One of the greatest difficulties in life is coping with suffering when it touches you and the people you love. Popular opinion says: "If you really love God and do your best to serve Him, your life will be free from suffering." This notion has circulated for thousands of years, but it is dead wrong! Sometimes the opposite is true. Some of the greatest heroes in the Bible endured tremendous suffering. The same is true today. Some of God's most precious people suffer the most.

Suffering can touch our lives at four different levels which often overlap. (1) Our physical health can be taken from us, temporarily or permanently. (2) Our most important relationships in life may be lost, dam-aged, or destroyed. (3) Our emotional health can be attacked by stress, depression, or a host of other problems. (4) Our spiritual lives may be shaken as we fight spiritual battles.

Many of you are burdened with suffering today. If your life has been free from suffering, fasten your seat belt because suffering visits each of us at some time during our life. Suffering can show up any time, anywhere, with anybody. Like the products we buy at Wal-Mart, suffering comes in all sizes and varieties, big and small. Some suffering lasts a short time while other sufferings never quit.

If you are burdened with suffering or troubles, the real life story of the Old Testament man Job offers you hope. Job was a righteous man who served God with his whole heart. He endured suffering at every point in his life -- his possessions were destroyed, his children were killed, and his health was ruined. Job didn't understand his suffering and anguish. His wife didn't understand his suffering and she offered bad advice. His friends didn't understand his suffering and they turned on him. Job ended up devastated at every point of his being -- emotionally, physically, relationally, and spiritually.

Like Job, his wife and friends, we struggle with the question: "Why am I or the people I love suffering?" We want to know why. That's why the age-old book of Job still speaks to us today. Job addresses the question: "Why does God allow His people to suffer?" I want to answer this question by looking at the characters in Job's story. Each character offered a reason why Job was suffering or a response on how he should react, but God alone offered the real answers.

I. Satan: Suffering causes people to forsake God.

Satan made Job suffer. Satan destroyed Job's possessions. Satan killed Job's children. Satan ruined Job's health. Satan wants to afflict our lives with suffering too. Satan is causing some of us to suffer tremendously today. Satan is at the root of all our suffering, directly or indirectly. Satan always has evil intentions in mind for us. 1 Peter 5:8 says, "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." Satan wants to destroy our faith. Satan wants to ruin our relationship with God. Satan wants to break up our families. Satan wants to wreck our relationship with our friends. Satan wants to destroy our health. Satan wants to cause us problems at work and at school. Satan wants to ruin our reputations.