“We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
perseverance, character; and
character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God
has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Romans
5:3-5
Take note of a very important
biblical truth: God is not pleased with our suffering. He takes no pleasure in our heartaches,
sorrows and disappointments. He has
claimed to use these at times to cause us to refocus our priorities (Amos
4:6-11). But not all bad things that
happen are God’s attempt to wake us up spiritually or to punish us for
unrepentant sin. Job’s friends thought
this way and received divine retribution for being faulty representatives of
YHWH (Job 42:7-8).
Bad things happen to all people
(godly & ungodly) just because. Too
many times, there just isn’t an explanation for them. Once sin entered the world, life became
difficult and filled with many unpleasant experiences. Yet it doesn’t mean that
God has departed from us, nor is He angry with us, nor has He forgotten
us. Instead, He may be using these
hardships to exemplify the superiority of faith over our constant desire of
needing everything proven to us (2 Cor. 5:7).
Abraham’s faith motivated him to go
through the trouble of leaving his home so he could be a more useful servant
for YHWH. Jacob’s faith helped him
overcome the hardships caused by Uncle Laban so he could help establish a new
nation for YHWH. It was faith that
helped Joseph put up with his brothers’ hatred and mistreatment so that many
years later he would be in the right place at the right time to save the known
world from starvation. Moses’ faith
allowed him to be able to tolerate the immature and reckless Israelites for 40
years. Yes, God could have taken these
bad times away, but consider how much better off the world has been with their
example of faith, perseverance, integrity and desire to be with God. They saw their sufferings as opportunities to
grow their faith, survive Satan’s onslaughts and take hold of God’s promise of
eternal life (as Paul says in the passage above).
So, instead of getting frustrated
and questioning, consider the following possibilities for why God allows bad times
in your life:
It may take some time
for your prayer(s) to be answered.
Things are
being put into place, so keep on keeping on until then.
You may not yet be ready
for what you will be facing next.
Extra
training may be needed so you can handle what’s ahead.
He may be preparing you
to help others later on.
Those who
have overcome a crisis are the best at helping others succeed.
Others have free-will
too; God doesn’t force them to be good, loving or helpful.
Your
perseverance may be what’s needed to encourage them to change.
In all of this keep in mind that the
answer(s) will not be easy, exciting or even wanted. Building faith through perseverance will take
every ounce of energy you can muster. Growing
to be like Jesus isn’t for the faint of heart.
But take courage in this: “With
God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). And since He only wants you to succeed
(Jeremiah 29:11), have the fortitude and courage to face the challenges that
come your way and determine to make the most of every opportunity (good or bad)
to be more like Him.
Doug
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