Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me.
The complaint belongs to the wonderful poem of Job, which to be understood must be taken in at one sitting as a whole. In the pressure of severe trial Job wavered and addressed God as having turned cruel toward him and set a strong hand against him, giving voice to anguish and to inability to grasp the meaning of God's dealings. That cry does not lay down a general rule that suffering proves divine displeasure with the sufferer, for that was the error his friends wrongly pressed upon his case.
Painful appearances can make God seem unloving. They must not blot out the evidences of His love, above all the gift of His only Son. Clinging to that evidence gives assurance that all things work together for good.
The complaint belongs to the wonderful poem of Job, which to be understood must be taken in at one sitting as a whole. In the pressure of severe trial Job wavered and addressed God as having turned cruel toward him and set a strong hand against him, giving voice to anguish and to inability to grasp the meaning of God's dealings. That cry does not lay down a general rule that suffering proves divine displeasure with the sufferer, for that was the error his friends wrongly pressed upon his case.
Painful appearances can make God seem unloving. They must not blot out the evidences of His love, above all the gift of His only Son. Clinging to that evidence gives assurance that all things work together for good.