Again I believe it is necessary for us to focus our thoughts on one part of the speech of Elihu. These are important chapters and we must struggle through his brash, condescending arrogance in verses 1-4 and get to the meat.
Elihu makes a profound statement in verse 15 of chapter 36: “But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction.” This is true of ever instance in the Bible. Simone Weil wrote, “The extreme greatness of Christianity lies in the fact that it does not seek a supernatural remedy for suffering, but a supernatural use for it.” (Gravity and Grace, 1987). This is to say that suffering is a useful, if not a valuable, aspect of our lives in Christ. When Daniel’s three friends were thrown into the fiery furnace they were rescued in the flames. Paul writes in Romans 8: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” We do not conquer these things, we conquer in these things. I am also reminded that Scripture says, “Suffering produces…”
Affliction is the means of deliverance. “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” It is through suffering and pain that we are delivered. Suffering is the means of redemption.
In his book The Pain that Heals author Martin Israel wrote, “It is one of the fundamental contributions of pain to make people wake up to a deeper quality of existence and to seek evidence for meaning in their lives beyond the immediate sensations that arrest their attention” (p. 12). Pain is not all bad. Sure it hurts. Yes it is uncomfortable but it is also the means of transformation.
One of my favorite illustrations of all time comes from Mere Christianity by CS Lewis. He writes,
God became a man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse into a winged creature. Of course, once it has got its wings, it will soar over fences which could never have been jumped and thus beat the natural horse at its own game. But there may be a period, while the wings are just beginning to grow, when it cannot do so: and at that stage the lumps on the shoulders—no one could tell by looking at them that they are going to be wings—may even give it an awkward appearance.
God is in the process of transforming us into new creatures through suffering. God delivers us through the suffering of His Son. Suffering is useful for transforming. And suffering opens our eyes to new delights that we might not be aware of it we continue in the path of sameness. Just as the apostles writes, “We rejoice in our sufferings because…”
Prayer Thoughts on Job 36:1-37:24
Pray that God will open your eyes to the purpose of your affliction. Or that he will open the eyes of someone you know who is afflicted. Rejoice in your sufferings today.
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