Giving thanks or remaining thankful in life is a hard discipline to sustain, it is especially hard in times of both trials. In the movie Batman vs. Superman: The Dawn of Justice, the sworn enemy of Superman, Lex Luther (played by Jesse Eisenberg), reveals his conclusion that either God was not powerful enough to stop evil and suffering in the world, or he was not good enough to do it. It was this conclusion that drove him to an unbelief in anyone with power, including Superman. The character went on to explain in a relatable but heart wrenching scene, that when he was a child growing up in an abusive household, he would pray to God for help, but the abuse did not stop. I have heard this same sentiment over the years, and if we’re all to be honest, we have all probably had similar thoughts during times of suffering.

There are several different moments in the Bible when suffering comes upon those who fear and honor God, and they cry out with the same questions. This is one of my favorite aspects of the Bible, God’s Word does not discard or diminish real human experience or grief. The earliest written book that we have is the book of Job, which deals with this very struggle. God allows Satan to take everything away from Job, including his wealth, family and ultimately his wife leaves him. His friends come to talk to him and have a certain view of God which they try and get him to embrace. They offer up thoughts like, maybe God has abandoned you for something you’ve done or have not done. This could be summed up as retribution theology, God is paying you back. Job ultimately does not abandon God, or curse him and resolve to die. In the final scene of the book God comes and as readers we expect an answer for why God let all this happen to his servant Job!

Instead of answers, Job gets questioned by God. These questions are so profound no one can answer them, and Job resolves to admit that God is not held to the human demand for answers. The worst part of the story is that Job gets everything back and more, a family, wealth, a wife and honor. I say that because the reality for so many suffering is they don’t end up with a happy story in this life. So, why are we not given the answers in suffering, how can we give thanks when everything seems to be fully apart? How can God be trusted to give thanks? The answer is that we cannot possibly know all the reasons. Paul writes in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” How can we reconcile that with God’s response to Job? First notice that Paul does not say in “every single thing”, God works for those. Some things come about that ultimately nothing good comes from. Yet, when “all things”, are taken together they drive us to depend on God more than we ever would have by our own selves. Or as Jim Davis reminds us in his book “The Great Dechurching”, it is in the suffering we experience in exile that we have to depend on God even more.