Through Our Suffering

Suffering… there has been so much of it lately. Have you ever wondered why certain things happen to you? Maybe it is with your job, the economy, your family, relationships or your friends… suffering has likely touched you or someone else you know. I know for myself this past year has been full of unpleasant experiences. When I sit back and look at all that have happened, it is beyond overwhelming. But in the mist of our dysfunctional lives isn’t that when we should be praising God the most? Even in the Bible it tells us, in all our sufferings He will never leave nor forsake us. Over lunch I had this discussion with my girlfriend Siobhan, we talked about how Job from the Bible is a perfect example of this. Job lost everything he ever held dear to him and yet left with nothing he still humbled himself before God. God never gave Job more than he could handle. You see God has a perfect plan for your life, He is just waiting for you to depend on Him with all that you have. Isn’t that so beautiful that God would bless our lives like that? Even through all our sufferings, He never abandons us and is continually showing us His love. I can’t help but think of how blessed I am, through all my trials God has done some incredible things. I want to encourage you as you are looking to a New Year. Just remember… God is right beside you, He is there to lift you up when you can’t go any farther. He loves you and will never abandon you. Just trust Him with your life, He will take care of the rest. Even as Christians we have to be reminded of this. So don’t look at your sufferings in the wrong way, take joy in the fact you have them. God has something so wonderful planned for our lives, we don’t even know. It is through our sufferings, that He will give it to us. Let me leave you with these two scriptures I found…

“Then Job replied to the LORD : “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” – Job 42:1-6

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” -1 Corinthians 10:13