sufferings

WHAT IS SUFFERINGS?

"Having what you don't want and wanting what you don't have." - E Elliot, writer.

This expression includes ALL things great and small, good and bad, and in all circumstances. How true it is!

Having become a Christian, we are promised a NEW life which we often presume NEW means BETTER! However, more often than not, Christian-living is not that straight forward and we may experience difficulties, self-conflicts, obstacles while trying to grow spiritually. Things just do not seem to go smoothly the way we want and we will say that we are sufferings.

So, if God loves us, why do He let us suffer?
God does really loves us that at times He will let us suffer!
So is suffering a blessing or even a gift from God?

It's difficult for us to imagine that suffering is one of the ways God manifests His love for His children.
Do ponder upon this.

There are many forms of sufferings and varying in expanse. Experiences also differ individually and the way we handle our situation is also not the same. How then can we take them on courageously and overcome them the godly way?

In my opinion, it is how we behave as His children that determines our gains or loss from each occassion we suffer.

Be a sincere child of God through dwelling richly in God's Word, for knowledge and the promises of God, for glorification. In appreciation of God's love, we commit our whole life into God's hands; to trust & obey and have complete faith in God's plan even in times of trials and sufferings. We have to let the Holy Spirit to be in full control of our lives - in words, thoughts and actions - through constant communion with the Lord in prayers and digesting His Word.

-- All things work for the good for all who loves Him.

God does not let His children suffer for nothing. He has His many reasons.
It is a fatherly act of discipline upon all He considers His children (Refer to Heb 12:5-11).
Like a farmer who prunes his crops to yield the best harvest, God may train and build us up by sending His vessels of wrath & mercy to us from time to time. This training process may be short term or otherwise & in accordance to God's plan for each individual child of His. This is part of our 'growing up' as a Christian.

There are many lessons to be learnt from the numerous examples found in the bible. One of them is in the book of Job. Job was a blessed and faithful man of God and yet he was stripped of everything he had and also have to suffer much physically. Despite all these, he did not renounce God at any one time but continued to worship Him faithfully. We learnt that Job's complete trust and faith in God help him through his difficult path. At the end of Job's long ordeal, God blessed him many folds.

Can we be as steadfast in our faith as Job?
There are times when we lost something, someone or having problems, one after another & each more difficult than the other. Do we choose to put our trust and faith in God to deliver us through? Or are we outraged and ask God "Why are these things happening to me?" We have to make our choice wisely with the help of the Holy Spirit in us.

Do we have to shoulder our suffering alone? Are we alone (physically) when we suffer?
Obviously, "NO" to both.

Surely we do not suffer alone. The Lord is our shepherd, He is with us all the time to protect us. So be comforted that whatever we suffer, the Lord gets it head-on before we do. So count it a blessing to be able to share our sufferings with Christ and rejoice in Him throughout.

In the course of our suffering, there will be the 'co-stars and audience". These people could be God's angels having their roles & purposes in our path (like the vessels of mercy & wrath mentioned earlier). God has set His lessons for us through these people so that we can differentiate rights from wrongs; good from bad; become wiser .....

With God's guidance and love, helping & sharing with one another will result in fruitful fellowship and stronger bonds among us Christians. Christians will also be encouraged and strengthen in their faith in God. The love and hope in God will be shown and the world will see the Christ-like nature in us. Hence, the non-believers will be encouraged to receive Christ when they see God's love and work in us. These are blessing from God even while we suffer.

When in suffering, we will experience many negative feelings which we have to be very wary of.
To name a few :
- sense of helplessness & hopelessness
- impatience
- anger (James 1:19, 20 & Eph 4:26-27)
- unjustification
- disappointment
- saddness
The list can go a long way.

God has made us in His image and knows exactly how we feel. These emotions are no sins. However, if we are not careful enough in controlling these feelings the godly way, especially negative ones, the devil will sieze every opportunity to turn us away from our God.

Do not allow these negative feelings to burn in us. If allowed, they will lead to adverse consequences. Some examples to take note of :
- helplessness & hopelessness may lead to frustrations...
- impatience may cause you to act rashly & foolishly
- anger becomes hatred
- unjustification may lead to more misunderstandings
- disappointment may pull you into depression
- worry makes your mind go wild with scary imaginations & doubts
- saddness makes you lose confidence in living

These results of negative emotions are sinful and may lead us to react irrationally and aggravate our problems even further. Sometimes, we even do irreversible things which we live to regret.

So how to deal with these the godly way?
We have to nip the problem in the bud and not let it snowball.

God said that we must rejoice in Him always and that means in all circumstances. We are also reminded that we do not only rejoice in the Lord in goods times but also in our sufferings. (Rom 5:3-8)

Though hard to do, we must remember that we can do all things in Christ who strengthen us. We can face sufferings by praying unceasingly for God's guidance and strength to endure and to overcome; trusting Him to oversee the whole matter like a good shepherd looking after His sheep. We will persevere if we let the Lord be in charge and this perseverance will help build our character which will produce hope because of the love we have in God. This needs practice and with time and effort, it will become a natural part of us; living as a Christ-like person.

It is through sufferings (great & small) that we become more obedient to God's way. For it is during trials that we will come to the Lord more often than in our goods days. We also learn to pray harder, become more sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in us, seeking God's wisdom and strength to survive the ordeals. In due course, we will realise that these are some of the qualities that God is inculcating in us as His children.

So remember to exercise the behaviour of a sincere Christian who uplifts ALL our problems to the Lord by constant prayers. Our obedience, trust and love in God will carry us through all sorts of sufferings - emotionally or/and physically. Also we have to put in constant effort in bulding up a strong relationship with God which is a vital aspect in our walk with Christ.

Suffering gives us the opportunity to examine ourselves, check our priorities, reset our focus, know our weaknesses, search our hearts and confess our sins. Such processes and experiences are important factors which help us to be more Christ-like and contribute to our spiritual maturity.

So, make effort to be that sincere Christian in Christ and allow Him to be in charge of our life. God will have His guarding angels hovering around us. Do believe strongly that the Lord is with us always (train yourself in expectation to find God anytime and anywhere). Pray sincerely and unceasingly. Obey and trust in God's plan. Draw on God's strength. Be courageous and steadfast in our faith.

This godly way is the best and most powerful approach to combat all sufferings. REMEMBER: God will not forsake us AND success will be ours in the end even in the 'do or/and die' situation.

Well..... easier said than done ... I agree BUT it can surely be done in the name of the Lord Jesus.

The above thoughts are mine in appreciation to our Heavenly Father for His love and deliverance for me during the umpteen sufferings which I went through for the last decade.

God bless us.

Amen.

by IRENE