The Problem of PainSample

Finding hope

There was an old rabbi who traveled in a strange and dangerous country with only his donkey, rooster, and lamp. When he stumbled into a small village, exhausted and desperate for lodging, the villagers denied him room, forcing him to sleep in the nearby forest. The frustrated rabbi settled near a tree, where he lit his lamp to read the Scriptures, but a merciless wind snuffed out the flame. Soon after, wild animals chased his rooster away, and then a group of thieves snatched his donkey. His suffering felt unfair, unjust, pointless.

But the next morning, the rabbi wandered back into the village, where he discovered an answer to his suffering. The previous night, the village had been raided by enemy soldiers who attacked the villagers in their beds, the same soldiers who then marched by the very forest where the rabbi was sleeping. If they had seen the light of his lamp or heard the crow of his rooster or seen the shape of his donkey, he would have died. So the old rabbi sighed, “All that God does is done well.”

No matter how painful your life may be or get, the moral of the rabbi’s story holds true: “In all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28). Whether you see all of God’s plan, catch only a glimpse of it, or can’t fathom his bigger purpose, God is always using his power and love to work out pain for a greater good.

Believe that, and you will find hope in your suffering.