#STRask - How Can I Showcase God’s Goodness When I’m Struggling in My Suffering?

Episode Date: September 8, 2025

Questions about how to showcase God’s goodness when we’re really struggling in our suffering, an explanation of God’s response at the end of the book of Job, and whether we should conclude from Job that it’s inappropriate to ask God why we’re suffering.   How can we still glorify God and showcase his goodness when we’re really struggling in our suffering—exhausted, depressed, etc.? I understand Satan attacking Job and why God allowed it, but I’m puzzled by God’s response to Job at the end of the book. Should we conclude from Job that it’s inappropriate to ask God why we’re going through certain struggles and suffering?

This is Amy Hall and Greg Kokel. Thank you for joining us on the hashtag STRASK podcast. Hopefully you've been listening for the last few episodes because we've been talking about suffering and persecution and opposition and all sorts of different aspects of that. So we're going to continue... Since Amy is an expert in every one of those areas. You know, it's amazing. I get so many questions on this. I've said this so many times, but when I sit at a table at our youth conference and I answer questions from the students, I would say a good 75% of the questions are some aspect of the problem of evil or suffering or how to deal with it, some aspect of evil.

75%. It's pretty amazing. This is just – now, maybe God is just bringing those questions to me because that's a subject I've thought about a lot, but I don't know. I think people really care about this. So this is why I get so many questions about it. And there's so many aspects to it and so many different situations that people want to apply the truth to. So we do get a lot of questions. And it's difficult to apply the truth in those circumstances. Right. And unfortunately, I just don't think churches over the last few decades have done a very good job at preparing Christians to face. So now all of a sudden, now that the culture is turning against us, we don't know what to do. We don't know how to deal with it. We didn't work up to it. We didn't learn how to deal with it. We're not prepared for it. We think everything's going to go right when we do what's right. So that was an old tell.

misconception that Jesus tried to deal with. So it goes way back. And there is some truth to it. You know, if you're doing what's right, you're not going to invite the bad consequences of doing stupid stuff, all right? Yes. But that doesn't mean no evil will befall you. Right. So this question comes from Jenny. While I deeply understand that God can and does you suffering in our lives, can you help give examples or ideas about how to glorify God not just in suffering, but when we are really struggling in it? Sometimes I think we can really feel close to God in those times, and it's easier. Other times, we can be exhausted, depressed, et cetera. In those times, how can we still showcase God's goodness? Well, oh my goodness. This question is so,

pardon the word, authentic, genuine, so to the point. And both of us, I know, can identify with this challenge. Let me just speak for myself. And maybe I'll just say a few things and move towards this because I, it isn't like, here's the secret. Here's the secret, Jenny. The, the, sometimes when I am experiencing challenges, and again, not to be modeling, but there have been a lot of very significant challenges in my own personal life over quite a number of years, actually. It's very easy for us to think of our spiritual leaders as kind of riding above everything. And this is a misconception, I'm just saying.

And it's also, I think, a mistake in the church that we are, in terms of our reflection publicly about things, we are overly triumphant in the way we talk about things. And again, it doesn't mean we always have to be whining and complaining, but sometimes we make it sound like everything's just wonderful because we're walking with Jesus. And one of the things I appreciated about the older hymns is that they were quite candid about the challenges that we face where the new one's new music is not quite so. And sometimes there's no answer to it. And what I mean by that is it isn't as if there's this trick that will allow us to

somehow get out of the suffering. And Jenny's not asking for that. She's asking for what helps when you're persevering to help persevere in the midst of if I read her question properly. and yes, we can feel closer to God in it, but what do we do? And there are many times where I am, even I'm thinking this morning, as I'm driving at an hour and a half drive to work, where I spent much of that time in prayer, and I just, on things that have been in place for a long time that are troublesome, I just say, I don't know what to say, Lord.

I don't know what to say. Now, of course, once I say that, I think of things to say, but it's almost as if I'm coming and acknowledging not as a matter of pietism, but as a matter of genuinely authentic expression, I don't know what to do. I don't even know how to pray about this. Here's what I know. I'm here. I'm here, Lord.

And in fact, many times when I sit down, when I'm able to, like in my own home, I don't have a routine that makes it difficult to be productive because I'm moving around a lot and traveling. But when I'm home and I sit in my easy chair there in my office, the place where I pray and read and whatever and think, I think the first thing I say is, here I am, here I am. It's just I'm here. I don't have all this, like, acronyms that I work through that help me kind of get into my prayer time or whatever. People have those, you know, A-C-T-S, adoration, confession, Thanksgiving, and supplication. That's fine. Whatever works. But I think this appeal that we've just heard from Jenny is one that's like when those things just don't seem to serve well, then what?

And then I'll tell you for me, then I go. I'm here. This is the first step. I'm here. I've said this before, and I stand by it is very simple, but there's wisdom in that the first rule of prayer is to pray. The first rule of prayer is to pray. You just start going. You just get into it and you speak authentically, and sometimes I'm just in the midst of it. And all I'm asking for, maybe I can think of times in my life where I had one word prayer that consumed my time with the Lord. mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy, Lord, mercy for me. That's what I'm thinking. So I guess what I'm saying is it's okay in the midst of those really hard times to be at total and complete loss about what to do and what to say.

And it may just turn out to be one word of agony that you're honestly declaring before the Lord because you don't know what else. to say, you're prayed out regarding issues you've prayed about over and over and over again and so no action, but that doesn't change God, and it doesn't change your relationship with God. It would be nice, and we've talked about this, different questions about prayer, if we could just kind of hit the right button and get the answer kind of thing, but it doesn't work that way, and sometimes we're just persevering, persevering, and of course, there's a lot in the New Testament about that. But the key is that we are, here's the way I would put it, and you mentioned this in a recent podcast, Amy, that we are before, is my words now, we are before God in the midst

of it. We are there, okay, with him. We're not saying, I don't want anything to do with you. I'm out of here. I can't talk to you now. I'm ticked off. Get out of here, blah, blah, blah. I mean, some people are going to do that. David almost sounded like that a few times. How long, O Lord, will you desert me forever? How long will my enemies be victorious over me? How long will I take counsel in my heart, in my soul with my heart and agony all day long? I mean, that's Psalm 13. I cease to remember that one because that's the unlucky number.

So sometimes we're there. And boy, I've prayed that prayer. That's how I know those lines. And you bring yourself before the Lord in all authenticity, whatever that is. and you lay your heart before him and your frustrations such as they are and sometimes like I said

it's only going to be it may not even be a one word prayer it may be just a groan but you are there with him this is how I manage these circumstances if I have nothing more I can do I tell God I can't even

I don't even know where to start I've already started and ended many many times I don't know what to say God help me or maybe even in my exasperation I'm just quiet before him. I'm not listening for any messages. I'm just there with him.

So anyway, that's the way I want to respond to Jenny. I'm sure you have lots to say, Amy, but that's my thoughts. Well, I think you've illustrated the point I was going to make. If I understand your question, Jenny, you want to know how can we showcase God's goodness. And so I'm taking that to mean how. How can I show God's goodness to others in my suffering when I'm struggling in it, when I'm not doing well, when I'm not overcoming, when I'm not walking around joyfully, but I'm actually in pain and completely bewildered about what to do with no answers. And I think what you just said

is exactly what I was going to say, and that is you don't walk away. When you don't walk away, that's what people see. And that glorifies God. In fact, when you think about it, this is the whole point of Job. We have the book of Job for the purpose of glorifying God. And what is that about? Job doesn't know what to do. Job has no answers. Job is suffering. Job isn't triumphantly glorifying God. What Job is doing is remaining and not cursing God and dying. Though he slay me, yet will I trust him, right? So that's the whole point of Job. God is showing that Job loves him more than he is suffering.

And because Job suffers more than anything I can imagine, that says a lot about God's value, and that glorifies God. So when you are completely bewildered and hurting and suffering, What I like to do in that situation is meditate on what we see objectively on the cross, and I've talked about this before, but we see God's sovereignty because he brought history to that point. We see his love because Father sent his son to die for our sins. We see his justice, that he cares about justice.

We see his power. He raised Jesus from the dead. All these are things we objectively see. and this is what we hang on to. So when we hang on to the objective truth about God, despite our feelings, despite our lack of answers, despite anything, we are glorifying God. That's all we have to do to glorify God.

And I think people see that. Now, I think all of us probably know people who have walked away in suffering. And I know people who have turned against God and become public voices against him because of their suffering. So when you don't do that, you are glorifying God and you're fulfilling your purpose. So you don't have to have pressure on yourself to pretend to be happy when you're not happy.

You can be honest. Job was honest. God thought it was important for us to have an honest look at what Joe went through. So that's completely legitimate for you also. There's a verse. You mentioned this previous podcast about what? First Peter, the importance of that book, in light of the reality of suffering on life, there's a lot there. But one verse that has been so helpful to me as an action guide is summarizes

all of what you're saying here. It's the end of chapter four. It says, let those who suffer according to the will of God. And part of the point there is that it is God's purpose, his will that we suffer. In fact, Peter argues that point in different places. Why are you so surprised at this fiery ordeal among you as if something strange were happening to you? This is not strange. He says the same thing at the end of the book in Chapter 5 about your brethren in the world are suffering the same as you are. Okay, but here's what he says, his antidote. Let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their soul. to a faithful creator in doing what is right.

Now, that's pretty straightforward. You're miserable, you're really going through it, okay, now what? You entrust your soul to him, and the way you show that you're trusting in him is that you choose the right course of action rather than an inappropriate or sinful or a wrong course. You just keep doing what's right in this situation, and that is the way, that you trust in him. And the way that you show others

that you're trusting in him. So you'll notice in the book that Satan keeps saying, well, but if I do this, he'll turn against you. But if I do this, he'll turn against you. And God says, okay, do that.

And Job doesn't turn against him. So Job is proven to be faithful to God through all of this. And now we get to see the glory of God through what he's done. And people will see the glory of God through what you are going through if you remain faithful. So along those lines, let's go to a question from James. Should we, oh, sorry, let's do one from Tim first. While I understand Satan attacking Job and why God allowed

it, I'm a bit more puzzled with God's response to Job in the end of the book. I've been avoiding reading Job since I think I'm missing something important in my approach. Well, Job isn't a very fun book to read, so I'm not surprised you're avoid reading it. It's cumbersome, and it's a, it's a style of writing that is not friendly to 21st century ears, and it's the ending that really caches everything out. I'm not entirely sure what the concern is, though, about the way Job ends, if he thinks that Job is being inappropriately somehow dismissed by God, because God doesn't give an answer to the question. Job has not brought anything on himself. The accusation from his friends was that, in this reflecting an errant kind of theology, is if anything bad happens to you, which lots of

bad happen to you, Job, it's a result of your own actions. And so you're getting kind of cosmic paybacks. You know, it's almost like a karma thing now you think about it, different worldview, but that particular piece seems to be in place. And so, and so what have you done wrong? What have you done wrong? Time and time again, they harassed him with this question. He said, I haven't done anything wrong. I know that I am righteous. Now, he's not going to rebel against God, you know, curse God and die. That was the advice of his wife. He said, I know that in my flesh I shall see God, you know, there's a time coming that there'll be a resurrection. But even though he slay me, yet will I trust him?

Famous lines in there. So we learn some things from Job about how to face this. But Job still was certainly at the end, at wit's end. And now he's rattling the throne. He says, you give me an answer. And God's ultimate response is, I don't owe you an answer. I'm God. You're not.

And he asked them all these questions, were you there? Were you there? Were you there? When I did this? No, no, you weren't there because I'm God and you're not. And so Job is humbled in that regard, and I think that's a great lesson to take away. Again, that's the way I see Job. I'm not sure what the concern is.

Don't want to read Joe because I actually think that's comforting because there are plenty of times where we just don't get it, and this is one thing we've been talking about, this podcast and the more recent ones, we just don't get it. We don't always see, and God doesn't give us the insight. Now, there are plenty of times when we look back on hardship and difficulty, and in the rearview mirror, as it were, we could say, oh, my goodness, that difficulty that I pushed against so hard, I was so angry about, I see the good fruit that has been born in my own life as a result. I remember talking to a gal years ago who lost her husband. She worked for CIA in the early years, and Frank Turk's organization. And she told

me, she said, I thank God that he took my husband because of it. how hard it was for her emotionally to lose her husband, she's seen the what God has, the fruit God is born in her life as a result. And it's, yeah, it's always a tragedy you lose somebody close to you like that. But God had a greater purpose for it. And looking back in time, she can see that and confess it, acknowledge it. You know, many people will say that was the hardest time in my whole life, and I'm glad I'm out of it, but I wouldn't trade it for anything because they see what God did out of that kind of thing.

You hear this kind of thing a lot when you talk to people who have suffered in that difficulty and are continuing to walk with the Lord, obviously. So I, and I would say it's even more specific the answer that God gives, which I think this book is illustrating that this is the, that Job is. is illustrating that is the answer to our suffering. And that is not just that he's God, but that as God, he is sovereign and he's powerful. He's in control. He's in control of all these things. He's more powerful than all of these big things that seem to have a lot of power. He's in control. And the reason why that's the answer is precisely what you were just saying. There is a purpose. So this is, I think, I think this is the answer to our suffering. this is what we have to hang on to. And this goes back to what I said about hanging on to the

objective truth of the cross. There is nothing more evil than killing the son of God. That's the most evil thing ever. And that had a purpose from all eternity. So if that's the case, any of these lesser evils also has a purpose. And I think that's the point that God is making at the end of Job. And so if we can, in our suffering, even if we don't know the answer, because he doesn't give Job, exactly the situation. Even if we don't have the answer, what we hang on to is God's sovereignty and power. God could change my situation. God has not changed my situation. God has proven he loves me. God has proven he's in charge of history. God has proven he is powerful. He's proved all those things on the cross and in multiple other ways. So therefore, I can close my mouth in front of God

and say, I will accept what you bring to me. You know, there's an analog in the New Testament, the book of Hebrews chapter 12. I'm not thought about this before relative to Job, but I think it's analogous. Because in Job, there was an audience. The audience was Satan. And what God is doing is he's making a point to Satan by using Job, but he's also making a point with Job. All right. But the bigger picture is Satan who is making this accusation, and then God is demon

demonstrating that Job is up to it, all right? And it's, I'm thinking about the carrot and stick guy, the atheist who, you know, it called my own show and then, you know, say, this is a carrot and stick. Religion and punishments, religion, you know, and we went round and round about that. But here is, here is Job not getting the carrot. He's getting the stick when he didn't deserve it, or this is life has these, you know, contingencies that he's suffering from. But nevertheless, he stays faithful.

to God. Now, the analog is Hebrews 12, because he said, the writer there of Hebrews says, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, and who are these witnesses? Well, that's Hebrews 11, the great Hall of Fame faith people, right? They're they all right there. And these are all the witnesses. So we have a different set of witnesses. But it's interesting. He says, let us run with endurance, the race that's set before us, fixing our on Jesus Christ, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endure the cross, despising the shame. And then he says, and every child that God receives, he chastises. And the chastisement, discipline does not seem to be fun in the moment. But afterwards,

it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. So you have a very similar kind of motif. People watching, someone watching, and the exhortation for us, look at Jesus. All right. Right? He's the author of your faith. He did it. Now, you're in the similar boat, and God's doing this for your good, and there is good that's going to come out of it in the end. So you have all of those same themes playing out. But the witnesses are the other faithful that are kind of cheering us on, so to speak. I like to think of it that way. That's Hebrews 12. He did it for the joy set before him, and we do it for the joy set before us. And notice, ultimately, Job wasn't. using God to get other things. He wasn't, and this is what Satan was accusing him of, that he was using God to get all these nice things that God had given him. And he proved that that wasn't the case, that he loved God more than all these things. He trusted God more than all these things, even though he expresses all of his pain and confusion and all these things.

So one more quick question about Job from James, Greg. Should we conclude from Job that is inappropriate to ask God about why we are going through certain struggles and suffering? No, I don't think it's inappropriate. I don't think that Job was chastised for asking. I think Job was more demanding, you know. Well, he says Job never said anything wrong about him or never sinned in his response, right? So it couldn't be wrong to ask. Yeah, I think that's fair. But I do think the attitude is a little different because God comes back pretty strong on him. But certainly I don't think there's anything wrong because we can get, I think God helps us to see, as I mentioned in a previous episode, that when we look in the rearview mirror what he was doing, and this

can be a tremendous encouragement to us. So if it turns out that we can see some good that has clearly come out of something that was really hard. This is very encouraging to us, and not that we have to have that all the time, too, in a certain sense, have God exonerated in our own eyes, but God does do that. He shows that he's good by helping us to see the good, like this gal I talked about her said she lost her husband, the good that has come out of it. I think there's virtually everybody has been walking with the Lord for any length of time has experiences like this where they see that was really hard, but now I see. That was unbearable. Now I get it. I see the good that came out of it. Like I said before, I don't want to go through that again,

but I wouldn't trade it. I'm bearing the fruit and experiencing the benefit of what God did of my life as a result of that. And when we look at a lot of the Psalms, David will lament and even ask questions. And then at the end, he comes back to, I know you're good. I know who you are. And so I think that's the way we can couch our prayers. It's not an accusation against God. It's a lamenting. It's a pleading. We obviously do want to know why. It helps us. But then we end with what we do know, and that is the character of God. So as you are asking questions, just in with what you do know, and I think that's completely fine. Good. Well, thank you, Jenny, Tim, and James. If you have a question, send it on X with a hashtag STR Ask or go to our website at STR.org.

We look forward to hearing from you. This is Amy Hall and Greg Kokel for Stand to Reason. Thank you.