I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world (John 16:33).
Life can be very hard. It is harder for some than for others. The challenges may be different, but challenging for all, nonetheless. The issues we face are countless, indescribable, and often unpredictable. Illness. Disasters. Heartache. Loss of loved ones. Financial challenges or crises, and so much more.
The pain of suffering — whether physical or emotional — can cause spiritual anguish. Even when things are good, life can be tough, full of constant battles at home, at work, and in relationships. It is a seemingly endless chain of day-to-day tests and tasks.
Sometimes our difficulties are the result of our own choices in life. Other times, we have seemingly done nothing to deserve them. Yet, despite this, troubles can feel like a snowball, growing ever larger and greater until we simply cannot hope to handle it anymore.
You know that expression — God will never give us more than we can handle? Not true and it cannot be found anywhere in the Bible.
In fact, in the Gospel of John, Jesus warned us that life would be difficult. Not could be — would be.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation (John 16:33a).
But it wasn’t supposed to be like this, was it? Life in the Garden was perfect — until sin entered, and it all went downhill from there.
Mankind decided that we knew better than God and we could go our own way. Now we are a broken people in a broken, evil, disrupted world. It seems as if trials and troubles are unavoidable.
So often though, God seems difficult to find in the toughest of times.
Suffering in the Bible
The Bible is replete with examples of suffering among the righteous. The list is endless of those who struggled in life despite their faith and relationship with the Lord.
From Abraham to Jacob to King David to John the Baptist, even to every apostle — suffering seemed a promised part of life. Job, though, may offer one of the best examples of undue suffering.
It is said the Book of Job is likely to be the oldest book in the entire Bible. If you’re not familiar with the story of Job — in the first chapter, a godly man named Job loses everything. God twice refers to Job as “…blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8 and 2:4).
Then Satan challenges and receives God’s consent to do as he will to Job, except take his life. We find that Job soon wishes his life had been taken. He loses his 10 children, all of his staff, all of his livestock — everything.
As if that weren’t enough, he is stricken with painful sores from head to toe. Job’s wife even tells Job to “Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9). While four of his so-called friends claim that Job obviously must have committed some terrible sin, Job spends the next 35 chapters questioning God.
Whether the story of Job is true or is a parable, in the way Jesus taught, might never be known until we step into eternity.
However, the story of how righteous people suffer right along with those who are wicked offers a lasting example for each of us. Perhaps, the book intended to set expectations for each of us for life — and how we are to deal with trials and Tribulation.
When Job seemed to need God the most, he felt as if God was nowhere to be found.
Expectations and Hopes of Fervent Prayer
Let’s face it, living here in America, we are often much better off than in other parts of the world. The very things we take for granted are daily challenges for so many others — food, clean water, and even overcoming minor illnesses.
We often get so much more discouraged with what we don’t have than being grateful for what we do. But we are in no way immune to calamity.
Job was also very well off — yet felt the harsh pains of tragedy when it struck. Like Job, we, too, feel the pain of suffering. And it hurts. Often, it hurts a lot.
It is at those very times that we seek God in prayer. We pursue his presence. We pray for healing, for relief, for strength, for help, for solutions, for guidance, for…you name it. We pray for rescue from whatever circumstances we are experiencing that we wish would end.
We pray and, all too often, it feels like those prayers go unanswered. Our loved ones pass, sometimes all too soon. Healing does not come. Pain remains. And we wonder where God is. Is he even listening to me? Does he hear me? How did he let this happen?
But we must be honest with ourselves. What is it we are praying for? God’s will be done — or our own will be done? Are we really praying that we will supersede God’s will? If we are truthful, yes that is what we are asking — “God, please let my will be done.”
When Jesus was praying in the garden the night before his crucifixion, knowing what he was about to suffer, Jesus too prayed to the Father:
“…(Jesus) fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).
And then…
“My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” (v. 42)
Can any of us imagine if Jesus had not suffered death?
A Different Perspective
But let’s be honest. We do not grow closer to God when things are wonderful and going well. Those are the times that we tend to drift away, rather than draw close. It is in the valleys of life that we learn to lean on God and trust him more — as challenging as that can be sometimes.
It is often difficult to trust God when so much is going wrong. Yet, we trust doctors when we must go through the physical pain and mental anguish of treatment — that it will be ultimately for our own good.
As parents, we know that temporary, even momentary, pain or torment we may cause our children will ultimately be for their own good.
So, it is with God — our Father.
God sees things in a much different light than do we here on Earth. We see this life on earth as everything. When trouble hits, we often feel overwhelmed.
God’s perspective is much broader — he sees eternity. He sees, he knows, what is for the best, for us and everyone else. He knew that the suffering Jesus was to endure was best for all of mankind. For all of eternity.
On this side of eternity, none of us may ever know the reason these things are allowed to occur. Not just personal tragedy, but on a far greater, grander scale as well.
It is easy to dismiss evil as a product of man’s free will and sinful nature, but that does not make it less painful to endure or even witness.
Yet, it is not ours to understand — it is ours to trust. Our faith, our trust, is a choice we make and must cling to in difficult times.
Muscles of the human body grow stronger when put under stress. So, it is with our faith. When our faith is challenged by adversity, as so often happens, it is strengthened (Romans 5:3-5).
When we are at the end of our rope, we must cling to our Lord — the knot at the end of that rope. We must hold fast to that knot, knowing full well that it is not us holding on — not really. Rather, it is him holding on to us.
Where Is God?
After a back and forth with his friends, God finally spoke “…out of the storm” (Job: 38:1). He called Job to task — in multiple ways — and Job replied, “I will put my hand over my mouth” (40:4).
In other words, I’m going to shut up now. He knows that God had been there, been listening, the entire time. And Job recognizes his error:
Surely, I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know (42:3)
Sometimes the sun is not always visible to us, yet we know it is there. Its light may not shine as bright — it might even seem dark — but we know the sun is there, still shining with the same brightness as always. It is simply our vision, our view of the sun, that has been temporarily impaired.
Footprints is a prayer written by Margaret Fishback Powers back in 1964 when she was searching for direction in her life. While well-known to many, in its familiarity, we now often don’t absorb the real message:
One night I dreamed a dream. As I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, One belonging to me and one to my Lord.
After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints.
This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. "Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, You'd walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."
He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you Never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you."
- When there seems to be no hope — God is our hope.
- When there seems to be no recourse — God is our first choice.
- When there seems to be no answer, no help — God holds us and doesn’t let go.
- When there seems to be no remedy, no solution — God knows the answers.
- When there is nobody, no way — God is there, and Jesus is the way.
Where is God when we need him the most? He is right there with us. Right where he belongs.
He is in our hearts.
For further reading:
Can Christians Know if God Truly Exists?
Can We Learn How to Hear the Voice of God?
What Does God Promise When You Go Through Deep Waters?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/FG Trade
