Suffering Again

As I am writing this blog, I just found out that a huge magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit western Colombia earlier in the day. They are now searching for the injured and the dead. This is just weeks after double earthquakes, both over magnitude 7, shook neighboring Venezuela on June 24, killing over 5,000 people and leaving many orphans behind. This is now more suffering again for South America. However, Asia has also had devastating earthquakes hitting the Philippines and Japan over the last several weeks. These earthquakes have made tens of thousands of lives change in a moment.  Wildfires throughout Europe and North America have caused hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate, while lives have been lost and numerous properties have been damaged. Over a million people in southern Africa suffered from severe flooding earlier this year, and Oceania has experienced destructive cyclones that have interrupted lives in many nations. It seems that no part of the world has been untouched by natural disasters since the start of this year, causing great suffering in every corner of the globe.

Often we can go about our lives without knowing what is coming next. Natural disasters, accidents, and illnesses can pop up unexpectedly, bringing upheaval into our lives. Thankfully, nothing takes God by surprise.

You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.  If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” even the night shall be light about me; indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You. Psalm 139:3-12

These verses may offer comfort to some, but others may be angry with God, questioning why He won’t stop bad things from happening when He knows everything. There is no easy answer to this question, but we know that God uses bad to fulfill His purpose. He truly works all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. So, if we are in God’s purpose and the devil and his demonic forces come fighting against us, we may get battle fatigue, but as long as we are in God’s will and we are obeying Him, then He will use what the devil means for harm and turn it for good. Yes, it may seem that God is taking a long time to rectify our situation, but I was reminded recently that God is not limited by time, so a thousand years is as a day to Him. When we are in the Lord’s will, it is important to have patient endurance.

My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. James 5:10-11

The Lord is compassionate and merciful, but are we willing to wait on Him and persevere through suffering to see His intended end? I am connected to a number of missionaries throughout the world, for whom we pray. I recently remarked to my prayer partner that the perseverance of the missionaries through difficulties encourages me. There is a missionary family who has been in the field for over 20 years and has faced many challenges, but they have endured the hardships, and now it seems God is making ways unexpectedly for them to fulfill the vision He had given them decades ago to start an orphanage and to work with widows on a much larger scale. He has allowed them to experience many difficulties throughout the years, but they always knew He was with them and that He would never fail them. Peter, who wasn’t willing for his friend, Jesus, to suffer, wrote after Jesus’ death and resurrection that those who suffer according to the will of God should commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator. And this is what a lot of the missionaries have done. Oswald Chambers, who was an evangelist and teacher, penned the following about suffering.

To choose to suffer means that something is wrong. To choose God’s will even if it means suffering is a very different thing. Healthy saints never choose suffering; they choose God’s will, whether it means suffering or not, just as Jesus did. A saint never dares to interfere with the discipline of suffering in another saint. The people who do us good aren’t those who sympathize with us; they are those who help make us strong and mature for God. Sympathy holds us back; it saps our energy and fills us with self-pity. When we accept sympathy, the thought that goes through our mind is “God is dealing harshly with me.” That is why Jesus said self-pity was of the devil. When Peter implied that God, in allowing Jesus to be put to death, was being too harsh, Jesus replied, “Get behind me, Satan!” (Matthew 16:23).

Peter later understood that it was important for his master and friend to suffer for all our sakes. Sometimes suffering is necessary to reach the achieved end. Many athletes go through grueling hours of training to attain their goal or gold. So too, we as Christians will suffer for God’s glory. We should also be careful not to stop the suffering that God is permitting in the life of someone we love, but ask Him for discernment, as God may be working out His purpose in their lives. If we ignorantly stop their suffering, God may make them suffer again.