Our ALL-SUFFICIENT GOD: Beyond Suffering in the Book of Job invites you to lift your eyes higher and higher. See not only the hand of God and what He does, but also the face of God and His character as He reveals Himself in the book of Job. The authors take this often neglected and overlooked book of the Bible, separate it from its usual theme of suffering and show the enduring truths of God's character. Is God in control over all? Is God just? Is God loving? Is God all-knowing and all-wise? Job and his friends grappled with these questions. Like them, what we believe about God shapes our interpretation of God's dealings with us and with others and determines our actions. In the midst of his suffering, all Job had was faith in his God. At times, this God-tested, enduring faith looked rough, crude and raw, yet it endured. Through the experience, God revealed to Job and subsequently to us His attributes of sovereignty, providence, lovingkindness, justice, omniscience and wisdom. This guided, 13-week Bible study will help you appreciate God's worthiness to be loved, trusted, worshiped and served in all circumstances. As you have a fresh encounter with the book of Job, you will be encouraged to develop character like Job's that pleases God. You will learn to speak rightly about God and to benefit from greater intimacy with Him when troubles come. While this guidebook takes care in the areas of hermeneutics and theology, it is also practical for Christian living and personal devotion. It includes a three-act play, background material, word studies and weekly review questions. The first two lessons take the student through the entire book in an overview that gives the big picture and chronology of events. It is suitable for both individual and group studies. Lesson 3 addresses the circumstances surrounding Job's losses. The student is asked to evaluate her own personal losses and her response to adversity in her own life and in the lives of others. Lesson 4 identifies problems related to comforting those in grief. The student will be challenged to assess her beliefs about God's role in suffering and prosperity. She will develop biblical comforting skills. Lesson 5 scrutinizes Job's lifestyle as a God-fearer. The student will become sensitized to upholding God's reputation. She will develop strategies for turning away from temptation and evil. Lessons 6 through 8 highlight some of God's attributes that are displayed in the book of Job. Lesson 6 focuses on God's sovereignty. In studying Job's complaints against God's justice in Lesson 7, the student must consider the justification for any complaint of her own against God's justice. Lesson 8 explores God's dealings with the wicked and the righteous. Lesson 9 explores Job's response to suffering. The student will learn how to respond to God's dealings by trusting Him. Lesson 10 explains the continuity from the Old Testament through the New Testament of God's great salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. The student will write an explanation of Old Testament and New Testament faith and will develop evangelism skills. Lesson 11 gives Elihu's perspective on Job's suffering. The student will learn principles for interpreting suffering from a God-centered perspective. Through an assignment to interview a mature Christian who has endured troubles, she will understand how she can know the Lord more deeply through troubles. Lesson 12 relates God speaking to and restoring Job. This enjoyable climax to Job's trials gives the student an opportunity to see God afresh and to identify how her thoughts have changed through studying the book of Job. The Finale validates the God-centered intent of the study. The section wraps up the answers to the four pivotal questions posed in the Preface that the student is to consider throughout the study.
About the Author: Arletta Ann "Leta" Haggard was pursuing a career in clinical social work when the Lord graciously brought her to saving faith in Christ in 1985. She received a BA in Social Work from Mississippi State University and a Master's Degree in Social Work from University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She has 40 hours toward an MDiv from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She has participated in training opportunities through Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, formerly National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC) and Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF). She is the author of the Bible study, Fools Made Wise. Leta lives in Sherwood, Arkansas, with her husband John, a builder. The Haggards' family includes two grown sons, Sam and Erron, and Erron's wife Beth. The Haggards served as IMB missionaries to Romania from 1997 to 1999 and as independents in 2004. They are members of Urban Harvest Fellowship (SBC) in downtown North Little Rock, Arkansas where they were active in discipleship, local ministries and international missions. Carol Culp Robinson, who has a BA degree in journalism from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, has worked as a newspaper reporter/photographer in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Barrington, Illinois, and as a junior high English teacher at an American school in Caracas, Venezuela. She has been privileged to study the Bible under excellent teachers. She has received biblical counseling training through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors, formerly National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC). She has completed courses in theology given by the Ministry Training Center of The Bible Church of Little Rock. Carol has written and taught Bible lessons to women and to fifth and sixth grade girls . She has also co-authored an inductive Bible study on First John. Carol and her husband Randy live in Little Rock and worship at The Bible Church of Little Rock (BCLR). They are the parents of two grown children, Chase and Barkley Elena, and grandparents to Chloe and Eva Caroline.