Put yourself in Job’s place. You’ve lost everything—your family, your home, your health. Your so-called friends surround you, not with comfort, but with accusations. And worst of all, you feel like even God has turned against you. That’s where we find Job in chapter 19. He’s feeling battered, abandoned, and accused. Yet in the middle of his suffering, he delivers one of the most powerful declarations of faith in all of Scripture: “I know that my Redeemer lives.” How does Job go from despair to hope in the span of one chapter? And what does his bold confession teach us about suffering, redemption, and the God who never abandons His people?

The Rev. Robert Smith, pastor emeritus in Ft. Wayne, IN, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Job 19.

Why do the righteous suffer? That’s the burning question at the heart of the book of Job—one of the most profound and challenging books in all of Scripture. From a Lutheran perspective, Job’s story isn’t just about a man enduring unimaginable hardship; it’s about wrestling with God’s will, grappling with well-meaning but misguided advice, and ultimately finding comfort in God’s grace rather than human understanding. As Job’s friends offer simplistic answers, Job demands the truth, and God’s response reminds us of His infinite wisdom and mercy. Through it all, we see glimpses of Christ—the truly innocent sufferer—who redeems our pain and points us to the cross, where suffering meets salvation. Join us as we journey through Job, confronting tough questions about faith, suffering, and God’s mysterious ways with hope grounded in Christ alone.

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Through the mission gifts of people like you, LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces books that are Bible-based, Christ-centered and Reformation-driven. Learn more at lhfmissions.org.

Job 19

Job Replies: My Redeemer Lives

19 Then Job answered and said:

²“How long will you torment me
    and break me in pieces with words?
³These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;
    are you not ashamed to wrong me?
⁴And even if it be true that I have erred,
    my error remains with myself.
⁵If indeed you magnify yourselves against me
    and make my disgrace an argument against me,
⁶know then that God has put me in the wrong
    and closed his net about me.
⁷Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not answered;
    I call for help, but there is no justice.
⁸He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,
    and he has set darkness upon my paths.
⁹He has stripped from me my glory
    and taken the crown from my head.
¹⁰He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone,
    and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.
¹¹He has kindled his wrath against me
    and counts me as his adversary.
¹²His troops come on together;
    they have cast up their siege ramp^[a] against me
    and encamp around my tent.

¹³“He has put my brothers far from me,
    and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.
¹⁴My relatives have failed me,
    my close friends have forgotten me.
¹⁵The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger;
    I have become a foreigner in their eyes.
¹⁶I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;
    I must plead with him with my mouth for...