"Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He is the Father who is compassionate and the God who gives comfort. He comforts us whenever we suffer. That is why whenever other people suffer, we are able to comfort them by using the same comfort we have received from God. Because Christ suffered so much for us, we can receive so much comfort from him. Besides, if we suffer, it brings you comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, we can effectively comfort you when you endure the same sufferings that we endure. We have confidence in you. We know that as you share our sufferings, you also share our comfort.
God Rescued Paul When He Was Suffering
Brothers and sisters, we don’t want you to be ignorant about the suffering we experienced in the province of Asia. It was so extreme that it was beyond our ability to endure. We even wondered if we could go on living. In fact, we still feel as if we’re under a death sentence. But we suffered so that we would stop trusting ourselves and learn to trust God, who brings the dead back to life. He has rescued us from a terrible death, and he will rescue us in the future. We are confident that he will continue to rescue us, since you are also joining to help us when you pray for us. Then many people will thank God for the favor he will show us because many people prayed for us." 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 (GW)
Suffering
Scriptures tell us that the early believers turned the world upside down. And why not? They believe in a God who is literally out of this world. They themselves become not of this world, for when a believer really becomes a believer, he seizes to be a mere human being, but is tranformed from the inside out, becoming a child of God, co-heir with Christ, a citizen of heaven, and like other believers, with the promised Comforter and Counselor living inside them.
And people shall know them by their fruit -- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
But let us be honest, most who profess to be believers exhibit no transfomation, or lack a few or even all of these fruits.
This is not to say that they are not real believers. Most are works in progress, many slower (read more stubborn) than others. Of course, a few has not really believed. And some go through this journey we all go through, called life and try to do it all on their own abilities. Many of them, saying that they are a self-made this or a self-made that, telling everyone they need no one else and that they should be able to make it on their own. And a few probably did, in this world that is, or in their own world.
Out of This World
And this is a true sign, that they have not really believed and trust in the finished work of their heavenly Father's redemptive plan through the knowledge and confidence of His Son, the Christ and their daily walk with His Spirit who produces these virtues within them apart, yes from their own abilities. They can fake them, but when eventually placed in a wringer, like unwashed clothes, out comes the filth and the dirt.
So Why Lord?
So now we go to the age old question of "if there is a God, why does He allow me to suffer" or better yet, "if God is good why is there so much suffering in this world".
Now, some of these, they can answer on their own, mostly through common sense and an unbiased perspective.
Many brought it upon themselves because of the life choices they have made or because of the wickedness of many others. A freedom we all have. Sadly they choose to do things they shouldn't do and thus the consequences eventually come back to them and to many other people. The world knows this as karma.
But for the more legitimate questions of why does God allow all this. Well, Scriptures tell us He did not really promise us a life free from trouble, in fact quite the opposite, as he told Adam that the ground will be cursed. Through hard work he will eat food that comes from it every day of his life. The ground will grow thorns and thistles. By the sweat of his brow, he will produce food to eat until he returns to the ground. And that he is dust, and he will return to dust. Meaning, we will all go through our own daily routine and we will all die.
In the New Testament, is it written that Jesus told His followers that, in this world you will have trouble, and it records that they will be hated, they wil suffer for doing right and as the passage above reads that: when you suffer and share of the sufferings Christ and His followers have endured, you also share in the comfort they have received. And so you yourself can share in and comfort others by the same comfort you have received.
Thus you can truly put your arms around a hurting soul and really whisper these comforting words "I know how you feel", because you have gone through it yourself. Just like Jesus Himself hugging you in your own times of trials as He Himself had gone through similar and far worse trials of His own and made it through, through the comfort of angelic hosts, His Father and the Holy Spirit.
When you are a believer, you are not alone, as you shouldn't be. God Himself is with you, He is in you, He goes before you and He is all around you in the presence of all other believers.
Now others claim that there is no God, or that there isn't really anything out there to prove there is one. Well, there is also nothing out there to prove that there isn't one. My suggestion, in your daily grind, keep an open mind and continue finding out for yourself, the definitive proof for either one.
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