Why God Allows Suffering - Greg Laurie - www.harvest.org
"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!" -2 Corinthians 1:5-6
This is not an exhaustive treatment of a very weighty subject, but merely some thoughts for your consideration.
Suffering helps us grow spiritually and makes us stronger in the faith. It takes our faith from the realm of theory to reality, so we can start living out our faith in the real world.
A.B. Simpson said, "Temptation exercises our faith and teaches us to pray. It is like military drill and a taste of battle to the young soldier. It puts us under fire and compels us to exercise our weapons and prove their potency. It shows us the recourse of Christ and the preciousness of the promises of God. Every victory gives us new confidence in our victorious leader and new courage for the next onslaught of the foe."
Until then, we must depend on and trust God. That's what Job did when his whole world fell apart. He said, "Praise the name of the Lord!" He did not say "I understand it," but simply, "Lord, I trust You!"
Suffering can be used to prepare us for a special task. This was the case with Joseph. His adversity prepared him for the task at hand.
After being abandoned by his brothers and cut off from his people, he was still able to say, "God did it!" Not merely "God allowed it," but "God did it." But why did God do it? As Joseph said, "To save many people alive!"
You need to know that the experiences of your life can and will be used of God to help others. And when we have suffered, we can offer a special measure of comfort to someone else who is suffering.
Perhaps someone you know just found out they have cancer, and you are a cancer survivor; you can comfort them. Someone's child may just have died, and they feel as though they cannot go on another minute, much less a lifetime-if you have been down that road, you can comfort them like no one else.
"He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others" (2 Corinthians 1:3-5). When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with His comfort through Christ.
Perhaps the hardships of today are preparing you for great opportunities tomorrow. Warren Wiersbe quotes a professor of history who said, "If Columbus had turned back, nobody would have blamed him-but nobody would have remembered him either." Wiersbe concludes, "If you want to be memorable, sometimes you have to be miserable."
God will give you what you need, when you need it. Not before, never after, but when you need it.
Corrie ten Boom used to tell a story:
When I was a little girl, I went to my father and said, "Daddy, I am afraid that I will never be strong enough to be a martyr for Jesus Christ."
"Tell me," said Father, "When you take a train trip to Amsterdam, when do I give you the money for the ticket? Three weeks before?"
"No, Daddy. You give me the money for the ticket just before we get on the train."
"That is right," Father said, "And so it is with God's strength. Our father in heaven knows when you will need the strength to be a martyr for Jesus Christ. He will supply all you need-just in time."
We may not be called to be martyrs, but we will all suffer in life. And God will give you the strength you need-just in time.
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