When Lazarus died, this gave Jesus the opportunity to encourage faith. All too often we enthusiastically start up a path of obedience that we know calls for growth but are surprised by the challenge of the curve. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. God sovereignly uses circumstances to teach powerful lessons or accomplish His will. But, Jesus needed to remind them that, although suffering was a part of life, it would not define them. Suffering was a common part of first-century Mediterranean life. Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:22). The timeshare salesman made a good bit of sense. David felt this struggle when he asked, “How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1). : A New Way to Think About the Question by Norman L. Geisler; Evil and the Justice of God by N.T. Also, send me the Evangelical Newsletter. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, You can read more about our coming move to Atlanta here. But, we are assured that sorrow is not the end of the story. If you are suffering today I’m not going to insult or belittle your pain by pretending to take it away in the few minutes it takes you to read this blog article – As if your life were a sitcom where God will make everything alright in 25 minutes, excluding commercials. The Christ-follower suffers for Jesus’ sake, is conformed to His image, places all hope in Him—trusting that all things work together for His purposes— and enters into the freedom and glory of Sonship for all eternity (Romans 8:18-30). Jesus said His people would follow in His footsteps, and that would include suffering . For an overview see God, Freedom and Evil by Alvin Plantinga; If God, Why Evil? It’s just not true. I’ve embarked on a pretty significant life relocation as I follow God’s call. … but even if he doesn’t … we will never bow down to you!” Another way of saying, You may be the most powerful person in Babylon, but you don’t get to write the end to our story. They can trust God with their anger when they are sinned against, and learn to forgive (Romans 12:19; Colossians 3:13). The church is meant to be a refuge for those who hurt, a place where those who suffer in various struggles can come for help. But lessons learned in suffering can equip a believer for future ministry (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Moses – his back up against the raging Red Sea, the most powerful army on the face of the earth bearing down on him, and his own people ready to lynch him for leading them into certain death – rose to his feet, stretched his staff over the raging sea and told the people: Stand back and watch the delivering power of the God of the universe. Nice. Paul – lying in a Roman prison, his character questioned by certain Jerusalem Christians, and facing almost certain death at the hands of the most powerful man on the face of the earth – wrote: I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. Some things are supposed to be difficult in God’s universe. Suffering was a common part of first-century Mediterranean life. Evil and suffering seem impossible to comprehend. Jesus in the flesh experienced weariness and other human weakness. If I didn’t tell them about the briars that awaited them, I guarantee that all but one or two would quit after the first few pricks in their hands. And I confess that if I were following the easy route, I wouldn’t be doing any of it. Responses to suffering are deeply personal and evoke strong emotions, but the Bible offers examples that reveal not only the mystery of human suffering but God’s eternal perspective. In fact, in some ways, the Hebrew people had been defined by it for more than 400 years. The ultimate answer to suffering was at the cross when Jesus declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30). He said, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” (John 11:40). And all you’ve got to say is remember that I told you it was going to happen? In other words, Pharoah’s powerful army is not the end of our story. There are no quick fixes. They would have other children, but there would always be this hole in their hearts, an empty space that would never completely go away. And then at the end of his writing, he made two very important observations: The wise person stands in the difficult moments and takes a step back and says, there’s something that God wants to do with my pain. I’m not going to insult or belittle your pain by pretending that I can take it away in a lousy 1000-word blog article. And I will rest in Him. And that gives me great comfort. Research Shows Benefits of a Classical... Is Everyone Clear About Why Your Business Exists? But it’s Jesus, Son of God. They would assume that since it wasn’t easy, something must be wrong. They would assume that if I had known how hard it was going to be to obey, I wouldn’t have told them. Sounds good. Let's look at 10 things the Bible says about suffering and how we should respond so that our faith can be built. Satan still comes to believers in times of uncertainty or suffering, tempting them to doubt God. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Teach from Love: Sam Sorbo Delivers Superb School... One Proven Way to Control Technology Overload. Hosea suffered as a demonstration of God’s love (Hosea 3:1). The problem of suffering is challenging, and people often wonder how a kind, loving God can allow suffering. 21:4). There is an entire branch of theology devoted to studying this one conundrum – if God is good, where did evil come from? There is something powerful that God wants to teach me. When Christians suffer, people are watching, and Christians’ intent in times of suffering should be to honor God. There is something good that God wants to bring out of my suffering. In other cases, natural consequences await our behaviors. There have been many times I’ve encountered difficulty and questioned whether or not God knew about it when He asked me to obey. Some will even kill us and think they’re doing you a favor.