Job Grieved

The Bible Never Says It Will Be Okay.

The Bible is largely silent on the topic of grief, which surprises most people; contrary to popular belief, the Bible never says things will be okay-that the pastures greener on the other side. Further, the Bible never says God won''t give us anything we can''t handle. That''s a proverb man made up.

When it seems hopeless there''s a reason: this might be a trial we cannot handle. It''s natural to feel bleak about the future because the future is one thing God never promises will be better-better on Earth, at least.

The Bible is, of course, full of people undergoing hardship; but there''s never a formula for getting through those hardships.

The Book of Job did something thousands of years ago that broke the mold of grief: it said bad things don''t happen because you did something bad.

The Book of Job was radical in that it took out the logic of loss-it said don''t look for the logical argument for why bad things happen; look to the healing.

If you are seeking the "why" you will not find the answers in Job; you will not find it anywhere in the Bible. But if you want to heal your soul, then there''s a powerful message reading how Job deals with grief.