Suffering has a way of isolating us, drawing us into ourselves and making us feel utterly alone. In Job 3, we witness a man in the depths of despair, speaking a poem about himself to himself. Job had not spoken out against his suffering before this, but now opened his mouth. His lament was not a cry for help but an expression of sorrow so profound that he curses the very day of his birth and the very night of his conception.

Job’s lament is rich with imagery, contrasting light and darkness, day and night. He wishes his birth had never happened, desiring instead that his day be erased from existence. His wishes he had died at birth, and wondered why he was given life only to suffer. Job saw life as a burden, but death as a welcome relief.

Indeed, Job envied those who were dead, because they have finally found the peace that eludes him. To him, death represents an escape from suffering, a place of rest that he longs for but cannot reach. At this point in his suffering, Job has no hope. He does not see a future where things will be restored. Both life and death appear meaningless, yet death seems preferable to the pain he endures. His perspective mirrors that of many who walk through seasons of profound grief and hardship. In moments of despair, it is easy to lose sight of hope.

Yet, as believers in the New Covenant, how do we respond to suffering, grief, hardship, when everything that you owned and loved is taken away from you? How do our beliefs about God and eternity shape our responses? Unlike Job, we have the full counsel of the Word of God, which reveals a hope beyond suffering. We know that God’s justice and mercy extend beyond our present circumstances, and that our pain is not without purpose.

C. S. Lewis, in A Grief Observed, shares how his intellectual understanding of suffering was shattered when he personally experienced the pain of losing his wife, Joy. His theological insights felt hollow in the face of real grief. The truth is, we can never fully grasp suffering until we endure it ourselves. However, we ought to prepare for it. We need build a firm foundation in faith, we need to engage in theological reflection, we need to cultivate a deep trust in God so that we may stand firm when we face trials and challenges. We also need to learn to rely on God’s strength to sustain us, to carry us when we cannot walk, and to remind us that He is present, even in our darkest moments.

If you are walking through a season of suffering, know that you are not alone. The same God who allowed Job to endure also restored him. And through Christ, we have a greater hope—the promise of eternal rest, not just in death, but in the presence of our Savior. Let us cling to that hope, trusting that even in the darkest night, God is still writing our story, and He has already authored the end.

Prayer: Dear Father, in our darkest moments, may we be reminded that You are near. When we cannot see hope, hold us fast. Strengthen our faith so that when trials come, we may endure with trust in Your goodness. Thank You for the hope we have in Christ. Amen.