by Susan Shannon

Created on: June 26, 2008

Cancer. Financial loss. Family struggles. Disappointments. All can lead to questioning God, asking why does He allow suffering? How does one get through the difficult times? Much has been written on this topic. It can't be easily discussed in a page or two. Books such as "Second Guessing God" (Brian Jones) and "Disappointment with God" (Phillip Yancey) provide in depth insights to the problem of pain and suffering and are well worth your time.

Nearly every believer journeys through a crisis of faith. Whatever the transport, be it extended illness, wayward children, chronic pain, and even death, we can be left with a feeling of abandonment. We wonder, ask questions, and in deep disappointment, when it seems no answer is forthcoming, we assume God has left us.
Do we question because our own personal version of who God is has been found lacking? Are we disappointed and perhaps even angry because God didn't answer our concerns the way we expected? Has God not fit into my box of a neat concise preconceived description of who He is? Can this questioning be a precursor to feeling abandoned?
Isn't it interesting that while some can despair of the tough times and assume God's absence, while others acquire great boldness and peace in facing monumental trials? What makes the difference?
My best friend is a cancer survivor. Only those who have gone through the pain offered by surgeries and treatments can truly identify with what she has suffered. Yet through all the agony, my friend is GRATEFUL for the experience. Would she want to travel that road again? No! But that journey brought her choices. Her choices brought her closer to God, a greater appreciation of life, and a way to bring joy and hope to dozens of others who are traveling that same journey. She chose to not give up. She chose to trust God for whatever happened.
Despair can happen if we focus too much on our selves. Before she died of cancer, my mother's philosophy was not "why me?", but "why NOT me?" Her encompassing thought was "Am I better than anyone else that I shouldn't suffer too? Who would I wish to take my place?" This humble viewpoint helped her to see that cancer is just a part of life and to embrace life to its fullest.
Difficult times are easier to go through if we try to glean a reason. My sister, a cancer survivor, credits her ordeal with bringing her family together in ways that would not have occurred otherwise. Would she go through it again? Yes!
When our teen-aged daughter went through a

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