It may be cancer or a sore throat. It may be the illness or death of someone close to you. It may be a personal failure or disappointment in your job or schoolwork. It may be a rumor that is circulating in your office or your church, damaging your reputation, bringing you grief and anxiety. It can be anything from a mosquito bite to facing a lion as Daniel did. It is suffering.
The Book of Job approaches suffering largely from one angle. Job’s suffering ultimately brought him to a high degree of spiritual refinement. His suffering was not so much punishment as it was disciplinary. But why do we suffer? Christians are subject to common calamities just like the rest of the world. If God protected His children from all storms, disappointments, poverty and destruction, they would be tempted to serve Him for selfish reasons, just as Satan falsely accused Job of doing. Good people have no insurance against physical death; even innocent children and babies die. In my studies, I’ve
uncovered the following from Scripture as reasons for our suffering:
The Book of Job approaches suffering largely from one angle. Job’s suffering ultimately brought him to a high degree of spiritual refinement. His suffering was not so much punishment as it was disciplinary. But why do we suffer? Christians are subject to common calamities just like the rest of the world. If God protected His children from all storms, disappointments, poverty and destruction, they would be tempted to serve Him for selfish reasons, just as Satan falsely accused Job of doing. Good people have no insurance against physical death; even innocent children and babies die. In my studies, I’ve
uncovered the following from Scripture as reasons for our suffering:
- Refines the Christian (Job 23:10)
- Brings the fruit of righteousness
- Discipline from God (Hebrews 12)
- Caused by the reaping of sin (Gal. 6:5-6)
- Cause by the sin of others (alcohol, temper, thieves, gossip, etc.)
- Result of a bold witness for Christ (Phil. 1:29, I Pet. 4:12-13)
- Prevent a wrong course of action (Ps. 119:71, 67)
- Shows us our need of God (Ps.119:71)
- Brings patience (James 1)
- Prepares us for a future test (I Cor. 10:13)
- Brings solitude/ Helps us hear God
- Brings future rewards (James 1:12, II Tim. 2:12)
- Caused by violation of God’s natural laws
- Caused by violation of moral laws
- Brought by Satan under Gods’ permissive will
- For God’s glory (Ro. 8:28, Jn. 11:4)
- Shows us God’s comfort, grace and power (II Cor. 1)
- Teaches us how to comfort others (II Co. 1:4)
- Unites Christians/ opportunities for saints to minister (Acts 12)
- Helps us identify with Christ’s suffering and example (Phil. 3:10)
- Teaches us obedience (Heb. 5:8)
- Keeps us humble (II Co. 12:7-10)
Jesus explains, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness” (John 10:10). None of us is immune to the thief (Leviathan) and none of us will escape suffering. But it is during times of suffering that we learn to refocus our lives on God. David confessed it in Psalm 119:71: “The suffering You sent was good for me, for it taught me to pay attention to Your principles.” If it still doesn’t make sense to you, just learn to rest in God’s sovereignty and trust in His Goodness and Love.
-Pastor Mark
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