Dharius Daniels - How to Manage Seasons of Suffering Without an Explanation

There is a powerful picture of what I’m trying to proclaim situated right here in one of the most powerful books of the Bible. It’s a book called Job, and Job’s profundity is not just tied to its content; what is said in the book is tied to its context. Job is situated in a section of the Bible called Wisdom Literature. It means that when you start reading things like Psalms, and you’re reading Job, and you’re reading Proverbs, and you’re reading Ecclesiastes, and you’re reading Song of Solomon, these are books that God put in the Bible. He says not just to help you live right but to help you live wisely. Yeah, like Proverbs. Watch this; he says this is powerful: «Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.» Walk with the wise and become wise. He’s saying you become like who you walk with. Then he says, «for a companion of fools suffers harm, ” meaning I don’t have to be a fool; I just have to have fools as my companions. It’s Wisdom Literature, and this book of the Bible, Job, gives us wisdom in a number of different areas. But one of the areas I want to lift up for you today is that this book gives us wisdom on how to manage seasons of suffering for which you have no explanation. Are y’all okay? Yes, this book gives us wisdom on how to manage Job-like seasons, unexpected seasons of adversity that we have to endure without an explanation. I’m looking for the real section now because there are some of you that know why you went through everything you went through, but there are some of us that have gone through some seasons, and I’m like, God, I trust you, but I have absolutely no idea what I learned through that. I have no idea why you had to do that that way, and I don’t know how they hurt me and it seems like they’re winning and I’m suffering. I need an explanation. We can act as if we don’t need it, and we can live as if it does not matter, but the truth of the matter is there are situations and seasons that we all, from time to time, wrestle with trying to understand. I know everything happens for a reason, but I don’t see this one. I’m coming for you today. Job is an example of this, helping us see what it’s like to go through seasons of pain where you don’t see purpose. It’s when you go through seasons where you had to cry, and God doesn’t tell you why. This is exactly what happened in Job’s story. We’re introduced to Job in Job chapter 1, verse number 1, with these words: „In the land of Uz, there was a man whose name was Job. He was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.“ Blameless, upright, feared God, shunned evil. If there’s anybody that meets the criteria of avoiding adversity, it should be Job. He was blameless and upright, feared God, and shunned evil. Now let me come put a headlock on the devil right here and debunk some myths that are in your mind because you think that all your adversity is tied to your immorality. I want to tell you that it rains on the just and the unjust. Some of you are punishing yourself thinking you are suffering in 2022 because of something that happened in 2002, and I am telling you, for being blameless, upright, fearing God, and shunning evil, yet he has an unexpected, unexplainable, and seemingly unwarranted tragedy. The Bible gives us some insight on what’s going on behind the scenes with Job, and it tells us that God is having an audience with angels. This is what’s so dope about this. God’s having an audience with angels; angels are engaging with God, consulting God, and the text says Satan is standing in line. Y’all missed that already. I said that angels are engaging with God, having a conversation with Him, and the devil’s got to stand in line and wait to get his turn to even have a conversation with the Father. Did you hear what I just said? The enemy operates in the area of illusion, so he wants you to think he’s bigger than he is, more powerful than he is, and more profound than he is. But the devil’s got to stand in line just to have a conversation with God. He’s standing in line, he comes up to the Father, and God asks Satan, „Where have you come from?“ He said, „I’ve been to Buckhead, I’ve been to Bankhead, I’ve been to Marietta, I’ve been to Duluth, seeking somebody’s life that I can destroy and disrupt.“ And the text says that God says, „Have you considered Job?“ Wait a minute. What does this do to your theology? Job is blameless and upright, so we would think that should mean he should not be recommended for trouble. But the fact that he is blameless and upright is the reason God recommended him for trouble. Because it’s one thing for God to trust you with blessing; it’s a higher level when He can trust you with trouble. Somebody in here wants to know, „Why do I keep going through what I’m going through?“ And God’s like, „I trust you. I trust that you’ll be in pain and still praise me. I trust that they’ll walk out on you and you won’t walk out on me.“ I trust you. Yeah, yeah, y’all not ready for this. It is as if God is saying, „Oh, you want to mess with somebody? You can’t break him.“ Did you catch me?