|
I know that many
people in our world today suffer greatly with all manners of
disease, persecution, distress, pain or whatever it may be and at
times it causes them much frustration and anguish. I would like to
take this time to try to answer the question of "why
suffering?" First, may I encourage anyone who is in the midst
of a trial or painful situation to remember to stay strong and
encouraged in the Lord and that our rest and help is in God. He is
always there for us. When men fail (and they will), once thing is
an absolute certainty, God will never fail! We must turn to Him
and rest and trust in Him. He is perfect and His plan is perfect.
"Let your conversation be
without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have:
for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So
that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will
not fear what man shall do unto me." (Hebrews 13:5-6)
Now as far as why people suffer?
It is a very good question. First, let me start by saying that
part of the problem is that we have sadly been fed a lot of lies
and false assumptions in our society here in America as well as
around the world. You see we have been taught that man is
primarily and overall good, with only a few bad people which we
are told is the exception. Well, God says quite the opposite and
He is truth and His Word is truth.
"God forbid:
yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That
thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome
when thou art judged."(Romans 3:4)
What does God's Word say about
the condition of ALL men:
"As it is
written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is
none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become
unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their
throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used
deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is
full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed
blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of
peace have they not known:"(Romans 3:10-17)
You see nobody is good or
innocent. We are all guilty.
So where do these lies that we
have been indoctrinated with (Psycho- babble as I like to call
them) come from:
"Ye are of your father
the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a
murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because
there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of
his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."
(John 8:44)
Now, where did the evil come from
and why do men suffer? Because of the disobedience and sin of Adam
we live in a fallen world with death and suffering. He
listened to satan in turn by listening to Eve and not God.
"And unto Adam he said,
Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast
eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt
not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt
thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles
shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the
field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou
return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust
thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."(Genesis 3:17-19)
"Wherefore, as by one
man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death
passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
(For until the
law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no
law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them
that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression,
who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence,
so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many
be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which
is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as
it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by
one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto
justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one;
much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of
righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus
Christ.)"(Romans 5:12-17)
Now having said all that we know
that no one is exempt from suffering. What we must NEVER do is
question God or say that He is unjust or unfair. God forbid. He IS
just, holy, righteous, and His ways are perfect. He is the
omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent One True Living God and
who are we to argue.
"For we know
him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will
recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his
people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
God." (Hebrews 10:30-31)
Remember God's ways are not our
ways. They obviously are much better. How can we the creation tell
the Almighty Creator what our feeble minds think is right or
wrong. God does not make a mistake nor does He every error.
Remember God is the Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end and
He is omniscient which means He is all knowing. He knows what is
best for us at all times and leads us in the direction to help us
grow in Him. Even though we may not like suffering and persecution
the fact is that it purifies our lives and should draw us closer
to God.
"Help us, O
God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and
purge away our sins, for thy name's sake."(Psalms 79:9)
"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 1:7)
"And he said
unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is
made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather
glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon
me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in
necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for
when I am weak, then am I strong."(2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
"And we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them who
are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)
One thing to keep in mind
regarding sin and rebellion is the fact that we are all in it and
if we are honest with ourselves we will have to admit that even
children are rebellious and are disobedient at a very young age.
Let us look at God's Word and the commands to children:
"Honour thy father and
thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord
thy God giveth thee."(Exodus 20:12)
"Children, obey your
parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the
Lord." (Colossians 3:20)
"Children, obey your
parents in the Lord: for this is right."(Ephesians 6:1)
If being truthful, we know that
children do disobey their parents, are non-compliant with parents
requests on many occasions, and of course they do tell lies at a
very young age. So right there we simply have rebellion and there
is no other way to say it. For example, when a 3 or 4 year-old
child gets caught doing something they are not supposed to, what
is generally their response? Is it not to tell a lie to get out of
trouble? Now where did they learn that response? Surely they were not
taught it by parents I should hope, but no rather it came
"natural" to them because man is fallen and sinful.
I think the
best way to answer the question of why suffering is to look at the
innocence and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. He willingly left
the glory of heaven to come and live amongst us and all of the
world's filthiness and sin. He lived a perfect and sinless life,
never transgressing the law one time. Being completely innocent,
He took scourging, beating, being ridiculed, being spit upon, and
suffered the most painful, horrendous form of death known to man,
and He did this all for us. Not to mention the spiritual agony of
taking the sins of the entire world upon Himself, a pain that our
minds can not even comprehend. Again, He willingly out of love,
did this for us. He paid the penalty we could not pay, and made
provision for those that repent of their sin and turn to Him and
trust in Him as Lord and Savior to be able to live with Him in
glory for all eternity. That is the most incredible LOVE! It is
100% PURE love!
"Greater love hath no man
than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my
friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."(John 15:13-14)
"But God commendeth his
love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us." (Romans 5:8)
"For he hath made him to
be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him."(2 Corinthians 5:21)
"He that loveth not
knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested
the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only
begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein
is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his
Son to be the propitiation for our sins.(1 John 4:8-10)
Did he deserve to go to the cross
or do we deserve His precious sacrifice? The answer is a
resounding NO. He willingly died for us to allow us to escape an
eternity in the lake of fire for those that believe in Him and
receive Him as Savior and Lord of their life. Doesn't that just
want to make you give eternal thanks and praise to His Holy
Precious Name and to sing and shout Hallelujah! He is worthy!!!
I think what would really help us
is if we began to live our lives from an eternal perspective and
not get so caught up in the here and now. I believe if we start to
do this it will really change our lives and give us a new
perspective on how we live becuase our life here is really about
loving God first with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and
loving and caring for the souls of men. Because the reality is
that our time here is very short and it is where we will spend
eternity that really matters and counts.
"Whereas ye know not what
shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a
vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."(James
4:14)
I will illustrate this point in
this way. There are only two gates and two ways in which we can
lead our lives. Sadly, most will choose the wide gate and broad
way which leads to destruction (an eternity in the lake of fire)
and only a few will find and choose the straight gate and narrow
way which leads to glorious life eternal with God.
"Enter ye in at the
strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that
leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate,
and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be
that find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)
For the children of God that
repent and believe on and receive Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior,
they will live in eternal joy with God and there will be no more
sorrow or suffering. HALLELUJAH!!!
"And God shall wipe away
all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:
for the former things are passed away." (Revelation 21:4)
Now for the children of the devil
that reject God's gift of salvation through His glorious Son the
Lord Jesus Christ, all suffering and sorrow felt in this brief
life will pale in comparison to the pain, loneliness, and torment
of an eternity separated from God in the lake of fire.
"And the third angel
followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the
beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in
his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God,
which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his
indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in
the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And
the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and
they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his
image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his
name."(Revelation 14:9-11)
We must choose who we will serve
and this is the most important decision of our entire life, one
that reaches for all eternity. This is why I say it is so
important to look at our lives and live our lives from an eternal
perspective for this is what really matters.
One other thing I would like to
mention about suffering is that many people tragically and very
mistakenly try to blame God, shake their fists in anger at Him, or
lose their faith when they or someone they love is seriously hurt.
How very, very wrong, scary and eternally dangerous this is. As
much as we may hurt at the time this is the not the response we
should take. We must NEVER turn our back on God. First of all,
understand that God does not actively inflict people with
diseases, cause someone to be physically assaulted, or make them
get in car accident etc. So where does all of this come from.
Once again it is
back to the fact that we live in a fallen and sin filled world
as well as the fact that as my friend's grandfather called him
"ole' smutty face" (the devil) is seeking whom he can devour."
"Be sober,
be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,
walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"(1 Peter 5:8)
"The thief cometh not,
but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they
might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly." (John 10:10)
Could God root up the wicked
sinners of this world and the devil and his minions right this
very moment and cast them into the furnace of fire forevermore
thus ending all the trouble and suffering now. Of course He could,
but you see and this is the important part to remember, it's all
about God's love, patience, longsuffering, and mercy in desiring
that none should perish but rather that all would come to
repentance. Like we discussed before it's about the souls of men
and life from an eternal perspective, and where they will spend
eternity. You see it means that more people are going to come to a
saving knowledge of Christ Jesus and become children of God. God
in His wonderful mercy and longsuffering allows the world to
continue as more souls will be saved, but please don't
misunderstand there does come a day when all are saved that are
going to be saved and then the end will come. This is why today is
day of salvation because we don't know when that time is, only God
knows, and there absolutely are no second chances.
"Another parable put he
forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a
man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his
enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But
when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then
appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came
and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field?
from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath
done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go
and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the
tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together
until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the
reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in
bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."
(Matthew 13:24-30)
Families really need to spend
time in God's Word and in prayer at all times and not just when
there is trouble. This is how we grow in the Lord and in our
relationship with Him so that when trouble comes we are solidly
grounded on the rock Christ Jesus. This is tremendously important
and must be a priority. Really a persons children and family is
their first ministry.
"But if any provide not
for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath
denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."(1 Timothy
5:8)
Of course the above verse of
scripture is referring to providing spiritually as well as
financially for ones family and I believe even more so spiritually
because God is obviously more concerned with the spiritual
condition of people than the financial.
People need to not just say that
God is first and most important in their life, but they must show
it in their actions.
"Ye are the
light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a
candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew
5:14-16)
Yes, suffering will come but we
can sing "Hallelujah anyhow" because God has dealt
bountifully with us.
"I will sing unto the
Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me." (Psalms
13:6)
We must receive the Lord Jesus
Christ with childlike faith and rest and trust in Him!
I of course don't have all the
answers but, I hope this has been helpful and a blessing to you.
All thanks and praise to God for He and He alone is worthy!
Your caring friend in Christ,
Rob
|