In Session 3, we saw sin and God’s good news. Even in the Fall, we saw God promise to send a Deliverer to crush the serpent’s head.
• In Session 4, we saw sin and God’s grace. Even in the midst of humanity’s depravity, God extended grace to Noah and his family.
• In Session 5, we saw sin and God’s authority. Even as the people rebelled against God and tried to settle in one place, God had His way with them and they spread out.

Now, in this session, we will talk about suffering and God’s presence. Job suffered not because of a sin he had committed (that’s what his friends kept arguing when they arrived), but rather because of sin in general. Suffering—through pain, sickness, death, etc.—was not part of God’s design. It came into creation because of sin. If there were no sin, there would be no suffering. So in this account of Job, we see God’s heart for His people who suffer. God is a compassionate God. This week, we have the opportunity to share some amazing truths with our kids.

God Cares about Our Suffering

God is not a distant, detached, heartless God. He knows that because of sin, our lives are filled with pain and hardship. He loves us and He cares about us. And He wants what is best for us—sometimes, that involves suffering though.

God Is with Us in Our Suffering

Again, God is not a distant, detached, heartless God. He is near us and ever-present with us. It may not feel that way in the midst of our suffering, but we need to let the truth of His presence sink into our minds and hearts (or perhaps we may need to cram it in) during the “good” times so that when the “bad” times come—and they will—we will have this truth to rest upon.

God Is in Control of Our Suffering

This is perhaps the major idea conveyed in the Book of Job. Job thought that his suffering was a mistake—that it happened outside of God’s awareness. What he had to learn was that God’s ways are not our ways and that God is always in control. Now, we have to recognize that this created a tension in our theology, but we also should be quick to find comfort in this truth, even if we don’t quite understand it. God is in control of our suffering. It is not random. It is not outside of His domain.

God, in Jesus Christ, Stepped into Our Suffering to Free Us from It

One of the most striking passages in Job is at the end of chapter 9 when Job cried out for a mediator who could stand between him and God. Job had no way of knowing it, but he was asking for Jesus. In his desperation, Job wanted someone to step in and plead his case before God so that his suffering would end. And that is just what Jesus did—only He did more. Jesus stepped in, took on the flesh, and suffered and died to pay the sin penalty we deserve to free us from sin and its fruit of suffering. Jesus is that Mediator.

Kids Are not Exempt from Suffering

I will admit it, those are some pretty lofty ideas to share with kids, but don’t make the mistake of thinking they don’t need to hear them explained in age-appropriate ways. They do. Kids suffer too. Think of the boy in your group who is picked on at school. Or the girl who wonders why her dad doesn’t love her. Or the boy who is abused. Or the girl who feels she doesn’t measure up. Our kids need to know that God cares about them, that He is with them, that He is in control of the situation they are facing, and most importantly, that He has stepped into their suffering in Jesus Christ.

God never allows pain without a purpose in the lives of His children. He never allows Satan, nor circumstances, nor any ill-intending person to afflict us unless He uses that affliction for our good. God never wastes pain. He always causes it to work together for our ultimate good, the good of conforming us more to the likeness of His Son (see Romans 8:28-29).” — Jerry Bridges (1929-2016) [1]

Preschool Tip:If you have spent much time with preschoolers, you know that one thing they struggle with is controlling their emotions. One minute a preschooler is playing happily and the next minute he is in tears because someone took his truck. Or in the middle of snack time a girl will begin crying uncontrollably because she misses her mom. What do we do in these moments? That’s right, we don’t try to rationalize how silly our little friends are being. Sure we might talk to them about it, but what do we do even while we do that? We comfort them. We hug them. We hold their hand. We rub their back. We pat their head. And in doing so, we exhibit Christ to them. This is week’s session is a great reminder that our teaching goes well beyond what we say and includes what we do as well. Kids Tip:This week we have the opportunity to share something with our kids that most adults need to learn. Because God uses our suffering, our goal should not be to escape suffering as fast as we can, but rather to seek God’s glory in and through it. Now, that is a challenging lesson! But it is such an important lesson. If we spent half the effort we spend on escaping suffering and invested that into seeking God in our suffering, imagine how much we would grow and be used by Him? [1] Jerry Bridges, Transforming Grace (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2008), 156-57. https://vimeo.com/279048511