In His kindness God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So, after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation. – 1 Peter 5:10 NLT
“Is all this suffering really necessary? If God is all-powerful, why doesn’t He rescue me from all my suffering with the snap of His fingers right now?” Those are real questions for many people, but unfortunately, questions like these are framed in such a way that makes God out to be the bad guy. Good news: your Savior is not the bad guy. He’s most definitely the good guy in your story.
If at any time you have had these unhealthy questions in your heart, please don’t feel bad. Instead, let’s get some healthier questions on your radar for you to ask more often. Questions like, “Jesus, how committed are You to me, even in my suffering? How much compassion do you have towards me in this deep darkness? How will you see me through to the very end?”
Because of the results of sin, starting from Genesis chapter 3, all people suffer, and Christians are definitely not exempt. Either you have suffered, you are suffering, or you will suffer. Acts 14:22 says, “They encouraged them to continue in their faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.”
I don’t know about you, but I certainly have had a great deal of suffering so far along the pages of my story. My wife passed away from cancer about ten years ago, I was diagnosed with diabetes about five years ago, and both of my parents passed away from cancer three years ago. To be honest, I felt absolutely pulverized as these were by far the most heart-wrenchingly difficult times for me, and even as you are reading this, my physical body is still struggling to stay in good health due to this diabetes ordeal.
But our ever-faithful sovereign God has a good plan and great power to sustain you and me through every single trial we face. Proverbs 20:24 says, “The LORD directs our steps. So why try to understand everything along the way?” Continue to trust the Lord because He will never leave you or forsake you. Think about the pain Jesus had to walk through as He experienced the horror of the cross for you. Eventually, your life in heaven will be painless, but until then, look to Jesus as your main support.
My friend, I pray for you today with all my heart, that through the valley of the shadow of death, you will see our Sovereign King continue to use you, support you, strengthen you, restore you, and steady your soul on the firm foundation of Jesus all the days of your life. In His great name, amen.
Dig Deeper
1. In what ways are you seeing the faithfulness of God in the midst of your pain?
2. How can focusing on the cross of Christ change your outlook on suffering?
