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Grief
Lamentations 3:32, 33; But though he
cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude
of his mercies.
For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the
children of men.
Comfort
Matthew 5:4; Blessed are they that
mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Luke 6:21; Blessed are ye that hunger
now: for ye shall be filled.
Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
Suffering often occurs at the hand of others. But it
has a way of revealing what is in our own hearts. Capacities for love,
mercy,anger, envy, and pride can lie dormant
until awakened by circumstances.
Strength and weakness of heart is found not when everything is going our way but when flames of suffering and temptation test the mettle of our character.
As gold and silver are refined by fire, and as coal needs time and pressure to become a diamond, the human heart is revealed
and developed by enduring the pressure and heat of time and circumstance. Strength of
character is shown not when all is well with our world but in the presence of human pain and
suffering. (Job 42:1-17; Rom. 5:3-5; James 1:2-5; 1
Pet. 1:6-8)
If death is the end of everything, then a life filled with suffering isn’t fair. But if the end of this life brings us to the threshold of eternity, then the most fortunate people in the universe are those who discover, through suffering, that this life is not all we have to live for. Those who find themselves and their eternal God through suffering have not wasted their pain.
They have let their poverty, grief, and hunger drive them to the Lord of eternity. They are the ones who will discover to their own unending job why Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
(Matt. 5:1-12; Rom. 8:18-19).
The most famous sufferer of all time was a man named Job. According to the Bible, Job lost
his family to war, his wealth to wind and fire, and his health to painful boils. Through it all, God never told Job why it was happening. As Job endured the accusations of his friends, heaven remained silent. When God finally did speak, He did not reveal that His archenemy
Satan had challenged Job’s motives for serving God. Neither did the Lord apologize for allowing Satan to test Job’s devotion to God. Instead, God talked about mountain goats giving birth, young lions on the hunt, and ravens in the nest. He cited the behavior of the
ostrich, the strength of the ox, and the stride of the horse. He cited the wonders of the
heavens, the marvels of the sea, and the cycle of the seasons. Job was left to conclude that if God had the power and wisdom to create this physical universe, there was reason to trust
that same God in times of suffering (Job 1-42).
No one has suffered more than our Father in heaven. No one has paid more dearly for the
allowance of sin into the world. No one has so continuously grieved over the pain of a race
gone bad.
No one has suffered like the One who paid for our sin in the crucified body of His own Son. No one has suffered more than the One who, when He stretched out His arms and died, showed us how much
He loved us.
It is this God who, in drawing us to Himself, asks us to trust Him when we are suffering and
when our own loved ones cry out in our presence (1
Pet. 2:21; 3:18; 4:1).
You are not alone if the unfairness and suffering of life leaves you unconvinced that a God
in heaven cares for you. But consider again the suffering of the One called by the prophet
Isaiah, "a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" (Is. 53:3). Think about His slashed back, His bloodied forehead, His nailripped hands and feet, His pierced side, His agony in the Garden, and his pathetic cry of abandonment. Consider Christ’s claim that He was suffering not for His sins but for ours. To give us the freedom to choose, He lets us suffer. But He Himself bore the ultimate penalty and pain for all our sins.
(2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:24).
When you do see the reason for His suffering, keep in mind that the Bible says Christ died
to pay the price for our sins, and that those who believe in their heart that God has raised
Him from the dead will be saved (Rom. 10:9-10). The forgiveness and eternal life Christ
offers is not a reward for effort but a gift to all who, in light of the evidence, put their trust in Him.
Some material excerpted from RBC
Ministries
bravenet.com