WHY?

Job says, “What I feared has come upon me.” Then everything is taken from him—his wealth, his health, and his children. The loss is sudden and complete. The question rises immediately and refuses to go away. Why would God allow this to happen to a righteous man? Why would God allow Satan to touch his life at all?

That question does not stay confined to Scripture. It follows us into real life and real conversations. I play golf with a man who does not believe in God. One day he asked me, “What kind of God would allow my daughter to suffer like this?” His daughter has lived with multiple sclerosis her entire life. He was not asking to debate belief. He was asking because he was carrying pain.

I think of a young couple with two small children whose mother becomes sick with cancer and dies. I think of another young mother whose body is failing her while she tries to raise her children. I think of a couple I have known for years who finally reach a good season of life, only for the husband to be diagnosed with cancer. Each situation raises the same quiet, aching question: why.

Then the question turns inward. Why not me? Why have I been spared these things so far? Is it mercy, timing, or simply that my chapter has not yet reached that page? These are not abstract thoughts. They are the questions that surface in hospital rooms, at funerals, and in the quiet moments when no one else is listening.

The book of Job does not answer the question the way we expect. When God finally speaks, He does not explain the reason for Job’s suffering. He does not describe the conversation with Satan. He does not justify every loss. Instead, God reveals who He is. He points to creation, to the seas, the stars, and the foundations of the earth. God shows Job that He is present, powerful, and wise in ways far beyond human understanding.

What Job comes to see is that God was never absent and never careless. His suffering was not a sign that he had been abandoned. Job responds with humility and trust. He does not lose sight of who God is, even though some of his questions remain unanswered.

Then God restores Job. He gives him back twice what he had lost. Job receives renewed health, double his former wealth, more children, and many more years of life. The blessing does not erase the pain of what was lost, but it shows that suffering was not the end of the story. Endurance mattered. Faithfulness mattered.

Job’s greatest blessing was not what he received, but what he gained. Job says, “My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You.” Through suffering, Job came to know God more deeply. His faith was not destroyed by pain. It was strengthened.

Paul helps us understand this when he writes that our troubles are light and momentary compared to the eternal glory they are producing. That does not mean suffering feels small. It means suffering is not final. The question of “why” belongs to this life, but the answer is held in eternity.

We are not temporary beings. We are eternal beings living through a temporary chapter. When this truth is remembered, suffering does not disappear, but hope returns. Pain still hurts, but it no longer has the final word.

For those living in the “why” right now, the story of Job offers a steady and living hope. God sees you, even when heaven feels quiet. He has not forgotten your name, your prayers, or a single tear you have shed. Your suffering is not wasted, and it is not the final word. Every chapter of your life is being held by the same faithful hands that shaped the beginning and will write the ending. One day, God will open the story of your life and reveal how grace was at work even in the darkest pages. What feels broken now will be made whole. What feels confusing now will be understood. The question of “why” will give way to peace, and the final chapter will not speak of loss, but of restoration, joy, and life without end.

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

— Revelation 21:4