Is suffering good for you? Well, that depends on your reaction to it. Some people become angry and bitter when hard times come their way (36:13). Some give into despair, only wanting to “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die” – giving themselves over to empty pleasures (36:14) and often dying young as a result.

But there is another way. Some allow their sufferings to alert them to sinful habits or arrogant attitudes. For these people, suffering can be a source of great personal development, and they can grow through a painful season of life, ending up in a pleasant and prosperous place (36:11).

So, what’s the difference between these two approaches to suffering? A person’s attitude toward God. Those who allow their suffering to drive them toward God, those who listen to His voice and accept His correction can benefit from the experience. For those who thus allow God to open their ears through their adversity (36:15), suffering can in fact lead to their deliverance, driving them to embrace Christ as Savior and bow the knee to Him as Lord.

So what happens to the godless? What happens to those who don’t listen when God tries to use their suffering to point out their need for Him? Verse 12 tells us in no uncertain terms: “they perish by the sword and die without knowledge.”

So, when suffering comes your way, which path will you take?

Job 36:5-16

5 “Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any; he is mighty in strength of understanding.
6 He does not keep the wicked alive, but gives the afflicted their right.
7 He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous, but with kings on the throne he sets them forever, and they are exalted.
8 And if they are bound in chains and caught in the cords of affliction,
9 then he declares to them their work and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.
10 He opens their ears to instruction and commands that they return from iniquity.
11 If they listen and serve him, they complete their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasantness.
12 But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword and die without knowledge.
13 “The godless in heart cherish anger; they do not cry for help when he binds them.
14 They die in youth, and their life ends among the cult prostitutes.
15 He delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ear by adversity.
16 He also allured you out of distress into a broad place where there was no cramping, and what was set on your table was full of fatness.