“Why does God let us suffer if he is good?”

Is the question that arose once I believed there is a God.

I used Prisma color pencils and a marker to draw Job in his plea to God for an answer to his suffering. He gazes up; the perspective is angled above him. He is sick with blisters that are connected to a disease called “Job Syndrome,” thus explaining the symbolism in the genetic code behind him. The DNA strands mix in with a vine of thorns- a reference to the crown of thorns.

The more I tried to understand him, I could only get so close to the truth; but the truth that I had to come to terms with was… we aren’t capable of understanding him to his fullest. He is infinite; we are finite. He is just, he is right, he is all-knowing, and all-loving.

I wanted to depict my feelings of hopelessness, anger, and frustration towards God in a piece of art.

Then I remembered the Book of Job.

Job had a family; he was wealthy on his farm and prospered in life, and he had deep faith in God. He lost it all on a bet. A bet between Satan and God. And yet… he didn’t push away God- instead, he rightfully demanded an answer.

God’s answer? ambiguous almost. He takes Job beyond the stars, to see the cosmos and the beauty of the universe and all its inhabitants. We can only assume that God might’ve done this to show Job that the human perspective is limited; but God is unlimited.