How do you praise God when you lose everything?

In Job 1, a good man loses his wealth, his servants, and all ten of his children in a single day — yet he worships God. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt opens the book of Job and the hardest question in life: how do we trust God when everything collapses?

Job is introduced as a blameless, upright man, the wealthiest in the East. Behind the scenes, Satan accuses him before God, claiming Job only loves God for his blessings. God allows Satan to strip away Job’s possessions and children, and in one terrible day it all comes crashing down. Yet Job falls down and worships, saying, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away.” Dr. Holt explains that God prizes Job’s character, not his comfort, and that real faith rests on who God is, not on our circumstances.

Questions this study answers:

1. Why did God allow Job to suffer? Not because Job had sinned, but because God prized his faith. Satan claimed Job only loved God for his blessings, and God allowed the test to prove otherwise.

2. How could Job still worship after such loss? Because his faith rested on God Himself, not on his circumstances. He trusted that the God who gives also has the right to take away.

3. What does Job 1 teach us about suffering? That hardship can come even to the godly, and that God remains in control. Faith stands on who God is, not on how comfortable life is.

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” — Job 1:21 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Job Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

Why do good people suffer?

In Job 2 and 3, Job loses even his health, and he sinks so low that he curses the day he was born. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt faces an honest question: why do good and godly people suffer?

Satan strikes Job with painful sores from head to toe, and Job’s wife urges him to “curse God and die.” Yet Job answers, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” Three friends come, weep, and sit silently with him for seven days. Then Job breaks the silence by pouring out his grief. Dr. Holt explains that Job never saw the heavenly backstory — he suffered not because he was bad, but because he was so good. Being faithful does not make us immune to pain.

Questions this study answers:

1. Does being a good Christian protect us from suffering? No. Job was the most upright man of his day, yet he suffered deeply. Faithfulness is no guarantee of an easy life.

2. How did Job respond to his wife’s advice? He refused to curse God, answering that we should accept both good and hardship from His hand. His faith held even in agony.

3. What did Job’s friends do right at first? They came to him, wept with him, and sat in silence for seven days. Their quiet presence was a comfort — before their words made things worse.

“Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” — Job 2:10 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Job Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

Why were Job’s friends such poor comforters?

In Job 10-11, Job pours out his confusion to God while his friend Zophar insists Job’s suffering is his own fault. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt shows how even sincere friends can give deeply wrong counsel.

Job cannot understand why God is contending with him, and he longs for answers. His friend Zophar responds harshly, claiming Job’s pain proves hidden sin and even telling him he deserves worse. Dr. Holt explains the friends’ mistake: they assumed suffering always means punishment for sin. They were right that sin brings judgment, but wrong about the timing — and they did not know that Job suffered because he was good, not bad. For believers, the judgment our sins deserve fell instead on Christ.

Questions this study answers:

1. What was wrong with the counsel of Job’s friends? They assumed Job’s suffering had to be punishment for some hidden sin. They misread his situation and added guilt to his grief.

2. Were the friends entirely wrong? They were right that sin deserves judgment, but wrong about the timing and the cause. Job’s suffering was not punishment, and full judgment comes in God’s time.

3. How does the gospel answer the friends’ error? For those who trust Christ, the judgment their sins deserve has already fallen on Him. Believers are not under condemnation, even in suffering.

“Know therefore that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves.” — Job 11:6 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Job Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

What was God’s answer to Job?

In Job 38-40, after chapters of silence, God finally answers Job — but not in the way anyone expects. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt explores how God responds to a suffering man’s questions.

God speaks to Job out of a whirlwind, but He never explains why Job suffered. Instead, He asks Job question after question about creation: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” From the stars to the storehouses of snow to the wild animals, God shows the vast gap between His knowledge and ours. Dr. Holt sums it up in a line his seminary professor once wrote on the board: “There is a God, and you are not Him.” Job is humbled, and lays his hand over his mouth. We may bring God our questions, but we are not fit to judge His wisdom.

Questions this study answers:

1. How did God answer Job? Not with an explanation of his suffering, but with questions about creation that revealed how little Job truly knew. God answered Job’s “why” with His own greatness.

2. Why didn’t God explain Job’s suffering? Because the deeper comfort was not an answer but a Person. Seeing God’s wisdom and power gave Job peace that an explanation could not.

3. How did Job respond to God? He humbled himself, saying he was unworthy, and laid his hand over his mouth. He stopped demanding answers and trusted God’s wisdom.

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.” — Job 38:4 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Job Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

Does suffering last forever?

In Job 42, the long ordeal finally ends: Job repents, prays for his friends, and God restores him. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt shows that suffering, for God’s people, is never the final word.

Humbled before God, Job says, “Now my eye sees You,” and repents. Then God does something striking: He tells Job to pray for the very friends who wounded him — and it is when Job prays for them that his restoration begins. God gives him twice as much as before, ten more children, and long life. Dr. Holt notes that even Job’s restored blessings are only a small picture of the far greater inheritance waiting for God’s people. Trials end; God restores; and our truest treasure is kept safe in heaven.

Questions this study answers:

1. How does the book of Job end? With restoration. Job repents, prays for his friends, and God gives him twice as much as he had before, along with long life and family.

2. Why did God have Job pray for his friends? To show grace through the very man they had wronged. Job’s restoration began the moment he interceded for those who hurt him.

3. What hope does Job’s restoration give us? That suffering is not forever for God’s people. Even Job’s renewed blessings only hint at the far greater inheritance awaiting believers in heaven.

“And the LORD restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.” — Job 42:10 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Job Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

Is it okay to ask God “why”?

In this bonus study from Job 10, Dr. Toby Holt asks a question every hurting believer has felt: is it allowed to bring God our raw, grief-filled “why”?

Job, the most righteous man on earth, tells God plainly that he loathes his life and wants to know why God is contending with him. Dr. Holt explains that God is big enough to receive our honest laments — asking “why” in our pain does not mean God loves us less. He points to others who cried out the same way: Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, David, and Paul. Bringing our questions to God is not a failure of faith; it is an act of faith, and God meets us in the asking.

Questions this study answers:

1. Is it wrong to ask God “why” when we suffer? No. Job, the most righteous man on earth, asked God why — and so did Moses, Elijah, and David. God welcomes our honest cries.

2. Does asking “why” mean our faith is weak? Not at all. Bringing our pain to God is itself an act of trust. It turns toward Him rather than away from Him.

3. Is God indifferent to our pain? No. God is not cold or distant. He receives the laments of His people and draws near to the brokenhearted.

“I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; show me why You contend with me.’” — Job 10:2 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Job Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.