Blessed: A Study of Job for the Suffering Saint; Session 1: Will I Suffer?

By H. M. Coker

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“As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” James 5:10-11 (ESV)

Introduction

Welcome, I am excited to study God’s Word with you!

My mom lost both her parents in a relatively short period of time. I remember soon after my grandmother’s death she told me that grief comes in waves— a fact which experience has since proven true for me as well. Imagine that you are in the ocean. The grief washes over you like a stormy wave, cold and suffocating. Then, it pulls away. You can breathe again. You can feel the sun. Just when you think everything might be alright, another wave slams into you and smothers you with blinding water. Each wave threatens to toss you about, shatter you against the jagged shore, and eventually drag you out to sea. In this kind of suffering your only hope is a solid rock, a stronghold. The waves will still come, but you will rest secure.

If you have read any of my other work, you know I usually write from where I’m at or where I’ve just been. In her introduction to Rose from Brier Amy Carmichael wrote, “I did not know how to give comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted without giving something of my own soul also. If I had waited till the harrow had lifted, perhaps a less tired mind would have found a better way. But then the book would have been from the well to the ill, and not from the ill to the ill, which I think is what it is meant to be—a rose plucked straight from the brier.”[1] Blessed: A Study of Job for the Suffering Saint was written in a season of suffering and was designed to be done in the midst of suffering. It is for when burn-out has taken over, when your cup feels dry, and you know all you can handle, and all you need, is the sweet purity of Scripture. With that in mind, I have tried to keep my own words to a minimum in this study, allowing you to revel in that which gives light and imparts understanding (Psalm 119:130).

You will also find that the study is divided into “Session and Parts” rather than “Weeks and Days.” This will hopefully give you permission to spend as much time as you need to complete each session before moving on to the next session. My personal experience in suffering has taught me that through the fog of tears reading even one verse can take twice the time and comprehension comes slowly, but press on, Saints, because when it does come it settles all the more deeply into the store rooms of our hearts ready for times of need. As Isaiah prophesied to Israel, “the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail” (Isaiah 58:11). This conditional promise to Israel has been fulfilled for us in Christ (Matthew 5:17). The water that Jesus gives is a river of living water (Isaiah 12:3, John 7:38). So, come, drink deeply, “and after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 5:10-11).

Recommendations for completing the study:

Blessed: A Study of Job for the Suffering Saint is divided into sessions which are then divided into five to six parts per session. If you are doing this study with a group, I recommend meeting either weekly or biweekly to discuss each session with your group. If you are doing this study on your own then just take one session at a time, work at your own pace, and don’t move onto a new session until you have completed the last. I don’t want you to miss a single truth!

I would love to hear from you!

I would love to know you are doing the study! Send me an email by going to the contact page on www.Surpassing-Worth.com. If this study has blessed your life, please share it with a friend.

Cover art by K. G. Horsley

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.