Pain and Suffering

When a person receives Jesus Christ, does that put an end to suffering in this life?

If a believer experiences grief, does that mean they lack faith?

Unfortunately, some, within the church, would say yes.

Let’s look at what the Bible has to say.

 

“The human spirit can endure a sick body, but who can bear it if the spirit is crushed?” - Prov. 18:14 (NLT)

 

“Laughter can conceal a heavy heart; when the laughter ends, the grief remains.” - Prov. 14:13 (NLT)

 

“Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on soda, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.” - Prov. 25:20 (NKJV)

 

“Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress. My sight is blurred because of my tears. My body and soul are withering away. I am dying from grief; my years are shortened by sadness. Misery has drained my strength; I am wasting away from within. I am scorned by all my enemies and despised by my neighbors – even my friends are afraid to come near me. When they see me on the street, they turn the other way. I have been ignored as if I were dead, as if I were a broken pot.” - Ps. 31:9-12 (NLT)

 

“O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer! From the ends of the earth, I will cry to You for help. My heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for You are my refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. Let me live forever in Your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of Your wings! Interlude~ - Ps. 61:1-4 (NLT)

 

“Jesus wept.” - John 11:35 (NKJV)

 

“And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”  (Jesus in the garden before His crucifixion) - Luke 22:44 (NKJV)

 

“Yea, and all that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” - 2 Tim. 3:12 (NKJV)

 

Pain and suffering are a part of our fallen state in this world. The question one should ask, rather than do Christians suffer, is, what should Christians (or anyone) do when pain and suffering come?

 

“Whom have I in heaven but You? I desire You more than anything on earth. My heart may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever.” - Ps. 73:25-26 (NLT)

 

“But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things You do.” - Ps. 73:28 (NLT)

 

There are so many passages that deal with pain and comfort, I could go on and on, but that would be a very long post. Suffice it to say, there is much to say about suffering but also the hope that comes through Christ Jesus. Emotions are not always good but we must remember that God gave us emotions, good and bad, and there are reasons. How we choose to deal with them is what we need to master.

Do we let grief wear us down? Do we seek to be on an emotional high at all times? Neither are good for us. We need to allow grief to have its place and move on. Likewise, joy and happiness have their place, but we will not always be in a state of bliss.

Wherever we are, we can look to God and trust Him. Even in the darkest grief, God is still good, and we can find His peace and even joy.    

 

“Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel, and His Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts, I Am the First and I Am the Last; and beside Me there is no God.” - Isa. 44:6 (NKJV)

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WISDOM: A Commentary on a Commentary Part II

 

Today I will pick up with the first chapter of Dennis Prager’s commentary, The Rational Bible: Genesis- God, Creation, and Destruction.

In Chapter 1, he begins with the beginning, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1).

He states that to some extent, this is the most important verse in Scripture. I find his narrative to be dead-on. He writes, “First, the verse posits a Creator of the universe. That means, among other things, there is meaning to existence. If there is no Creator, there is no ultimate purpose to existence, including of course, human existence. We humans can make up a meaning because we are the one species that cannot live without meaning. But the fact remains that we made it up.”

When the Bible was taught in schools and the majority of people in America went to church, we did not see the violence and chaos that we see, or live with, today. Why? I would argue that when we removed God out of the picture, we lost our sense of purpose and identity (I would also add accountability). When we have no solid foundation on which to base our meaning, purpose, or accountability, we become a people devoid of conscience and each seeks to make his own purpose, generally with selfish intent, and impose his/her will on others. The perfect recipe for disaster.

Prager continues:

 

Of course, atheists argue that believers in God made up God; therefore, God does not really exist. But they don’t always apply this rule to the existence of what they acknowledge they made up: meaning. If what we make up (God) doesn’t exist, what atheists make up (meaning) doesn’t exist. If there is no God, we know there is no ultimate meaning or purpose to life: that all existence – including, of course, our own – is the result of random chance. But we do not know there is no Creator. So, unlike those who know they make up meaning, neither we who believe in God nor atheists know we made up God. On the contrary, there are very strong arguments for a designer of the world, but there are no arguments for an ultimate purpose to life if there is no God.  

 

Man has always sought the meaning and purpose to life. With the hopelessness that comes with not knowing God, meaning, and purpose, one can only try to create for themselves some sense of being. For some, it is to take what others have. For others, it is charity, but as good as this is, it is for selfish reasons. Most of us gain a great satisfaction out of helping others. At its heart, the motivation is to make us feel better. I’m not saying this is necessarily a bad thing, but when we condemn those who take the former approach, on what moral code do we make such condemnation? After all, we are merely products of random chance and this life is all there is, why not live it up and do what pleases us?

If we look at the world, we see chaos when man does what he wills. Within nature, we see order and beauty. Of all I have read and studied, I have never seen any belief system that demonstrates why this is, other than the God of the Bible.  

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