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  • Essay / Theology Paper: Response to Trauma

    In the book of Job, God describes suffering Christians and how He interprets the agony from His perspective. Job makes distinctions for us regarding suffering, and God also makes promises to his people after their torture ends. Job asks God how he lets people suffer and why he chooses to let them suffer. There is no flaw in his life that would have led him to distress. Job's piety is what attracts this unwanted attention and leads him to misery. Suffering is not necessarily a punishment, but it is perceived as guilt. Job describes this guilt factor by demonstrating that even the most righteous people can be distressed. Job experiences many difficulties in his life, including the loss of his wife, children, and fortune. Despite these traumatic situations, he chooses not to curse God. When his friends visit him, they try to make him feel better. Job wants us to avoid the torture of our suffering friends. We can either blame them for the pain they are experiencing or alleviate their tragedy by teaching them a moral lesson. Job does not accept his friend's explanations of his suffering and he is desperate. Job wants answers from God about why bad things happen to good people. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Sometimes God allows trauma to occur in our lives without any sin and it is not meant to teach us a lesson. On the contrary, it brings us closer to Him in our relationship. We become more attached to God and open ourselves to his love. Any kind of loss we experience in our life will bring us in accordance with God's will. He wants us to never lose hope in Him and to remain true to ourselves. God wants his people to maintain their connection with him and not become disconnected. The accuser predicted that Job would curse and turn away from God, but he blessed him. Job chose not to break off his relationship and to stay close to God. This is what God expects of us, is not to lose confidence in him. God explains how trauma happens and sometimes there are no answers. There is a mystery to life and death that we cannot begin to understand. We are not allowed to understand how our world works. Trauma can happen even to good people and there is no reason for it. God still respects and responds to Job. Like Job, we must experience suffering without knowing the reasoning behind it. The book of Job asks “why do good people suffer,” but this question is never answered. Humans often want to hear easy answers to their questions, but that's not how life works. Trauma just happens and there’s nothing we can do about it. God wants us to accept that everyone can suffer, but they can gain wisdom or courage from it. Job has different responses to suffering. There was an incident where his sons and daughters were hit by the collapsed house. After all this, Job did not commit any sin or do anything wicked toward God. Another example comes from 2:9 when his wife wants him to condemn God, but Job did not do as he was told. In 2:11-13, Job's friends heard about the events that happened to Job and did their best to make him feel better. His friends saw that Job was suffering and could not speak to him. One of his friends, Eliphaz, wants to offer hope to Job. He encourages him to be courageous in the fear of God. He emphasizes that no one is more righteous than God.Eliphaz wants Job to trust in God. His other friend, Zophar, criticizes Job for his courage in his justice. Job also has a secret sin that he must reveal and repudiate. In 13:23-24, Job imagines that God ignored his faithfulness and acted as if he were an enemy. He did, however, reach a certain point where he confessed after his death that he would regard God as the Redeemer. Job believed that God did not treat him as a friend or a child. He then complains to God in 23:3-4 and 24:1 saying that he would find God and that he would have much to say to Him and to "those who I know never see their days." His three friends assume that the intensity of Job's suffering was related to sin in his life. Job can silence his friends by telling them that there is no connection between goodness of mind and wealth or evil and sorrow. Job has his final defense in chapter 31 when he explains how God kept him safe and guided him, and he received suffering that he did not deserve. His trauma will be exposed before God. He can face God face to face. Job will tackle his demons and be able to express what he feels inside. However, he thinks that God wants to kill him. He believes the world is unfair, and in the present he witnesses chaos. Job remains committed to social justice while all of this is happening. In chapters 32-37, Job's friend Elihu scolds Job and his other friends. These friends of Job cannot explain his suffering theologically. Elihu believes Job is imperfect, but he is immensely loved by God. Job's sufferings were described to show Satan and the armies of heaven that Job admired God more than his possessions, his health, and his family. Once Job showed that he truly loved God, then there was another meaning behind God allowing his suffering to last longer. The reason is so that God can cleanse the pride that remains in one's life. Job was affected by suffering and this pride still within him tried to justify itself at the expense of God. The main reason behind Job's suffering is to portray the worth and glory of God, while polishing Job's righteousness. The suffering he endured was in no way a punishment. Getting rid of the pride that remained inside was something that a loving God could do. Towards the end of Elihu's speech, a storm breaks out and he admires it. He feels the presence of God and hears his voice speaking to him. God's words in chapters 38-41 do not criticize Elihu. In chapter 40, God pauses to give Job an opportunity to respond. The matter is pushed back even further in 40:6-9 when he speaks again in the whirlwind. Job doesn't receive any real answers but is asked many questions. Job is put in place by God and he tells Job that he hears and sees him. God told Eliphaz the Temanite that he had not spoken correctly about God as Job had done. Since Job prayed for his friends, he got all his wealth back. Even though he went through a lot of trauma, he did not push God away and eventually regained important aspects of his life. He witnessed different losses and had to deal with his emotions. It teaches us that no matter how much agony we experience, there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel. We must stay connected to God despite significant impacts on our lives. Job continues to have confidence and determination after the grief of his losses. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Three ways Job responds to suffering is to use his hope, his faith, and perseverance. He continues to have hope despite all his trauma. He uses his faith to stay true to his character and to God. Job :.