Suffering and hardship can sometimes be very instrumental in eroding a Christian’s faith in God.
Many Christians in the world today are passing through a lot of problems. Many are of the belief that God despises them or has deserted them.
In fact, just like Job, many have been advised to “Curse God and die” Job 2:9. It is hoped that this article will help you to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
The bible says in the book of Psalms 30:5 that “For his anger endureth, but a moment; in His favor is life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”
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In this article, we will be providing 7 Reasons Why God Allows Suffering In Our Lives. I hope that you will learn a lot from this article.
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For the purpose of correction.
In several passages in the Bible, various men of God have shown us Christians that God does not deliberately punish us.
The Book of Hebrews 12:6, the bible says “For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he received”.
In other words, God loves us and therefore, corrects us as needed.
This passage tells us that the chastening of God should not be translated as God being wicked, but rather be considered as love.
In verses 7 and 8 of the same chapter, the bible says “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not.” VS 8 “But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons”.
In that passage, the bible helps us to understand that as a Christian, you should never curse God because of that sickness or penurious state that you are currently in.
Remember that God is always on the throne and He loves and cares for you very much.
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For the purpose of testing your faith.
If there was someone in the Bible who experienced the greatest suffering, it definitely would be Job.
In the book of Job 16:16, Job described how his precarious situation had brought tears to his face as he said, “My face is foul with weeping and on my eyelids is the shadow of my weeping”.
He suffered in every area of his life, and for no apparent reason. He experienced suffering in his health, he lost all his children and livestock. In the book of Job 2:9, his wife even advised him to “curse God and die”.
At that time, Job was probably the most frustrated person of his time but he never lost his faith in God.
Know this for a surety, God does not put Christians in a morass if he knows that you will not be able to scale through, “God is not mocked” (Galatians 6:2), he knows exactly what he is doing and why he has put you in that situation.
Keep trusting Him, you will never be put to shame.
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To teach a lesson.
God sometimes allows suffering in the lives of his children as a teaching tool but Christians sometimes view their struggles as punishment. Many are not patient enough to realize that God might be communicating something to them.
Let us take an example from the case of Balaam in the book of Numbers 22:27 “And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.”
VS 28 “And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass and she said unto Balaam, what have I done unto thee that thou hast smitten me these three times?” VS 29 “And Balaam said unto the ass because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now, would I kill thee”. He never took the time to look beyond the obvious.
In these verses of the Bible, Balaam viewed his inability to continue his journey as a form of suffering and took out his frustration on his ass.
He had already whipped the ass three times before he actually realized that the angel of God had been standing right in front of him. (VS 31).
So as Christians, sometimes all we need to do is give that still small voice a listening ear, God might be sending you a message. He may be saving you from something by allowing that delay or not giving you that job you so long for.
Do not use that precarious state that you are in as a sign that God is Wicked (He is not a wicked God), rather see something positive in that situation.
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To draw us back to him.
Many Christians today because of their level of affluence have shifted from Christ. They do not care any longer about pressing towards the mark.
They are so blinded by their riches that even if God were right in front of them, they would not be able to see him. Such an individual has made his possessions his god rather than placing his trust in the true and living God.
His affluent state has now taken over that place in his heart that should be reserved for God. God will then cause him to suffer until he repents because God is a jealous God.
He will not allow anything to take His place. Joshua 24:19 says, “And Joshua said unto the people, ye cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God…”
So as Christians we need to know that God is never a cruel God. He is a kind and caring father who does not take pleasure in seeing His children suffer.
Whatever the situation that you are passing through, do not let it weigh you down. You need to go on your knees and ask God for direction instead of whining and complaining that God is wicked.
He might just have mercy and free you from the suffering that you are passing through. If you have derailed from the path of Christ, please do come back to him and you will be certain to live in his eternal glory.
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For His own Supreme reason.
God does things his own way and we often do not understand His ways. Even the Bible has made it clear that “His ways and not our ways”. He has allowed you to be in that situation for a reason. Complaining and accusing Him of deliberately causing you to suffer will not be beneficial to your recovery.
God is a supreme God and no one can question His actions. In the Bible, one of Jesus’ disciples asked him about a man that was born blind.
Now, if someone was born blind, does it mean that God is wicked? No! God has a reason for doing that, the Bible tells us that God is a caring and loving father. The bible tells us that “His strength is made perfect in our weakness”.
The bible also teaches us to understand that God is not an author of confusion, He cannot be merciful and also wicked. He definitely has a reason -which surpasses human wisdom and understanding – for taking any step in the lives of those who love him.
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To activate us spiritually.
I do know that this might be confusing to a number of persons, but one thing is certain, God is always correct. The point being made here, is that God might be allowing your suffering in order to stimulate a dormant part of your spiritual self.
It may be your prayer life. Many times in the Bible, the children of Israel experienced many challenges and God would just leave them until they activated their prayer life. He would appear to abandon them until they got their prayer life in order.
Many Christians in the world today would prefer to blame God rather than examine themselves to see if God is trying to activate a part of them that is dormant.
It could be their prayer life, the aspect of fasting, daily communion with him, or any other spiritual discipline. All that is needed is the understanding that God is trying to activate something in you.
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For proper remembrance.
We may be experiencing struggles or suffering in our daily lives. Let us not lose sight of the fact that suffering is God’s way of strengthening us, renewing us, and in some instances chastising us.
Whatever the reason for our suffering, God is always in control and His word says that “all things work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose”.
There you have it, seven ways that God uses suffering in our lives. Suffering is hard when you are going through it but with God, we can smile at the end of the storm.
I do hope that this article has been a blessing to you all. Stay blessed and continue to live in his glory!!!
