"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." --C. S. Lewis
"For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone" (Lam. 3:33, NIV).
"... Who dares to ask, 'What are you doing?'" (Job 9:12, NLT).
"For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone" (Lam. 3:33, NIV).
"... Who dares to ask, 'What are you doing?'" (Job 9:12, NLT).
"...He speaks to them in their affliction," (cf. Job 36:15, NIV).
"We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," (cf. Acts 14:22, NIV).
"Don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through. ... Instead, be very glad--for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering" (1 Peter 4:12-13, NLT).
"Now I rejoice i what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's affliction, for the sake of his body, which is the church" (Col. 1:24, NIV).
"For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him" (Phil. 1:29, NIV).
"Don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through. ... Instead, be very glad--for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering" (1 Peter 4:12-13, NLT).
"Now I rejoice i what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's affliction, for the sake of his body, which is the church" (Col. 1:24, NIV).
"For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him" (Phil. 1:29, NIV).
NOTE: NO RELIGION OR PERSON HAS THE FULL ANSWER TO SUFFERING, BUT CHRIST GIVES MEANING IT BECAUSE HE SUFFERED AND WAS STILL VICTORIOUS AND CAN RELATE TO US IN OUR SUFFERING BECAUSE OF IT; HE LEARNED OBEDIENCE BY WHAT HE SUFFERED (CF. HEB. 5:8). TRUE FAITH ENDURES EVEN WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING WHY. WHAT A RELIGION SAYS ABOUT SUFFERING IT CANNOT EXPLAIN IS WORTH BELIEVING.
Christianity, as a religion, alone offers a reason for suffering besides it being karma or deserved from sin or wrongdoing. We see temporal events in light of eternity and everything strikes a chord to vibrate into the next life. No religion offers a complete and definitive reason for it though, but Christianity helps us endure it; if man has a reason for his suffering, he is able to while it away. Realistically speaking, God has His reasons we cannot fully know, for His thoughts are infinitely higher than ours. God is too deep to explain Himself, too kind to be cruel, and too wise to make a mistake. The challenge is to keep the faith in spite of our suffering and trial and to learn from it, as we chalk it up to experience in the school of hard knocks. As Paul said in his swan song, 2 Timothy, v. 4:7, KJV, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." In our suffering, we must never ask where God is, but where He isn't. "He is there, and He is not silent," according to Francis Schaeffer.
In part, our suffering's purpose is so that we can "console" others in their affliction and suffering and relate to them (cf. 2 Cor. 1:4). We are not called to be stoics who think that the ultimate purpose in life is to endure (literally grin and bear it) and accept the bad times and our so-called fate, not doing anything about it. God can help us live above and beyond our circumstances. We are not to be defined by them or limited in our ability to do God's will and achieve our calling. Instead, we ought to be unfazed like Paul and say, "But none of these things move me" (cf. Acts 20:24).
We must acknowledge though, that all trials are Father-filtered and God has allowed them, even if Satan is doing the harm, and God will bring about His glory in the end--behind every cloud, there's a silver lining. There is a chance to sympathize and with and encourage the bereaved or tested, when we can say that we've been there and done that. This is the open door to sympathizing with our fellow man and not turning a deaf ear to his predicament, for it could happen to us--no one is immune from suffering and it comes with the territory of being saved. Job's comforters made the mistake of having the presupposition that all suffering is caused by sin and they thought he was only getting half of what he deserved and ought to repent. God didn't apologize nor offer reasons for his suffering, but showed His face to him, and instead of answering "why?" God answered "who?" Who are we to question God? God doesn't owe us an explanation!
In the final analysis, God never promised us a bed of roses and we signed up for this upon salvation. Reality 101 is realizing that character comes from affliction! No believer gets to skate through life trouble-free. Even Christ didn't exempt Himself from suffering and suffered more than we will; our crosses to bear pale in comparison! Sometimes we aren't aware of just how hard-of-hearing we can become and need a spiritual wake-up call. Times like these are times to make a spiritual inventory and see where we get our strength from. And we must expect trials, tribulations, affliction, suffering, loss, and even defeat. God is on our side, but there is no guarantee of coming out on top all the time; however, all in all, we are more than conquerors in Christ and winners in a win-win situation because Christ won and we are identified with His victory at Calvary. Soli Deo Gloria!
Christianity, as a religion, alone offers a reason for suffering besides it being karma or deserved from sin or wrongdoing. We see temporal events in light of eternity and everything strikes a chord to vibrate into the next life. No religion offers a complete and definitive reason for it though, but Christianity helps us endure it; if man has a reason for his suffering, he is able to while it away. Realistically speaking, God has His reasons we cannot fully know, for His thoughts are infinitely higher than ours. God is too deep to explain Himself, too kind to be cruel, and too wise to make a mistake. The challenge is to keep the faith in spite of our suffering and trial and to learn from it, as we chalk it up to experience in the school of hard knocks. As Paul said in his swan song, 2 Timothy, v. 4:7, KJV, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." In our suffering, we must never ask where God is, but where He isn't. "He is there, and He is not silent," according to Francis Schaeffer.
In part, our suffering's purpose is so that we can "console" others in their affliction and suffering and relate to them (cf. 2 Cor. 1:4). We are not called to be stoics who think that the ultimate purpose in life is to endure (literally grin and bear it) and accept the bad times and our so-called fate, not doing anything about it. God can help us live above and beyond our circumstances. We are not to be defined by them or limited in our ability to do God's will and achieve our calling. Instead, we ought to be unfazed like Paul and say, "But none of these things move me" (cf. Acts 20:24).
We must acknowledge though, that all trials are Father-filtered and God has allowed them, even if Satan is doing the harm, and God will bring about His glory in the end--behind every cloud, there's a silver lining. There is a chance to sympathize and with and encourage the bereaved or tested, when we can say that we've been there and done that. This is the open door to sympathizing with our fellow man and not turning a deaf ear to his predicament, for it could happen to us--no one is immune from suffering and it comes with the territory of being saved. Job's comforters made the mistake of having the presupposition that all suffering is caused by sin and they thought he was only getting half of what he deserved and ought to repent. God didn't apologize nor offer reasons for his suffering, but showed His face to him, and instead of answering "why?" God answered "who?" Who are we to question God? God doesn't owe us an explanation!
In the final analysis, God never promised us a bed of roses and we signed up for this upon salvation. Reality 101 is realizing that character comes from affliction! No believer gets to skate through life trouble-free. Even Christ didn't exempt Himself from suffering and suffered more than we will; our crosses to bear pale in comparison! Sometimes we aren't aware of just how hard-of-hearing we can become and need a spiritual wake-up call. Times like these are times to make a spiritual inventory and see where we get our strength from. And we must expect trials, tribulations, affliction, suffering, loss, and even defeat. God is on our side, but there is no guarantee of coming out on top all the time; however, all in all, we are more than conquerors in Christ and winners in a win-win situation because Christ won and we are identified with His victory at Calvary. Soli Deo Gloria!
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