On Suffering

Categories of Suffering (Elihu's message to Job):

1. Preventive Suffering: Suffering may prevent one from error. Job 33:16-17,29-30
2. Corrective Suffering: Suffering may chasten the believer. Job 33:19
3. Educational Suffering: Suffering teaches humility and patience. Job 35:12-14
4. Glorification Suffering: In suffering, God is glorified when His work is displayed. Job 36:22-26 ... compare John 9:1-3
5. Revelational Suffering: Suffering helps one gain a deeper understanding of Gods' love, mercy and grace. Job 36:1-16 and Job 33:26-30
6. Organizational Suffering: Suffering helps one to prioritze what is important. Job 37:7; 33:30
7. Relational Suffering: Suffering helps us related to God in prayer. Job 33:26; 34:28
8. Judgmental Suffering: Suffering may be the result of sin. Job 34:21-30
9. Proclaiming Suffering: Even in suffering God is Just (Job 34:10-15), Pure (Job 34:10), and cannot be manipulated (Job 35:4-8)

Comment: From John Wivell in our ABF this past Sunday. I found it helpful and pass on to all of us who have suffering, are suffering, or will soon be suffering!