. HOW TO COPE WITH SUFFERING?
1) I would like to deal with you with the issue called ‘suffering’ and start my article with three questions and in response to those questions I shall try to answer them systematically and pray that the Lord will speak to you.
2) There was ‘Tsunami’ in Japan a couple of months ago, many people died and many were left without homes, and many families were devastated, and many children lost their parents.
3) People suffer almost regularly and Christians suffer too. Every family has to go through it and every individual has to go through it. No one is exempted from this. Not even the richest and those whom we call ‘celebrities’ are exempted from this. Nothing stops people from suffering. Their money and property pales into utter insignificance as they suffer.
4) In the midst of all the suffering, what does the Bible speak to us? Does it answer our questions? Let us praise God that the Bible still speaks and answers our inner most questions and satisfies us with the most refreshing answers.
5) Following are the questions. A) Why do people suffer in general? B) Why do Christians or believers suffer in this world? C) Where is God when suffering takes place?
6) The first question is ‘why do people suffer in general’? Suffering primarily entered into this world as a matter of consequence due to rebellion against God. In the book of Genesis, chapter 3, from verse 14 onwards, after Adam and Eve sinned against God by eating the forbidden fruit, God cursed the ‘serpent’. And God also punished Adam and Eve. For the first time in their life, they realised that suffering was very painful. Eve had to bring forth her children, in a very painful manner (Gen 3:16). And she had to be subordinate to her husband throughout her life. And for Adam, he had to work ever so harder, to get food, to keep his family going. It’s a matter of sweat and blood ( Gen 3:17). And lastly, they both were to die. Not only they would die but also all those who would come from them, the whole humanity has to die. And for the first time in their life, they saw their beloved son ‘Abel’ dying. Who killed him? His own brother. That would have added even greater pain to them. But why did all this happen? If we go back and analyse, it all happened due to a sin committed by Adam and Eve. Would they have not committed it, had they known the seriousness of sin? I don’t know. Whatever our analysis may be, ‘sin’ entered into this world. Along with sin, it also brought forth suffering into this world. Adam and eve never thought that by eating a fruit, they would suffer to the maximum extent. The issue is not so much that they ate the fruit or not but the issue is they trespassed God’s law or commandment. Isn’t it a great lesson for us friends? Every time we commit a sin, we must remind ourselves that it brings suffering to us. Remember, whether it is a small sin or a big sin, it is going to bring forth suffering and that is for sure. In answering the question, ‘Why do people suffer in general?’ They suffer because they are in the world. And the world is full of suffering. The most tragic thing is, people don’t pursue the reason for suffering. They do not see the hand of God who can ease suffering permanently.
7) Now is the second question, ‘Why do believers suffer’? It’s sad that we need to replace the word ‘Christians’ with ‘believers’ because of the fact that all ‘Christians’ are not believers. During the three and half years of earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus, the Lord spoke at length about ‘suffering’ one needs to endure in this world. If you look at Matt 10:18, Matt 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, and Luke 14:27 summarises that “..anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Here the ‘cross’ is a symbol of suffering. And the Lord tells it plainly that one cannot expect a life devoid of suffering and in the book of John 16:33, He says “ In this world, you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” And the Lord compares the life of a believer with a narrow road. Here the narrow road stands for ‘suffering’ one has to endure in this world. The Bible is full of passage which comfort when we go suffer. Being Christians, we are not to be surprised, when we are hit by some problem, be it a health problem or a financial problem or a psychological problem. As long as you are spiritually healthy in the Lord, we can face any problem.
8) Lastly, in answering to the third question, ‘where is God when suffering takes place? In the Old Testament, ‘Job’ was a holy man, but he was the one who suffered beyond any measure. His children were killed, he lost all that he had and reduced to nothing. His wife started accusing God and encouraged Job to curse. Then Job expresses his opinion that “God knows what is happening.” Friend, when suffering takes place, God is in control. It is not an accident when some calamity takes place somewhere. Or It is not that He doesn't know or doesn’t care. But people complain where God is when they are suffering. And it is because God is silent during their suffering, people jump to conclusion that God doesn’t exist or doesn’t care. One thing we have to understand is, God’s silence doesn’t prove his non-existence. In the famous evangelistic tract ‘ where was God on September the 11th ?’ written by the evangelist ‘Dr. John Blanchard’, poses this weighty question to all those who question God’s existence when something terrible happens. He says where are you when the suffering takes place in the world? Or where are you when you are suffering individually? Where do you stand in relationship with God when suffering is ripping through your life?
9) People often complain that their ‘suffering’ is not fair. I don’t know whether your suffering is fair or not. At times God punishes His children due to their rebellious nature. It is in order to subdue their sinful nature, God punishes them. But suffering is not always linked with sinful behaviour. At times ‘suffering’ comes from nowhere. And it is not without a reason. That is the lesson we have to learn. It has a reason, a meaning and a purpose and that purpose is revealed in Rom 8: 28. Before I conclude, I want you to think about if the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus is a fair one? I want you to think about if giving up of God’s only beloved Son to be killed on behalf of rebellious and sinful people a fair one? The fact is no. It’s not fair for the Lord to die on the cross for people like us. And the fact is, even if it was not fair, he still bore our sins and endured unimaginable suffering on the cross which is far more painful than any individual has ever suffered on the earth. So my friend, take courage in the Lord and He gives the strength to go though suffering even in the future. Amen.
