Pain and Suffering

“What we do see is Jesus, who was given a position ‘a little lower than the angels’; and because He suffered death for us, He is now ‘crowned with glory and honor.’ Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9 NLT)

Pain and suffering are the common denominators of each member of the human family. Just because we put our faith in Jesus and serve Him conscientiously, doesn’t exempt us from what Jesus referred to as troubles or tribulation. The issue isn’t whether we’ll suffer or have pain, the only issue is when and to what degree.

Rushing to Jesus in an effort to be delivered from the hardships of life is a little bit like spending all your money on Christmas presents, then crying out to the Lord because you can’t make your normal monthly expenses. It’s not that He doesn’t care or isn’t with us, it’s that He isn’t, as a rule, going to bail us out of a jam we’ve put ourselves into.

You’ve likely heard the adage: “the two happiest moments in a person’s life are the day they buy a boat and the day they sell it.” For me it wasn’t a boat, it was a car, but the point is the same. I had no business leasing the car, I had too many other places that money needed to go. But I made the deal and loved the car, until I quickly realized I’d been a fool to get it.

We’re like that in life. We ignore the clear instructions of the Lord by bypassing reading and studying God’s Word, forfeiting our “God-time,” missing church and/or our small group meetings, neglecting serving with our brothers/sisters in Christ, then wonder why we have no heart for Christ or the things of the Spirit.

When my children were small, I read a book by Rudolf Dreikurs entitled Children: The Challenge. The main idea I gleaned from that book was the issue of “logical consequences.” It was masterfully written and made a lot of sense, especially as it related to the relationships between parents and children. But on many levels, it can apply to our relationship with our heavenly Father.

For example, when children are first learning to handle things, like toys or food, they notoriously toss whatever they get in their hands onto the floor, then start crying because we don’t pick it up for them fast enough. Dreikurs essentially said: “Let them cry.” Why? Because they have to learn that the logical consequence of throwing something onto the floor is you no longer have it in your hand.

In a similar way, God allows us to suffer the logical consequences of our own misbehavior. We smoke until our lungs are destroyed or drink or drug until our bodies are ruined. We defy God’s Word ignoring His clear instruction regarding purity and holiness of life, then wonder why we worry or fret about every detail of our life.

Much of our “suffering and pain” are the results of our own disobedience to God’s clear instruction. Yes, of course, He forgives us when we repent and turn from those things, but He seldom, if ever, frees us from suffering the logical consequences of our sin. However, that being said, there are times when we suffer and it’s no fault of our own.

I think of the suffering of Job, in the Bible and millions of people who live in deplorable conditions, including children who are faultless, yet suffer in immeasurable ways. Does God not care? Can He not address those vast needs?

Let’s look at these things more closely in tomorrow’s post.

Blessings, Ed 😊