Suffering and God

Hear this! God does NOT cause pain and suffering!

Being human does.

And sometimes, we can cause our own worse suffering.

We “expect” God to do something about our problems and want a “sign” that God is with us and doing something about it. And we want to know it … now!

Yet, we don’t pray or spend time with God to be in His presence or give God any patience.

We don’t ask for His power, for His comfort and His peace to prevail in our lives.

We don’t ask Him to reveal his ways to us, which are quite different than our human ways and thoughts. We become impatient with God. Even angry. And worse, we can blind ourselves into thinking God is not here or cares for us. We blame God for our suffering.

Jesus knew suffering, didn’t he? He even knew it was yet to come and addressed that in his prayers…

When Jesus was in the garden at Gethsemane, he prayed, “If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Matt 26:39, NLT).

We forget that after great suffering, Jesus received the greatest relief of all.

Didn’t he?

Won’t we? God will never forsake us.

We are promised to share in his glory according to 1 Peter 5:8-11, (NLT), but our minds want to tell us otherwise. Let’s contrast the human side of our thoughts to the scriptures.

^“8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

(Human thoughts): That won’t happen to me. I can make things right and heal myself on my own. Besides, I don’t believe in the devil. Not really. I will groan and complain, but I won’t cry. I can beat this. I must be strong.

Can you hear the devil speaking in these thoughts?

^“9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.”

(Human thoughts): I believe in God, but I will pray on my terms and when I’m ready, or, I don’t need to pray. I got this. Yet here we stand alone in our suffering and expect God to do something about it. Some even blame God that he is not here or worse, even causes our suffering.

The devil loves nothing better than when we do not pray and turn away from God. This is his dismantling and destructive power. Don’t give the devil an edge. Pray to your mighty Creator! He is your power and your mighty healer.

“Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.”

(Human thoughts): I only care about my suffering. About my pain. Nobody else could possibly begin to know about or understand my suffering! Right now, I only care about me. I hurt so much.

Comfort and relief from pain is given to us through other aspects of God’s creation, including through other humans. Unfortunately, we cannot be human without some kind of suffering, but we are promised relief, something much, much better! Read on.

¹⁰ In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.”

Do not relinquish your faith in a mighty God. Do not doubt (at least for long) that He will deliver on his promises to care for you and to love you.

Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and will rescue those whose spirits are crushed.”

This particular passage has been etched in my heart since I became a widow. I know for a fact. He will rescue you!

Our God is a God of love; a God of healing, redemption, and restoration, not a God of punishment. We suffer more by turning away from him and thinking these untruths. Remember the new covenant through Jesus Christ! He didn’t walk this earth to condemn us, but to save us (even from ourselves).

And finally, some great advice from other verses in 1 Peter 5:6-7, 11-

“⁶ So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. ⁷ Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

What then of our suffering?

Relief from pain is found in God through Christ Jesus and prayer.

He is the mightiest power to the most holy peace that we could ever receive!

“¹¹ All power (and glory) to him forever! Amen.”

Rev. Bonnie Zickgraf is a retired pastor, registered nurse, electroplater, and podcaster. She continues to serve various preschool, youth, and adult ministries, including the Nurses’ Honor Guard for the State of Indiana. She loves to laugh, write, eat, and pray! Send comments to bonniezickgraf@gmail.com.