Suffering - Images of A Caring GodNow I am deeply troubled, and I don't know what to say.Should I ask my Father to keep me from this time of suffering?
No! For this is the reason I came into the world-that I might go through this hour of suffering.
John 12:27
Did God create leprechauns and fairies?
In attempting to answer this question, one will most assuredly find themselves in the midst of a lively debate or heated discussion. People become even more animated and passionate with their replies to the question of why those they love have to suffer and often experience a horrible death. In their pain, people often lay the blame at the hands of God.
Everyone, even professing Christians will at one time or another raise one or all of the following questions.
It's not fair!
Where's the justice?
Why do innocent people have to suffer at the hands of evil people?
Why does God allow suffering in our world if he is in control and can prevent it?
How can these be the acts of a just and benevolent God?
I ask youIs it God's desire that we experience so much suffering and pain?
The answer to this question is an irrevocable NO, NOPE, NADA.
God never wanted us nor His creation to have to slowly decay, and die. Nor did He wish for each of us to experience untold suffering and pain.
Yet all of us are born into suffering and we'll struggle daily against physical, emotional and spiritual abuses until the day we leave this often lonely, unfriendly and at times hellish existence.
God's word clearly reveals to us that not one of us is exempt from pain and sorrow and in most instances we are the cause of our own pain and suffering. Like Adam, when we choose to turn a deaf ear to God's voice and willingly disobey Him, we not only harm ourselves, but also those we love. Clearly our actions affect everyone else around us and our world at large.
In our pain, we ask God. Why am I suffering like this? Am I being punished?
It will be necessary for everyone to suffer or experience some degree of pain or prolonged sorrow throughout their lifetime and for some, quite possibly the suffering will last for all of eternity!
Can this statement be even remotely true?
Yes, it is true. All of us will experience suffering through our socialcultural interactions and sadly through religious channels as well. Even old mother nature herself will seem to be our enemy and at odds with us. I hope this article will provide more answers then it does questions and that by the end of it you will come to have an understanding of the momentous role that suffering plays in each of our lives daily.
How we respond to our own pain and the suffering will prepare us for all of eternity.
Suffering - A Definition
To help us understand suffering throughout history, let us consider the fact that the Bible makes reference to over '1,000 verses that involve suffering, pain, sorrow or death either as a direct result of our own actions or indirectly through acts or events beyond our control. A study of the original Greek words, hupecho and hupo, from which our English word, suffer, comes from, will assist us to better understand the relationship of suffering between man, creation and God.
From Strong's Concordance we find the word to 'suffer' was translated from the Greek root words of:
5254. Hupecho hoop-ekh'-o (from 5259) to hold oneself under (i.e. endure with patience): to suffer
5259. Hupo hoop-o'being in an inferior position or condition (being under or beneath).
From looking at these two Greek root words we can begin to see we come under trials and fall sick to natural diseases. or suffer 'sadness, pain and sorrow' from personal loss that there is an aspect where we are expected to endure our troubles with patience or as scripture says, long suffering and humility.
Some people will suffer because God has planned it that way. Keep on doing what is right and continue to entrust your life to the God who created you for He will never fail you. 1 Peter 4:19
Why Believe In A God Who Allows Suffering?
No one has suffered more than our Father in heaven. No one has paid more dearly or grieved so continuously for a humanity that chose suffering and death over life, than the Lord God Almighty. No one has suffered like Christ who paid for our sins with His own crucified body. No one has suffered more than the One who, when He stretched out His arms and died, showed us how much He loved us. When we choose not to listen to God and wilfully sin, we cause not only our own suffering but that of our friends and loved ones as well. We are all guilty and we are the ones responsible for the pain, suffering and death that has been brought into the world. Yet we find it easier to blame everyone else and finally have the audacity to lay the blame at the feet of God. Yet, it is God Himself who suffers and seeks to redeem us from our pain and death.
For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:19
Even though we continually reject God's efforts at reconciliation, He still continues to reach out to us and asks us to trust Him. Yet it's a sad fact that when we hurt, we usually only consider how our pain affects us and how it hinders us from being able to achieve our goals or dreams. We've been taught to believe that every experience that leads to pain and suffering is harmful to us and to be feared. But, what we fail to understand, is that if it were not for our suffering we would be less capable of enjoying and appreciating the joys of life. For it's only as we look at our hardship, suffering and pain filtered through God's eyes that we are able to both receive and give comfort. It's only as we allow God's Love to change our hearts we can empathise, give comfort and show compassion to those around us.
There's a bigger picture, but sometimes we can't see the larger reasons behind our life's circumstances because of the intensity of our pain.
Books Dealing With Suffering
- Hand Me Another Brick - Charles Swindoll has devoted over 40 years his life to the practical communication and application of God's Word and seeing lives transformed by God's grace.
For These Tough Times - Max Lucado preacher and well known author of non-fiction Christian books and children stories.
- Making Sense Out Of Suffering - Peter Kreeft Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy at Boston College and at King's College in New York City. A renowned speaker and an author of over 45 books.
- Job: Led By Suffering To The Heart Of God - Eugene Peterson was Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia until retiring in 2006. He is best known for The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language.
- When God Says No - Daniel Lanahan Using the death of his own brother aged twenty-five from cancer, Father Lanahan offers thoughts on why God allows suffering, the meaning of prayer, the mystery of the universe, the death and resurrection of Jesus, the death of a loved one, and the promise of salvation.
JobA Case Study: The most famous sufferer of all time.
How did Job handle his prolonged suffering?
Job's Good Life:
There was a man named Job, living in the land of Uz, who worshiped God and was faithful to Him. He was a good man, careful not to do anything evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, one thousand head of cattle, and five hundred donkeys. He also had a large number of servants and was the richest man in the East. Job's sons used to take turns giving a feast, to which all the others would come, and they always invited their three sisters to join them. The morning after each feast, Job would get up early and offer sacrifices for each of his children in order to purify them. He always did this because he thought that one of them might have sinned by insulting God unintentionally.
Satan's accusation of Job:
The day came for the heavenly beings to appear before the LORD. Satan was there among them. The LORD asked him, "What have you been doing?" Satan answered, "I have been walking here and there, roaming around the earth." "Did you notice my servant Job?" the LORD asked. "There is no one on earth as faithful and good as he is. He worships me and is careful not to do anything evil." Satan replied, "Would Job worship you if he got nothing out of it? You have always protected him and his family and everything he owns. You bless everything he does, and you have given him enough cattle to fill the whole country. But now suppose you take away everything he has-he will curse you to your face.
All right," the LORD said to Satan, "everything he has is in your power, but you must not hurt Job himself." So Satan left. Job 1: 1-12
God: No Apology Offered
What did Job conclude from his sufferings?
According to the Bible, Job lost his family to "a mighty wind," his wealth to war and fire, and his health to painful boils. Through it all, God never told Job why it was happening. As Job endured the accusations of his friends, heaven remained silent. When God finally did speak, He did not reveal that His archenemy Satan had challenged Job's motives for serving God. Neither did the Lord apologize for allowing Satan to test Job's devotion to God. Instead, God talked about mountain goats giving birth, young lions on the hunt, and ravens in the nest. He cited the behaviour of the ostrich, the strength of the ox, and the stride of the horse. He cited the wonders of the heavens, the marvels of the sea, and the cycle of the seasons.
Job was left to conclude that if God had the power and wisdom to create this physical universe, there was reason to trust that same God in times of suffering.
Job: Left In the Dark?
This may be the 'central message' of the book of Job.
In the beginning, Job faces unimaginable loss, a series of catastrophes that left him scratching his sores on the ash heap, with a wife urging him to curse God and die. The largest part of the book is a dialogue with his friends over why these things have happened. Here's the most amazing fact. Job never finds out why God chose him for such suffering. His central question remains unanswered. He apparently never finds out about Satan's part in the whole scheme. Though Job remains left in the dark by the end of the book he at last bows before the Lord and acknowledges God's sovereignty.
I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. (Job 42:2 NLT)
Stories of Hurting People (A sample reading)
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. Matthew 12:20 NIV
Is there anything more frail than a bruised reed? Look at the bruised reed at the water's edge. A once slender and tall stalk of sturdy river grass, it is now bowed and bent. Are you a bruised reed? Was it so long ago that you stood so tall, so proud? You were upright and sturdy, nourished by the waters and rooted in the riverbed of confidence.
Then something happened. You were bruised ...
by harsh words by a friend's anger
by a spouse's betrayal
by your own failure
by religion's rigidity
And you were wounded, bent ever so slightly. Your hollow reed, once erect, now stooped, and hidden in the bulrush.
He Still Moves Stones! by: Max Lucado
Why does the Bible contain so many stories of hurting people? Though their situations vary, their conditions don't. They have nowhere to turn. Yet before their eyes stands a never-say-die Galilean who majors in stepping in when everyone else steps out. Max Lucado reminds us that the purpose of these portraits isn't to tell us what Jesus did-but rather to remind us what Jesus still does.
When All You Have Left is Jesus
About.COM: Christianity
Don't you wish Christianity could make you exempt from suffering?
Coping Through Suffering and Sorrow as a Christian
I highly recommend this link to all who are struggling with 'real life' issues. Here you will find Christian articles, support groups and additional links to other sites. Suffering and sorrow are a part of life. Knowing this, however, doesn't make it any easier to cope when you find yourself in the midst of the deepest, darkest trials of faith.
When all we have left is Jesus, we still have everything we need. If you are suffering to the point of despair, let these words of encouragement help you hang on to your faith. Why not review this well written article by:
Jack Zavada
Is your glass half full?
Do you choose to look at life from the bottom-up or the top-down? From the top down means to start with God and then go to the problems of life. From the bottom up means to start with my problems and then work upwards to God. Most of us instinctively start from the bottom and go up if we can. What difference does it make? Only all the difference in the world. Maybe the difference between keeping your faith and losing it. The difference between joy and bitterness, between self-pity and victorious faith.
We need to ask ourselves this question. Am I willing to believe that God knows what He's doing in my life when I don't have a clue? The fact is that if you start with you, you'll end with you and be no better off. If you start with God, you've started in the only possible place to find any lasting answers and the only pace were real healing can occur.
Good films are timeless: Are you looking for a miracle?
These two movies with the same title were released to DVD several years apart (2005 and 2008) in the Christmas season. I highly recommend these movies.
Noelle (2008) - A cold, impatient Catholic priest arrives in a tiny fishing village the week before Christmas to do what he does best: shut down a dying parish. But things take an unexpected turn as he becomes entangled in the various lives of the village's eccentric characters, including their beautiful librarian, the childlike priest he is displacing, and the magical experience of Mrs. Worthington's legendary Christmas Party, where everyone is welcome and anything is possible.
Noel (2005) - Starring: Susan Sarandon, Penelope Cruz, Paul Walker, Robin Williams and John Doman. The movie is a powerful story about the interactions between five lonely strangers living in New York City. On this Christmas eve they all are very much in need of a miracle.
Reflections on Suffering: Reasons To Believe In A God Who Allows Suffering (RBC Ministries)
Suffering Comes With The Freedom To Choose
Loving parents long to protect their children from unnecessary pain. But wise parents know the danger of over-protection. They know that the freedom to choose is at the heart of what it means to be human, and that a world without choice would be worse than a world without pain. Worse yet would be a world populated by people who could make wrong choices without feeling any pain. No one is more dangerous than the liar, thief, or killer who doesn't feel the harm he is doing to himself and to others. (Genesis 2:15-17)
Suffering Reveals What Is In Our Hearts
Suffering often occurs at the hand of others. But it has a way of revealing what is in our own hearts. Capacities for love, mercy, anger, envy, and pride can lie dormant until awakened by circumstances. Strength and weakness of heart is found not when everything is going our way but when flames of suffering and temptation test the mettle of our character. As gold and silver are refined by fire, and as coal needs time and pressure to become a diamond, the human heart is revealed and developed by enduring the pressure and heat of time and circumstance. Strength of character is best shown in the presence of human pain and suffering.
(Job 42:1-17; Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-5; 1 Peter 1:6-8)
Suffering Takes Us To The Edge Of Eternity
If death is the end of everything, then a life filled with suffering isn't fair. But if the end of this life brings us to the threshold of eternity, then the most fortunate people in the universe are those who discover, through suffering, that this life is not all we have to live for. Those who find themselves and their eternal God through suffering have not wasted their pain. They have let their poverty, grief, and hunger drive them to the Lord of eternity. They are the ones who will discover to their own unending joy why Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven". (Matthew 5:1-12; Romans 8:18-19)
Pain Loosens Our Grip On This Life
In time, our work and our opinions are sought less and less. Our bodies become increasingly worse for the wear. Gradually they succumb to inevitable obsolescence. Joints stiffen and ache. Eyes grow dim. Digestion slows. Sleep becomes difficult. Problems loom larger and larger while options narrow. Yet, if death is not the end but the threshold of a new day, then the curse of old age is also a blessing. Each new pain makes this world less inviting and the next life more appealing. In its own way, pain paves the way for a graceful departure. ( Ecclesiastes 12:1-14)
God's Comfort Is Greater Than Our Suffering
The apostle Paul pleaded with the Lord to take away an unidentified source of suffering. But the Lord declined saying, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." "Therefore," said Paul, "most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong". Paul learned that he would rather be with Christ in suffering than without Christ in good health and pleasant circumstances. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
God Can Turn Suffering Around For Our Good
This truth is best seen in the many examples of the Bible. Through Job's suffering we see a man who not only came to a deeper understanding of God but who also became a source of encouragement for people in every generation to follow. Through the rejection, betrayal, enslavement, and wrongful imprisonment of a man named Joseph, we see someone who eventually was able to say to those who had hurt him, "You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good" ( Genesis 50:20). When everything in us screams at the heavens for allowing suffering, we have reason to look at the eternal outcome and joy of Jesus who in His own suffering on an executioner's cross cried, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" ( Matthew 27:46)
What Faith Means To Me
Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.
This quote from Hebrew 11:1 clearly states that faith is a living, bold trust in God's grace. Faith is the assurance that God is actively working in our lives for our eventual good. Our faith grows and matures in direct proportion to our knowledge and understanding of the will of God as seen in the life of his son Jesus Christ. Through faith the love of God for all mankind is revealed in the death of Christ on the cross and our hope is founded upon Christ's resurrection from the grave. Faith is the belief that it is only through Jesus Christ's willing sacrifice were we have forgiveness of sins and peace with God.
Faith is evident in our lives when we, like Abraham, take that first step of obedience. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Hebrews 11:6
But I will hope continually. Psalm 71:14
My journey to faith God's search for a lost soul.
A destination is reached by taking the first step...
In the early 70's while attending London Teachers' College, I was presented with an opportunity to explore the Bible with other young people my age within a small group setting. These studies were hosted by Inter-varsity Christian Fellowship which was located just off campus at the University of Western Ontario. After studying the scriptures for many months, I came to realize God had been speaking to mankind for thousands of years. First, through chosen leaders, judges, and kings. Then later by His prophets and then some 2,000 years ago God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to be his spokesperson. It soon became apparent to me that I would have to make some kind of decision about the claim of this man, Jesus Christ. His statements about man and our relationship with God were not only at odds with established religious practices but were revolutionary and continued to influence our moral, ethical and spiritual lives to this very day.
My journey towards a personal relationship with God was aided by the appearing on the scene of two young people from a Toronto Christian commune. I learned that this Christian community went about ministering daily to the needs of society's outcasts. They actively sought out the lost, lonely, sick, disadvantaged and many of those burdened with addictions. This was an aspect of Christian service and ministry that I was most interested in learning more about.
After completing Teachers' College I too became active in Christian service in a Toronto commune in the Sheppard and Weston area. While employed full-time, I joined the group in their labours, ministering to whoever had a need whether it was run-away youths, drug addicts, alcoholics, prostitutes, street people or draft dodgers. These outcasts of society, regardless of their circumstances, were offered the basic necessities of life, the hand of friendship and indirectly the love of God through Christ. These early experiences shaped my life of faith in God and allowed me to circumvent many trials even into these present years of retirement.
It has only been through my own personal suffering that I began to get a glimpse of how deeply God suffered along side of me and that through my our own suffering I began to understand God who revealed himself in the suffering of Christ on the cross.
God Speaks To Us Through The Lives of Others
True Life Stories In Film...
- Shall We Dance
A romantic comedy where a bored, overworked Estate Lawyer, upon first sight of a beautiful instructor, signs up for ballroom dancing lessons.
- The Pursuit of Happiness
A true story about a struggling salesman who takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional endeavor.
- The Music Within
The true story of Richard Pimentel, a brilliant public speaker with a troubled past, who returns from Vietnam severely hearing -impaired and finds a new purpose in his landmark efforts on the behalf of Americans with disabilities
- Walk The Line
A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.
- Kinky Boots
A drag queen comes to the rescue of a man who, after inheriting his father's shoe factory, needs to diversify his product if he wants to keep the business afloat.
In conclusion
Sometimes it is not in the answers where we find the most peace, but rather it's our questions that bring us the most comfort. For invariably, our questions will bring us face to face with God at the foot of the cross. There we'll find the Prince of Peace who faithfully holds out His pierced hands to a fellow sufferer. It's true that we do not understand the WHY' but we do know WHO walks beside us and for me, that is ENOUGH.
Remember
Now, all we can see of God is like a cloudy picture in a mirror. Later we will see Him face to face. We don't know everything, but then we will, just as God completely understands us. For now there are faith, hope, and love. But of these three, the greatest is love.
1 Corinthians 13:12-13
God may not yet wipe our tears away, but God does make our tears His own.v