God & our suffering
This week I’ve come to understand more about God’s stance within our suffering.
God hates our suffering. His original design for humanity definitely did not include suffering. But due to the fall of man that’s what has come into the world.
So if God hates our suffering why doesn’t he stop it? Honestly I think that’s a question that the human race has asked foreeeeeeever and I’m not about to sit here and say I’m going to be the one who can answer it.
But I have learnt this: God uses our pain and brokenness to help others. How can we help those who are broken without knowing and understanding exactly what it is they’re going through? There is SO much strength in our weakness.
In a time of suffering whether it be now or in the future, do not turn and decide that God can’t be real or who he says he is because you are suffering. Instead press into him, rely on him MORE. God promises that if we draw close he will draw close. God cares about your life even more than you do, we have to learn to trust him and trust that he is doing something so much bigger in the midst of our suffering. When God uses us in our weakness it allows us to trust him more and humbles us into not thinking we can do it all ourselves, because we can’t.
Often those that God has the most radical plans for, go through the most suffering. Take David for example. David’s destiny was to be the king of Israel. But before he did God had to break him down in order to build him up again as a person fit to rule Israel. David loved God from the start and was always devoted to him. However he was tested for 15 years by God!! Most of the time he was on the run from King Saul who was looking to kill him. Alone the entire time. Most of us will not undergo a trial period like David’s. But we can definitely all relate to his suffering in one way or another. The brokenness of what happens to us in life allows God to release us in a way he never would have been able to do without it. Through this release we grow, he wants us to grow. Try to think of a time you have endured suffering before (that is now over) and think of the new personality traits you acquired or new direction in life you chose to take or people you have now been able to relate to or help. If you haven’t seen any of that yet, don’t be discouraged. Remember David had to wait 15 years just to get out of that period of suffering and I’m sure it took him even longer to reap the benefits.
What I am trying to learn now is how to live just by trusting and loving God. We don’t need to understand what he’s doing we just trust and obey. This takes away a lot of stress around suffering, for me at least, because i trust God has a plan I don’t need to worry about it I just need to do my part by obeying him and by holding on tight for the ride. Never forget that God created you with so much care and has a love for us that is completely incomprehensible, he is not a cold hearted God. I guarantee his plan for you is better than any plan you could ever imagine for yourself. Trust in him!
-Lea