Dear Bellefield Family,

"In this world nothing can be said to be certain," Ben Franklin famously wrote, "except death and taxes." As witty and pithy as that expression may be, there are obviously other 'certain' things that we will experience in this world. Suffering and sorrow are perhaps chief among those things which everyone will inevitably experience. To say that is not to succumb to pessimism or cynicism. Rather, it is to acknowledge the simple truth that life is hard. 

I don't know that anyone would argue against that acknowledgement, but you will find lots of attempts to figure out why. Questions about why life is marked by suffering and sorrow are as old as human thought. Belief in a good, just, and sovereign God doesn't eliminate those questions--it makes them more acutely pressing. 

There are a lot of trite cliches that can be offered up to soothe our pain, though we know that they're usually unhelpful and unsatisfying. We can admit that there aren't easy answers to the questions we face about suffering and sorrow, but that doesn't mean we have nothing to say in the face of these things or that Scripture leaves us flailing around without any wisdom or comfort. 

The Old Testament book of Job is not only one of the most well-known books in Scripture but also one of the most profound works of literature, period. Its central human character has become synonymous with the idea of suffering and sorrow, and it gives voice to the pain that we often experience in our own lives. It doesn't always give us the neat, tidy answers for which we may look, but it does give us a vital and necessary lens through which to view our own times of sorrow and suffering. 

This Sunday, we're going to begin a new sermon series which will survey the book of Job. I say 'survey' because it's a deep and dense book (John Calvin preached 159 sermons on it!), yet we'll be able to trace the broad contours and glean the main ideas over our six-week series. 

The book of Job is not meant to press us further into despair, but to help us find our footing in the midst of the storms. So, if you are someone who has ever suffered--or if you're someone who has ever wondered why there is suffering--then I'd invite you to join us for this summer series each week at 10am or 5pm. See you then!

Grace and peace,

Josh