As Christians, we are bound to be tested sometime. What better a way to do that than to make us suffer? Suffering in this world is caused by a few definite things. One, it is caused directly by the devil, when God allows it. The other type of suffering is caused by us. People sometimes ask why there is so much suffering in this world, if there is a God. Isn't it simple? We have freedom of choice. We are faced with choices every minute we are conscious. If we make the wrong choice, we suffer the consequences, or someone else does. So if God were to stop all this suffering, we'll probably have to right to choose. Then we will all be like robots living in a perfect world. Well then what's the point of creating us? If we do not have the freedom to choose, we cannot choose to love. Then I guess I'll take back the word "perfect". The world wouldn't be good or bad. It would be useless.
Since no one is perfect, we will all have to suffer at some point in our lives. Well at least we have freedom of choice, so lets play that trump card. There are only two ways we can go. To turn away from God or to trust Him even more. I probably won't elaborate on the former, I don't feel qualified to talk about it yet. Everyone says, "Have faith in God". And then they quote Jeremiah 29:11, about God's perfect plan. I've heard it so many times. But do we all get it? What is faith? In the Bible, faith is believing in the things unseen. There is no other word to describe it. Anyway I'm sure you all know it. In our case, we have faith in God. We have faith in His plan. But then, the bridge between overcoming suffering and faith is missing. It is patience. Overcoming suffering requires patience. When people are unchangeable, we need patience with them not to make worse the situation. And this patience requires faith. When problems are unexplainable, like what happened to Job, we need patience to wait for God to reveal his plan. And this patience requires faith. So now then, know that God will not test us beyond our limits, and we can always choose to have faith in Him.
spoke at :
10:51:00 PM