Brokenness, the Path to Gloryနမူနာ

The Question

"Why does God send pain and suffering to people in our world?”

We understand that a man reaps what he sows (Galatians 6:7), so if we can see something wrong that we did that precipitated our pain and suffering, we can accept that the pain is just. Most of us who follow Christ also understand that sometimes God disciplines us as the Bible describes in Hebrews 12:4-11. God is trying to get our attention and desires that we repent and change our behavior. We also realize that after thousands of years of sin there are things going wrong in our world that may not be caused by us at all. And all of us know that we are not sinless, but since we have surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ, and Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. Why do such terrible things happen to us? Why do we have a child with a terrible disability? Why did this rare disease happen to me? Why am I facing all these treatments for stage 4 cancer? Why is God allowing this?

We know that (James 1:17), “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows”, but that is not what we are experiencing. Is Satan just having his way, while God stands by helplessly? That can’t be. Could God have an ultimate purpose in bringing these things into our lives? God, Himself, in Isaiah 45:7 says, “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.”

In 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 Paul says, “Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Satan was definitely involved, but God sent that thorn to Paul, and when Paul asked to have it removed, God said no.

God brings these things into our lives to produce spiritual brokenness in us. Knowing this doesn’t make the pain go away, but knowing that the God who created us and loves us more than we could ever imagine has a loving purpose for placing this in our lives, makes all the difference. If we will allow ourselves to believe what God says and to trust Him, then these words from Him become a great blessing in our lives: Isaiah 43:2-3, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

Do we really want God to have His way in our lives? Do we want Him to receive the maximum glory through us, and use us in a mighty way? The process of getting us ready may be painful but is more than worth it.