There is a one-word question we often ask when we are going through hard times, why? Why me Lord? Why now Lord? It can all seem so pointless at the time.
Why did that car accident happen and now it may take months or longer to fully recover? Why did my child die before me? That is not supposed to happen. Why did I get cancer so early in life, or at any time. That is just not right.
The hard part in answering such questions is, there is no simple answer. Job was a righteous man and yet God allowed him to suffer mightily.
Our suffering is not pointless. It matters. Paul tells us that our suffering this side of eternity is part of our Christian journey. God knows our journey will be difficult. At times we may even be tempted to quit the journey. At those moments we will need endurance to keep on keeping on. We gain that endurance by learning to trust God during difficult times. In the process we develop hope, which allows us to see beyond the moment. Hope is powerful. Amazingly, its power in us grows over time as we experience suffering.
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5 NIV
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