First of all, will becoming a Christian lessen one’s suffering? Not necessarily. Becoming a Christian could increase it, particularly if one is doing great work for the Kingdom; work that Satan desparately wants to impede or destroy. The wonderful thing about being a Christian with respect to suffering is that our faith provide rules of right living, changes in one's heart and mind, and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives to help us avoid the kind of suffering brought on by sin (Exodus 20:3-17, Galatians 5:22-26). The Holy Spirit provides comfort and peace through suffering (Philippians 4:6-9). It will enable one to become a better person, refined by suffering (Isaiah 48:10). And it will provide the assurance that one doesn’t have to have the answers to matters of suffering (trust in the Lord), because God is on the throne, He loves mankind dearly, and He has in store for his children something so wonderful that today’s suffering, no matter how severe, will diminish to nothingness when they come into God’s presence.
The next time you are suffering, find hope in these passages: “Who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (I Peter 1:5-7). “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (I Corinthians 2:9 from Isaiah 64:4)
What Biblical passages do you turn to for comfort and hope in the midst of suffering. (There are many more than I have mentioned here!)
One other complication on suffering to consider. God has also placed other created beings with us in this little time capsule that seem to be invested in our suffering. For me, this adds a new light from a different angle that spreads separate shadows on the consequences of suffering. These beings use our own weaknesses against us to influence our actions, attempt to thwart God’s plans, and create suffering that effects generations. We get some hints in the Bible of how we are seen and used by God in his relation to those beings. It is God that first brings up Job to Satan as a pure and upright man which begins Job’s trials. Perhaps the lessons to be taught were not just for Job and for us, but for Satan himself. Paul hints in 1 Corinthians (11:10) that how we behave is witnessed and impacts the angels. A little thought on this expands the concept of “God’s Grand Design” even further. There are layers upon layers of complexity which we cannot even begin to grasp.
ReplyDelete“Where were you when I laid out the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4)