The Christian Who Suffers (2)

The question should not be, “Why does God allow suffering?” The fact is, He does. He created us free to choose and we cannot expect Him to guarantee the results. Thus Christians will suffer various things largely as the result of our choices or the choices of others.

Even nature teaches this point. Water is a good thing, and necessary to our survival. But stick your head under the water too long and death results. Fire is great for cooking things and to warm us when the cold wind blows. Yet we frequently see on the news someone’s house burning down causing loss of life and possessions. Gravity is useful for many things, namely to keep us from floating off the earth. But stepping off a cliff or being under a falling object can be devastating. We take the good and the bad.

We should never think that God leaves us alone to face the various trials of life. He is with us every step of the way. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 shows the Apostle Paul with a “thorn in the flesh.” Whatever this was, he didn’t want it and prayed many times for it to be taken away but God didn't take it away from him. Yet the Lord was with him through it. “My grace is sufficient for you” the Lord told him Paul learned that he needed the “thorn in the flesh” to keep him humble and to learn trust in God.

Christians learn that it is not what happens TO them. It is what happens IN them. Most of us know of cases where someone was dealing with deadly cancer yet they did so with a smile on their face. There was a quiet inner strength about them that actually made everyone else feel better. Whatever the suffering we experience here can make us better and stronger in the long run - if our outlook is proper.

The only meaningless things in life are the ones we don’t learn from. The sufferer can languish in hopelessness or he can refuse to be a victim of the suffering. God promises victory to those who overcome and so our trust and faith is in Him. WE WILL NOT BE VICTIMS!

When Jesus died on the cross, the whole world wanted Him to remain dead and buried. He didn’t! One day Jesus will bring with Him all who have died in Him (1 Thes. 4:14.) If we have victory over the greatest source of suffering - death - then we know we can overcome all of life’s other problems. So, comfort one another with these words.