A recent devotion in my “Bible In One Year” plan (by the YouVersion Bible app) broached the very hard subject of “suffering”.. and our lack of understanding surrounding it.
When we are in the middle of suffering, it is often tremendously hard to trust God. We forget that He suffers alongside us. We forget that He uses trials and difficulties to test and strengthen our faith, and develop our character. We forget that He intends it ALL for good. For example, in Genesis, God used Joseph’s suffering to save an entire nation. And in the New Testament, God used Jesus’s suffering to save US ALL.
Yeshua (Jesus) told us Himself that the fruitful branches would be pruned in order to bear even more fruit. Our pruning is often painful but necessary in order for us to grow even stronger in Him.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” -John 15:1-2
This devotion about suffering made me think of my mother, and how she suffered so much for 3 years with her terrible cancer. I know she struggled at times to understand why God allowed her to suffer so much, and perhaps she even questioned what she had done to deserve such suffering. But God doesn’t allow us to suffer because He has a score to settle. In the book of Job, we see that Job is a righteous man who God allowed to suffer immense turmoil in many different forms, before making everything right for Job. In fact, God restored to him even more than he had before his suffering began! We can look at Job’s response to his suffering as a model for our own behaviors when we’re facing trials; Job never once lost his faith. Job never cursed God or turned his back on God. He remained faithful (albeit lamenting) even in his suffering, and God made everything right for him.
But what about those who suffer and don’t get restored in this life? What about my mother? After a miserable 3 years, my sister and I spent an agonizing final week with Mama in hospice, before she passed into eternity. The healing we had prayed for her never came–well, at least not in this life. I have often struggled with God’s decision to not heal her cancer, after the multitude of prayers that she and so many of her loved ones sent up in good faith for that outcome. For a year and a half, I have asked the question, “WHY?”
And then, a story in my daily devotional completely changed my perspective.
A one-year-old boy shattered his back falling down a flight of stairs. He spent his childhood and youth in and out of the hospital — 13 long years of surgeries and treatments. At age 17, he was interviewed by a bishop in his church, and the boy remarked, “God is fair.” The bishop asked him if he thought what had happened to him was fair, and the boy’s response was astounding: “God has got all of eternity to make it up to me.”
We live in a world of instant gratification that has almost entirely lost its eternal perspective. But this boy had amazing insight into eternity with his enlightened response. Even if we never see our prayers for healing or relief come to fruition in this life, God is not done. He is not limited to the boundaries of this earth or our temporary lives here. He has ALL of eternity to fulfill His promises to us, and answer our prayers.
There are some things that we will never understand this side of Heaven, but we can rest assured that God is GOOD. His goodness and mercy can be seen throughout the whole Bible! He uses everything for His good purposes. We are simply asked to have faith and trust in Him above all else.
I keep this verse in mind whenever I don’t understand the things that happen in this world, and somehow, it always provides comfort:
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. -Deuteronomy 29:29
I hope this message blesses you today, and that you might recall it when you’re in the midst of suffering.
Love in Christ,
Emily