The First Gospel: Job & The Problem of Suffering | Josh Harrison
Wrestling with Wisdom and Suffering: Lessons from Job
To make sense of life’s most difficult realities, perhaps nothing proves more enduring—or more perplexing—than the question of suffering. In this week’s sermon from Citizens Church of Orange County, we tackled the iconic story of Job and wove together the threads of biblical wisdom, the problem of suffering, and the uncompromising goodness of God. The Book of Job, as Josh points out, does not provide easy answers for life’s hardest questions. Instead, it offers something far more substantial: an invitation to wrestle honestly, to seek God earnestly, and ultimately to find, not a solution, but a Presence.
Setting the Stage: Wisdom in the Biblical Story
For several weeks, our church community has followed what Sheridan calls “the first Gospel,” tracing the grand narrative arc of Scripture—from creation, to the patriarchs, through Egypt and the Exodus, to Israel’s judges and kings. With the close of King David’s reign and the arrival of Solomon, the biblical account takes an intriguing turn. Solomon, Josh reminded us, is known not just for his rule, but for his pursuit of wisdom—a wisdom understood in Scripture not as mere intelligence, but as right thinking joined with right living. The wisdom literature—Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs—emerges from this heritage. These books are not simply repositories of ancient advice; they challenge us to seek wisdom from outside ourselves, to find it ultimately in the fear of the Lord, and to live it out in the realities of our messy, often painful lives.
The Enigma of Suffering: Introducing Job
Enter Job—a man, we are told repeatedly, who is “blameless and upright;” a man whose life, until calamity struck, seemed defined by faithfulness and blessing. What unfolds is anything but a children’s story. In quick succession, Job loses his wealth, his children, his health, and nearly all social standing. The opening chapters provide a glimpse into a mysterious encounter in the heavens, where Satan challenges God: Is it possible for anyone to love God for God’s sake alone? God’s answer is Job, whose piety, Satan insists, is conditional on prosperity.
Most strikingly, the suffering Job undergoes—while allowed by God—is not God’s initiative, but Satan’s. And yet, even as we recoil at the severity of Job’s trials, Sheridan calls us to confront the uncomfortable reality: suffering, though not divine in origin, is sometimes permitted. The question, then, is less “Why?” and more “How do we live in the midst of it?”
Pat Answers, Honest Struggle
After the catastrophe, Job responds with raw honesty. Initially, he utters those now-famous words: “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” But, as Josh noted, Job’s posture quickly shifts. Chapter after chapter, Job rages, laments, and pleads. He argues with God and rejects every explanation—especially the simplistic ones offered by his friends, who cling to the dogma that suffering is always the result of hidden sin. Sheridan warned against mistaking passages in the Bible—like the counsel of Job’s friends—as universal truth, highlighting how “biblical” is not always synonymous with “true of God’s character.” Here, the Book of Job becomes a living protest against pat answers and false comfort.
Encounter with the Divine
Near the end of the sermon, Josh described God’s reply to Job—not an explanation of “why,” but an overwhelming revelation of “who.” God meets Job not with reasons, but with His presence, inviting Job (and us) to trust, even in the absence of clarity. The answer to suffering, it turns out, is not a doctrine, but a relationship. In seeing God, Job is transformed; his demand for answers is replaced by awe and trust.
Four Key Lessons from the Sermon
Wisdom Must Be Sought, Not Assumed
No one is born wise. True wisdom involves not only acquiring knowledge, but living rightly—and this comes from seeking God.Suffering Defies Simple Explanations
There are no shortcuts or easy formulas for explaining pain. Simple answers, especially those that blame the sufferer, often do more harm than good.Faith Makes Room for Honest Struggle
God invites our raw prayers and honest questions. Even as Job laments and challenges God, his relentless pursuit is counted as faithfulness.God Offers Himself, Not Just Answers
The response God gives in suffering is not a tidy solution, but His presence—an invitation to trust Him, even when reasons are hidden.
Suffering is sure to come, but the Book of Job invites us beyond the search for answers to the search for God Himself—trusting, questioning, wrestling, and, ultimately, finding Him to be enough.
