Savior Trumps Suffering
We see suffering every day. In the
news when we hear about people losing everything to some disaster or that
someone lost a loved one too soon. We see it in commercials on TV when they
flash images of kids orphaned by AIDS in Africa. We hear it when hospitals try
to raise money for cancer research to save the lives of those with the terrible
disease. We even experience it first hand when we go through struggles with
work, family, friends, and school. Suffering is everywhere and happens to
everybody. We just have to know where to turn when it happens. And that place,
is to God and His word.
The first question
asked by people when they suffer is “why?” People always want to know why it is
that these things happen to them. Well, there is no real answer, except that
God knows and God has a plan through it all, and that plan is only understood
by Him. His plan is beyond our own understanding, so we just have to trust Him
because He knows what He is doing. God even tells Job, who had just lost
everything and suffered a great deal, “Trust me. I know what I am doing.”
There
is another thing people tend to do when they suffer, and that is blame God. And
what they need to realize is that it is never God’s fault, it is Satan’s. When
we give ourselves to God, Satan’s automatic reaction is to attack us to get us
to turn away from God. Satan throws suffering our way, and that is when we have
to show Satan that he can’t bring us down because we have God on our side. We
also have to remember that Satan can’t do anything to us, without God’s
permission. Just like Satan had to ask God for permission to do the things he
did to Job in the Bible. And if he gets God’s permission, it means that God
wants us to look to Him and trust Him even more and that he has a big plan to come
from it. To prove it, I will use examples from my own life and from the Bible.
First
example from the Bible is from John chapter 9. It is in verses 1-12 that there
is the story of the blind man. In verse 2 the disciples ask Jesus if the man
was born blind “because of his own sin or the sin of his parents”. Jesus
replied, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that
the works of God might be displayed in him” (verse 3). Or in other words, the
man was born blind so others could see his faith in Jesus and witness him being
healed by Jesus to bring them closer to God and make them believe. I have a
story of my own that kind of did the same thing for me and my family.
When
I was in the eighth grade, I got a blood clot in my right lung. This was after
I had gone through a time of being depressed about being overweight. So when I
got the blood clot, it made me lose faith in God completely. I honestly thought
that He didn’t care and that He hated me. That was until my mom came to a realization
after I had been in the hospital for several days. She told me to think back on
the events of the day I went into the hospital. So I did, and I came to the
same realization that she did. On the day I went into the hospital, my siblings
and I were supposed to have been in school, my parents were supposed to have
both been at work, and I was supposed to have had choreography practice for the
school musical I was in. But, that day was a snow day, so there was no school
and no after school activities. My mom also ended up getting put on call,
meaning she was home that day, too. On top of that, when my mom got the call
from my doctor that I had to go to the hospital, I was just about to go
sledding with my siblings. If none of that would have happened, I wouldn’t be
alive today. And when I realized that, I realized that God did really love me
and care about me. It also made me and the rest of my family realize how
powerful God is and that he works in mysterious ways. It, in turn, brought us
closer to God just like the story of the blind man being healed.
So,
the lesson from both the story of the blind man, and my blood clot story is
that God sometimes uses suffering to bring people closer to Him and help them
grow more in their faith. So, in a time of suffering, take a look at the big
picture and ask, “Is there something that God is trying to teach me or to show
me to bring me closer to Him?” There just might be, and if not, there are two
more stories I have that give another way God uses suffering.
In
the story of Joseph, God had him suffer at the hand of his brothers so he could
come to power in Egypt and save people’s lives. Genesis 50:20 says, “You
intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this
position so I could save the lives of many people.” This verse is Joseph
reassuring his brothers that he won’t kill them for selling him to
slave-traders because God used this bad situation to bring him to a high
position in Egypt, which allowed him to invite 70 people in his extended family
to come down and weather out a seven-year drought that was scorching Israel.
Again, I had a similar thing happen to me.
It
was my senior year of High School. I had just begun an after school activity I was involved in. The first night was in
January shortly after the first of the year, and I was very excited for my
final year of doing this activity in High School. I went to that first night, just to find out I got left out of my group I was in for this activity. I was very upset, and along with the help of my
friends, I worked to find a way to be able to still participate as much as possible. But
everything I tried to do seemed to be the wrong thing in the eyes of my instructor. It got to the point where my instructor kicked
me out altogether. And after a lot of prayer, I decided to refuse to let that stop me and I participted anyway on the final night I was able to participate. My Instructor ended up assaulting me and my partner,
trying to stop me in a way I never imagined she would. Through the whole thing I kept my trust in
God and I just gave it all to Him and told him to take control and do what He thought was best, and in the end, it came out good. We pressed charges on my instructor for
assaulting me, and she plead out to Disorderly Conduct. She also has been fired
from being an Instructor. So now, no one else can ever be hurt by
her again, and what happened to me will never happen to anyone else.
So,
it is the same story with me and Joseph. God allowed Satan to attack us to
prevent bad things from happening to other people. Also, we both defeated Satan
and kept our trust and faith in God every step of the way. So the other thing
to remember when suffering is that maybe God is using it to prevent something
bad and turn it into good.
Another
thing to remember with suffering is it is an earthly thing and is only
temporary. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says, “Our physical body is becoming older and
weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. We have small troubles
for a while now, but they are helping us gain an eternal glory that is much
greater than the troubles. We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we
cannot see. What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see
will last forever.” In other words, these verses tell us that every day we grow
stronger in our faith and that the struggles we go through will only last a
short time. We have to take our focus off of the visible struggles and think
about the future we have coming to us in heaven that is not visible. Because
that promise to us that as long as we have God in our hearts and have faith in
Him we will end up in heaven with Him, is forever. It actually reminds me of a
song by country artist, Carrie Underwood, called “Temporary Home”. That song
basically says that our home here on Earth is temporary and that we should not
let suffering get to us but, instead, enjoy life. Because our forever home is
in heaven with God and that is where we belong. So basically, don’t let the
suffering even bother you, because it is only temporary. Instead, enjoy life
and spread God’s love to others.
Remember
when I mentioned that we see suffering every single day? Well, do something
about it. Show God’s love to those that are suffering and defeat Satan and make
him let go of the person he is making suffer. Do things like go on mission
trips, donate money or belongings, comfort those who need comforting, volunteer
for different things, and just show people the love that God showed us. In
doing this you are letting go of your own struggles and living your life to the
fullest to glorify God. Suffering does not control you, God controls you.
In
1 Corinthians 10:13 it talks about God not allowing you to ever be tempted
beyond what you can bare and that he will always provide a way out. I also
believe that the same thing goes for suffering. I believe that God will not
allow you to suffer beyond what you can bare. Remember that I said Satan has to
get permission from God to put suffering in your life? Well, I don’t believe
that God would give Satan permission to do it if He knew you couldn’t handle
it. It may feel like you can’t handle it at the time it’s happening, but that
is when you turn to God in prayer and trust Him through it.
That
brings me to my next point. You are never alone when you suffer and God never
intended for you to go through suffering alone. God intended for times of
suffering to be the prime time for you to put your trust in Him and let Him
guide you. Luke 18:27 says, “’No chance at all,’ Jesus said, ‘if you think you
can pull it off by yourself, every chance in the world if you trust God to do
it.’” This verse says that there is no way you can get through suffering on
your own. But, you can get through it if you trust God. The impossible becomes
possible with a faith and trust in God. Just go to God and give it all up to
Him and He will guide you and get you out of it. He has a plan for it all, just
trust Him. Remember that God says in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I
have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope
and a future.” This means that even though you may suffer, God will not harm
you because he has plans for you and knows the things you are needed to do for
Him and for others.
So
all in all, I guess I am trying to tell you to not dwell on your suffering.
Most likely God is just trying to teach you some lessons to help you grow in
your faith, or he is trying to use you in a much bigger way than what you can
see. You just have to trust God, because He knows what He is doing and He has a
plan for it all. Also, God won’t let you go through anything that you can’t
handle and you have to believe that. And remember that what you go through here
on Earth is only temporary and that you have a much better and happier life
awaiting you in heaven. So, while you are still here on earth, live life to the
fullest and to glorify God. Do things to end the suffering you see around you
and make the world a better place. It won’t always be easy, because Satan is
always going to want to stop God’s work, but if you stay true to your faith in
God, He will guide you through every step of the way. Anything is possible with
God. Satan and suffering does NOT rule, God does! Remember that He gave His son
for you, so He loves you and never leaves you. Keep your faith, stay strong,
and trust God, and there is nothing you can’t handle. Our Savior always trumps
suffering because He is bigger than that and when He returns it will all go
away and there will only be happiness in heaven.
