When
the LORD JESUS revealed to me the reason why He allows pain and suffering, I
felt a very deep sense of comfort and joy. Why, because I have come to know
that He is indeed a loving GOD; that He only allows pain because He loves us
and wants us to be saved. He said there is pain and suffering here on earth
because this world is fallen after Adam and Eve sinned. They were subject to
death and penalty. Since we are fallen, we sometimes cannot discern what is
good and evil and we tend to do evil and commit sin. Sin is that rebellious
spirit that lives in our heart that doesn't want to be controlled. Sin would
result to eternal damnation in hell. Therefore, He doesn't want us to sin
because the payment for sin is death in hell (Romans 6:23).
He
added that He allows pain and suffering because He loves us so much and wants
us to stop sinning. He wants to save us and give us eternal life. His ultimate
will is to save us (1 Timothy 2:4). Therefore, He should allow pain to get our attention
and shift our focus on Him. If we are in pain, we will realize that we have
sinned. When in pain, He wants us to believe that He exists, we should come to
Him, repent, change our wicked ways, turn to Him, and focus on Him. If we focus
on Him, seek Him, love Him, and obey Him, we are staying away from sin. Thus,
He is pleased resulting to a loving and faithful relationship with Him,
humility, and obedience to Him which will lead to our salvation. He died on the
cross to restore our broken relationship with Him, give us eternal life, bring
us to heaven, love us until the end of time, and even give us abundant,
peaceful, and happy life while here on earth.
But
still some people ask, then why GOD would not intervene and heal a sick child
or person or stop the war and end the famine on His own without us coming and
calling to Him. Well, that is not the way it is. The LORD's answer is this. “I
am love and in order for love to exist, there should be two parties willing to
sacrifice, understand, help, and establish a relationship through constant
communication and undying care. The first party is Me and the second is you
humans. I want you to seek Me, rely on Me, communicate with Me, and ask for My
help.” Since God is love (1 John 4:8), we should develop a loving and
faithful relationship with Him. Love exists when there is relationship and
communication. Therefore, we should love JESUS (Hosea 6:6) and have a good
relationship with Him. That is what GOD wants, He wants us to believe that He
is real, seek Him, call to Him, communicate with Him constantly, and have a
good and loving relationship with Him. We should trust that He is good and
loving and wants to help us. Therefore, when in pain, we should call upon His
name, trust that He is good and is very willing and able to help us overcome
every suffering, and deliver us from all our pains. Also, we should believe
that He is all-powerful and able to change our painful situation.
Another
reason why JESUS allows pain and suffering is for us not to rely on ourselves
but on JESUS who raises the dead, who is loving and is able enough to deliver
us from our tragedies in life. Let us check these verses found in 2 Corinthians
1:8-9 which say, “We do not want you to be
uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the
province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to
endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received
the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but
on God, who raises the dead.” Hence, we should not rely on ourselves or
on our own strength but on JESUS who loves us so much and would never leave us
nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
In addition, pains happen
so that we will know and desire what is good. And, when we know and desire it,
it will be magnified in our hearts. When it is magnified, we believe in it.
When we believe in it, we should pray for it. And when we pray for it, JESUS
answers it (John 14:14). For example, you are sick and you desire good health
and that is good, then you pray for good health, JESUS will answer your prayer because He
promised us in Jeremiah 30:17 that He will restore us to health. Pains also
happen so that we will desire peace and goodness. Goodness includes a good
response to GOD for the misfortunes that happened to us. The good response
should be to thank Him that in spite of all the tragedies in life, we are still
alive and praise Him for the life that He provides and the promise of a happy
and everlasting life in heaven. When we put our hope in JESUS and His promise
of heaven and eternal life we will be comforted that in spite of all our
sufferings here on earth, there is an eternal rest for our souls where there is
no more pain, mourning, sufferings, and death (Revelation 21:4). We should hope
that when it is time for us to leave this earth, JESUS will bring us to heaven
and wipe away our tears. That is why we should work out for our salvation with
fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) and not give in to any temptation so that
we will have the assurance of going to heaven when our time comes.
Another good reason why we suffer is,
so that we can comfort others and help them be saved. Here is a very fitting
verse found in 2 Corinthians 1:4-6 which say, “He comforts us in all our
troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able
to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for
Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is
for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will
certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we
suffer.”
Moreover, we experience
suffering as a way of disciplining us from our sinful behavior. Let us consider
this verse in 1 Corinthians 11:32 which say, “Nevertheless,
when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we
will not be finally condemned with the world.” Likewise, we experience suffering so that we will set our
focus and hope to heaven where there is no more pain and suffering. Consider
these verses found in 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 which say, “For we know that if
the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an
eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing
to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed,
we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are
burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with
our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.”
In
conclusion, my dear reader, let us accept the truth that God allows suffering
for our good. He wants us to be saved and be set-free from the bondage of sin
and guilt and give us eternal life. He loves us so much that He doesn't want us
to drown in hell. Before I end this piece, I want you to hold on to this verse
in Romans 8:18 which say, “I consider that our
present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed
in us.” This is one of my favorite
verses. This is the first verse that I memorized after I received JESUS during
my college years. That is my guiding verse. And now, I can say that this verse
is so true because after suffering from many pains, I am now happy, content,
and at peace with with JESUS. The sufferings that I have experienced before
cannot really be compared to the glory that I feel now. The glory is great and
insurmountable. Also, always remember, JESUS does not waste pain. Whatever pain
you are experiencing now, He is doing it to produce glory (heavenly happiness).
Also, take note of this verse in 1 Peter 5:10 which say, “And the God of
all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have
suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and
steadfast.” See, my dear reader,
sufferings are given to make us strong not to destroy us. I love you
with the love of the LORD. God bless you. LORD JESUS thank you for helping me
write this article. All glory, honor, power, highest praises, and thanksgiving
are Yours. I love You.
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