There’s something uniquely difficult about physical suffering. Pain, weakness, and aging can leave us discouraged. Satan understood this well. After taking everything from Job—his possessions and children—he still believed he hadn’t touched the area that mattered most. “Stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face” (Job 2:4-5). And yet, Job didn’t curse God. The apostle Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 that while “our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” This is behind an eternal perspective on suffering: even as our bodies grow weaker, our faith grows stronger.




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Table of contents* We Don’t Lose Heart Because Our Spirit Is Strengthened* The Two Ways We Grow Spiritually* Take Advantage of Meetings with Senior Saints Finishing Well* We Don’t Lose Heart Because Every Trial Is Only A “Light Momentary Affliction” In Light Of Eternity* We Don’t Lose Heart Because Of Our Heavenly Blessings* We Don’t Lose Heart If We Look Forward To Our Heavenly Home* Lot and Abraham: Two Men Looking for Cities* We Don’t Lose Heart Because We’ll Be Raised With Christ* Losses Throughout Our Lives, but Always Having Our Bodies, Right?* We Don’t Lose Heart If We Praise God During Trials* The Eternal Perspective on Suffering



Suffering takes many forms: mental, emotional, spiritual, but few trials compare to the slow decline of our bodies. Think about everything Satan did to Job. First, he took all his possessions—the oxen, donkeys, sheep, camels, and servants. In the second attack, Satan took Job's sons and daughters.



If you weren’t familiar with Job, what would you expect to be the most likely reason for Job to curse God? I would guess it would be the loss of his children. But after Job lost all his children and still hadn’t cursed God, Satan turned to Job’s health. Consider what he said to God:




Job 2:4 Satan [said to] the Lord, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.”




Satan believed that if he could afflict Job’s body, he would curse God. Satan knows how difficult it is when we suffer physically. I think that’s why Paul says what he says:




2 Corinthians 4:16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.




The ESV refers to the "outer self," but other translations use terms such as "outward man" or "outer person." It’s referring to our physical bodies, which are “wasting away.” The NKJV says they are "perishing," and the NASB describes them as "decaying." All of these capture how we feel as we age and our bodies break down.