“ Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”–Heb. 12:2-3
I sat down to write this shortly after speaking with someone who is going through a terribly tough time. It made me wish that I could work miracles, have the power to make life better for them. It hurts to see them hurt. But then I had to remind myself that regardless of how much I care, God cares about them much more. And, although I want to change things and make life easier for them, God knows it is better for it to be otherwise.
If I had the power to do as I desire, even with my good intentions, I would do more harm than good. I would hurt more than help. What I perceive to be acts of love would be counter productive. I not only lack the power to change the course of their life, I also lack the wisdom to do the right thing. And that is true of all of us. Looking at the suffering God allows us to go through is confusing to us. Our natural mind reasons that love would prevent this. We feel that way because we can’t see the end result. And this misunderstanding causes some people to resent what God allows. They can’t understand how He could have their best interest at heart. Getting beyond this can be hard.
The remedy for this is to focus on the suffering of Christ. That will cause the bitter disappointment to disappear. Knowing God didn’t just permit it, but actually planned it causes us to view our suffering differently. I don’t know what great difficulty you are facing , but I do know that if you are a child of God in the will of God you have good reason to be encouraged. God has promised grace to get you through it and some good to come from it. Your experience isn’t painless, but in some way it is profitable. Remembering this will help you deal with your difficulties. The same God who used the cross to meet your greatest need will use your suffering to meet some need related to God’s eternal purpose. I’m not asking you to believe me. I urging you to trust Him who never fails!
I can’t answer all your questions or change your circumstances. Even if I tried to explain why God allows evil to exist and why the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper it wouldn’t remove your pain or resolve all your problems. God has given man the ability to sin and destroy himself if he so chooses– so the results are predictable. We see the result of this all around us. There are many things we can’t control or change, we have to live with them as they are. But you can rest assured that God hasn’t made a mistake nor forgotten you. He is an ever present help in time of need.–HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346
