Reformed Reflections

Why do we have to suffer? Is there any meaning in pain or how is a personal loss endured? If God is love, why all the evil around us? May we question God? Does He owe us an explanation?

Job, one of the most famous sufferers in history, struggled with the why question. He lived many centuries ago, but his story is up-to-date today. The book of Job is not just a theological treatise; it speaks to our hearts. It does show God at His best, and it does show Satan at his worst. It is a revelation of God's sovereignty, and it is a revelation of man's helplessness. "Anyone who asks "Why me, Lord? will find some surprising answers through studying Job. Rev Don Baker, pastor of the Hinson Memorial Baptist Church in Portland, Oregon, writes as a man who has tasted the pain of suffering in his own personal life and ministry. He had to grapple with the questions raised by Job. No cheap answers are given. Baker knows too well that there are not any. He writes, "God owes me no explanation. He has the right to do what He wants, when He wants, and how He wants. Why? Because He's God.

Baker's book is a fine devotional commentary, providing hope and encourament.

Johan D.Tangelder