What do we do when misfortune strikes?

Short Paper Response
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Short Paper Response
Suffering is one of the most difficult experiences in human life. When people experience suffering, they question the reasons behind their suffering and try to fathom what they might have done to deserve it. The story of Job in the Book of Job is one example of suffering which explains why Job and we, by extension, must suffer. At the beginning of the book, we discover that Job experiences suffering as a test of his faith in God. However, throughout the book, Job gains new insights about his friends as well as about God. The Book of Job provides that we must suffer so that we can gain a new perspective of the world and those around us.
When Job’s friends heard about the misfortunes that had befallen Job, the Book of Job indicates that they came to visit him. In Job 2:11, it is revealed that “They made an appointment together to come to condole with him and comfort him.” However, Job realized, soon enough, that this was not the case. His perspective about his friends “comforting him” changed the moment they started blaming him for his suffering. One of his friends, Eliphaz, accuses him of sinning against God by asking Job “…who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off (4:7)”? His other friends also had something to say about Job’s suffering. They were all trying to provide reasons as to why he was suffering, all of which only made Job feel worse rather than comforted...