Do you ever wonder why God allows us to suffer? Have you ever thought of the scripture in Galatians 6:9 that encourages us to “not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” and wondered, “how in the world do I not grow weary?” There have been several times in my life that I have felt weary and wondered, “how do I not feel weary when everything seems to be falling apart or is relentless?” Some struggles in life are chronic and it can be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Matthew 5:45 tells us that God sends rain on the just and the unjust, which means that we all must go through storms in our lives. What if our struggles have more meaning than pain and suffering? Yes, there are times that we must walk through things because of our bad choices, but what about the ones that look like Job’s? Job 3:25 say, “for the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me.”
Job did not receive the answer he expected or wanted from God, but he was able to perceive and honor God’s sovereignty in the midst of his suffering. What would it look like to give up my will and desires and allow God’s will to be done instead? Can I trust that God still loves me if He doesn’t answer my prayer in the way I expect? Jesus did not receive the answer he wanted in Gethsemane when he prayed for another way to bring about salvation. Instead, He offered up His will and said, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). What if our suffering has more purpose than we realize, and it is more than learning to rely, lean, and trust in God? Can we lean into God during our times of suffering and ask Him to help us “fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12) and persevere? What would happen if we choose to turn to God in our suffering, and declare Proverbs 3:5-6, which states, “I will trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding knowing that He will direct my steps”? When my world feels that it is falling apart, what would happen if I choose to trust in God’s Word that states, “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies” (Corinthians 4:8-10).
Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God 126 times in the Gospels. What if our suffering is more about the Kingdom of God than ourselves? Joseph was thrown into a pit, sold by his brothers, imprisoned, forgotten, and then raised up to save not only his family but the nation of Israel. Jesus suffered much to bring about mercy, grace, and salvation. What if our suffering serves a deeper purpose that we know? What if our suffering is a testimony to those around us which God wants to use to bring about salvation and freedom in their lives?
If you are struggling today, whether anxiety, grief, depression, or even feeling angry at God, I encourage to reach out to God and ask Him to help you. He is not afraid of your emotions, and offers you love, mercy, and grace. I challenge you to invite God into your struggles, your questions, your anger, your confusion, your loneliness, and your sadness. He is faithful to walk with you, strengthen you, uphold you, love you, and heal you in the midst of every struggle you will ever face. My prayer for everyone reading this is Ephesians 3:14-19, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in you inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Written by Susan Medlin