Episode 2302 - Lesson 7 - Monday Feb. 10 - There are many things we do not know

The end of history will come with the triumph of love over evil. But, in the meantime, many troubling questions remain. How can we think and talk about the problem of evil in a way that might be helpful? Read Job 38:1–12. How does God’s answer to Job shed light on the problem of evil? How much do we know and not know about what might be going on behind the scenes? In the narrative, Job had suffered much and had voiced many questions himself about why so much evil and suffering had befallen him. He requested an audience with God in order to seek answers to his questions, not knowing that far more was going on behind the scenes, in the heavenly court (see Job 1, 2). God’s response to Job is striking. Specifically, “the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: ‘Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?’ ” (Job 38:1, 2, NKJV). One translation puts it this way: “Why do you talk so much when you know so little?” (Job 38:2, CEV). And, God adds in Job 38:4, “ ‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding’ ” (NKJV). Read Job 42:3. How does Job’s response illuminate what we should recognize about our own position? By His responses to Job, God made it clear to Job that there are many things that Job did not know and did not understand. Like Job, we, too, should humbly recognize that there are many things going on in the world, and behind the scenes, that we know nothing about. The fact that we may not know the answers to our questions does not mean there are no good answers or that one day everything will not be resolved. Until then, we need to trust in the goodness of God, which has been revealed to us in so many ways. Think about how little we know about anything. Why, then, should we learn to live with unanswered questions about the most difficult of subjects: evil and suffering?