Consider what Job (from the bible) was forced to endure and the reasons he was put through these trials? I'm doing an essay and one of the...

The book of Job is a book of magnificent poetry designed
to teach a moral lesson. Job's trials resulted from a conversation between God and
Satan. The name Satan means "accuser." Satan suggested that Job was only loyal to God
because he was wealthy. God agreed to let Satan take everything away from Job; but he
still remained faithful. Satan then suggested that because Job had his health, he would
remain faithful. At that point, he was stricken with
boils.

Job's friends who came to comfort him insisted that
Job had done something wrong, and that his suffering was punishment for his sin. Job,
insisted he had done nothing wrong, and at one point tells his friends, "miserable
comforters are you all."  Later, God appears to Job and challenges him for questioning
God's judgment.

Bottom line, Job teaches that hard times
and difficulties come to everyone, the good and the bad. It is not necessarily
retribution for sin. In the end, Job remains faithful and receives more than he ever had
in the beginning. A good source you might consider is Reuben Kessler's When
Bad Things Happen to Good People.