“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” – 1 Peter 1:6-7 KJV
Free Will and the Awakening of the Conscience
If God is able to end all suffering at any time then why allow it to happen at all? Does God want people to suffer? Absolutely not! But consequences are necessary for growth.
Listen, God expects us to live a certain way to avoid unnecessary pain, but many choose to ignore His counsel and end up suffering in some way because of their poor choices. Of course, it is right for God to allow them to suffer; for how else could a child discover how bad it is to lie and cheat if no disciplinary action were taken to awaken their conscience to the baneful nature of dishonesty? What incentive would they have to stop lying if there were no consequences for being dishonest? Indeed, it is necessary for people to reap what they sow, because in reaping what they’ve sown they learn right from wrong. Moreover they discover that it’s best to live right before God to avoid hurting themselves and others alike in the future.
Therefore suffering should not be seen as an absolute negative; for invaluable lessons can be gleaned from it. For example; God could allow suffering to take place to open our eyes to the folly of our ways and thereby steer us away from a path that leads to a destructive end (Deuteronomy 8:1-20). Moreover suffering could even help us to become aware of the fact that we are not self-sufficient, but are in need of power beyond ourselves (2Corinthians 1:8-9). That is, it could cause us to develop a greater appreciation for God’s presence in our lives. And then there are times when God allows suffering to happen in order to silence pride, which could have devastating effects if left unchecked (Proverbs 11:2, 16:18).
If people would approach the concept of ‘suffering’ with the right attitude they would learn something positive from it (Proverbs 19:18; Hebrews 12:5-11; Revelation 3:19); and thus they would draw closer to God (James 4:7-10).
Suffering as a Doorway to the Heart
So far, I’ve pointed out that suffering could be the result of the consequences of our own actions. But what about people who are born blind or crippled? What about those who take good care of their health and end up getting cancer or some other type of illness or disease? What about people who are faithful to God and suffer great loss as a result of losing their home or a job? Why do these suffer? What is there to learn from all of this?
There’s something about suffering that people often tend to miss; it brings people together. Thus, it could be seen as a doorway to the heart, giving people an opportunity to share their lives with others, as they comfort and encourage those who are suffering. Furthermore, it helps us to discover what it means to be loved; for in receiving such comfort and encouragement from others an example is set for us to do the same to someone else. And thus we discover what it means to be like Jesus who opened the door of His heart to suffering souls, meeting needs without discrimination (John 13:34; 2Corinthians 1:4-7).
What do you do to show people who are suffering that they are loved? Do you embrace them with love and kindness or do you ignore their cries for help? How do you respond to those who express anger towards God for allowing them to suffer? Are you impatient with them or do you show them empathy? Do you put them down or do you lift them up? Do you love only those who love you or do you reach out to your enemies too?
Becoming an Answer to Prayer
Is it not hypocritical to say to those who are suffering, ‘I’ll pray for you’, while completely throwing away an opportunity to become an answer to prayer? Indeed, it is! I’ve experienced this kind of thing myself on numerous occasions. For example; there was a time when I was facing hardship and expressed a need for help. The people that I shared my burden with had the means to help me, but all they did was say, ‘I’ll pray for you.’ In other words, they shared words of hope with me, but they didn’t translate those words into something practical, even when it was within their means to do so. It was as though they didn’t know that God already knew what was going on in my life.
Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not complaining because they said that they would pray for me. What I have an issue with is the fact that they had the means to help but didn’t. In other words, they could have been an answer to prayer, but they chose to withhold their means from me, preserving them for something other than what they would have been most useful for at that time. Unfortunately, this is something that happens often with many people. Perhaps you’ve even experienced it at some point. If you have then I’m sure you know how badly it hurts.
And then there are those who act without praying and cause more harm to those who are suffering, assuming to know their hearts, so much that they say their suffering is the result of God punishing them for some sin. If you are familiar with the story of Job then you know that his so-called friends tried to pull this one on him. When they should have encouraged Job they only adding insult to injury by attributing his suffering to what they assumed to be God’s anger against him. Yet we know that God didn’t have such feelings towards Job, but declared him to be ‘perfect and upright’ (Job 1:8).
We need to be careful not to assume that just because a person is suffering that it means God is punishing them. Sometimes people suffer for other reasons. In Job’s case his suffering was the result of satanic oppression. Instead of judging hearts we ought to lift people up in prayer, encouraging them to find hope in Christ. That would certainly be more productive!
Faith and Suffering
Sometimes God will allow someone to suffer to increase the faith of others. Perhaps you’ve encountered people with great physical limitations who make it their life’s work to reach out to people with the love of Christ. Such people could very easily complain about their handicaps all day if they wanted to, and even be angry with God for it. But they don’t waste time doing that, nor do they blame God for their suffering. Instead, they use their time to praise the Lord and encourage others by expressing how great a blessing God is and has been to them.
Unfortunately, there are a number of tactless people who would think nothing of telling those who are suffering in this way that they haven’t been healed by God because they lack faith in Jesus Christ. Yet what they fail to realize is that they are the ones who really lack faith, because they are too blind to see how God is using such people to encourage others with similar problems to turn to him. They don’t know Romans 8:28!
One might be inclined to tell such people to ask God for a miracle; but how could it not be a miracle that these people are praising God under such circumstances? And their commitment to reaching out to others in Jesus’ name, while suffering, certainly shows that they understand what it really means to walk by faith. And the irony of it all is that the people who supposedly need a miracle appear to be more satisfied with their lives than the people who are telling them to ask for one! They are a miracle! And God works many miracles through them by using them to help others to get to know Jesus.
Closing Thoughts
So, where do we go from here? Well, at this point we have to make a choice: Will we learn what God desires to teach us through suffering and grow in faith or will we do nothing but complain about it and create more problems for ourselves?
Listen, we will either accomplish little for lack of trust in God or we will accept our circumstances and allow patience to do its good work in and through us to God’s glory (James 1:2-4). Only one choice will prove to be best in the end.
Therefore let God teach you what you need to learn through suffering. Set an example before others of what it means to live by faith in Jesus Christ. And your life will not only be a testimony of the power of God, it will also be a blessing to others.
