Making Sense of suffering

If God is good, why all the suffering?

God has a lot to say about suffering

It’s way more than a pep talk or motivational speech. God’s words are alive, active and sharper than any sword. He wants your heart healed, perfected in love, perfected in holiness.

When you start to trust God at his word, you can start to see yourself, your past, and your present situation clear.

No one on earth has been immune to suffering… in many ways suffering defines what it means to be a human living in a world stolen and mocked by the enemy of love.

Jesus gave us a perfect model to follow when we suffer. As the perfect divine human—Son of God, Lamb of God—he accomplished his greatest work through suffering.

Jesus was called the perfect victim. He did everything with perfect love (healing everyone and forgiving everyone), and they still killed him for it!

“When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:23)

The Creator of everything was abused to death by the men he created. In this act, we see the utter depravity of humans operating from self-righteousness.

Jesus suffered for the “joy set before him”…. knowing he was winning back his perfect image of TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS in all people!

We can break the cycle of abuse by letting God remake us into his perfect image of mercy and justice… by receiving the gift of his righteousness. This will show the powers of darkness—the demons who feed on humans’ abuse of each other—the utter uselessness of abuse.

At Jesus’ return, God will glorify everyone who trusts his goodness demonstrated in Jesus. Our glory will be so intense, it will consume (like a fire) every enemy of love!

The upside down world of suffering with God’s image in you…

Seeing Jesus’s example, we can treat suffering in a completely new and powerful way.

Enduring the ramifications of sibling abuse is a severe trial! But there can be good that comes forth from your suffering when you unite it with Jesus’ suffering.

All the good that God will accomplish through you—and for you (and others)—will become infinitely greater than the pain!

Whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know the testing of you faith produces endurance… and hope.   (James 1:2,3)

In this you rejoice… while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold… may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:6,7)

Okay… but how can pain be joyful?!

You cannot measure the value/success of your new life in Jesus as the image of God with an earthly perspective.  You measure the success of your new life through JESUS’ perspective. 

If you have repented and been baptized, you have already died.  Your life—and ALL YOUR PAIN—is now hidden in Christ.  His cross is the single truth keeping the immense value of your suffering front and center. 

When the cross is the first thing on your mind, your suffering becomes joyful, even loving the ones who caused the pain (including yourself). Self-hatred will be crushed along with self-righteousness!

Jesus endured the greatest suffering already.  He endured the pain caused by all sin.  He felt utterly forsaken by his Good Father… in order to take all fear of pain and failure off you. 

You never have to believe you’re forsaken (or a failure) because Jesus already was treated as a forsaken failure for you!  

Having His righteousness purchased by His suffering, is the only way to have “nothing but joy” in every situation. 

Especially when your pain is the result of abuse you didn’t retaliate against.

For He has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for Him as well. (Philippians 1:29)

It’s not a cliché!  Pain can have immense purpose for good (not just at the gym)… if you’ll allow it.

How do you live by this other-worldly perspective about pain?  With God’s wisdom.  How do you receive God’s wisdom?  Simply by asking your generous Creator-Father for the wisdom he freely gives.

The goal for your new perspective is to never be double-minded.  Never waver in your trust of God’s goodness as the perfect giver of “every perfect gift” he gives through his love in you.

A glorious abundance of grace has been lavished on you to let you have joy in suffering.  It’s part of the “everything” God gives you for life and godliness when you trust and believe him. (Ephesians 1; 2 Peter 1:3)

When you open your heart to his righteousness, you’ll have his wisdom.. When you sense you need more wisdom, abide with your Father, THANKING Him for the wisdom He has made available for you in Christ—the fullness of truth! 

Jesus is the wisdom of God! (1 Corinthians 1:30). Inside Jesus you have all knowledge, insight, revelation, and understanding.  You can say YES to receive it by faith in God’s goodness.

When you trust Him to do it, the Holy Spirit will teach you all things. (1 John 2:27)  You receive everything by trusting God wants to put everything in you, and His grace is released to you to make it your reality.  He’s the BEST Dad!

Remember, fallen human reasoning is the root of all double-mindedness (and all sin):  falsely believing you have to do something to qualify for your “goodness”, and seeing yourself as “good and evil” at the same time. 

This lie makes you hold onto or create your own measure of righteousness through your worldly successes… At the same time the lie makes you feel like you have to punish yourself for your failures (or deserve the losses in your life because you believe you are condemnable for your failures).  But,

[you] have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so [you] may understand the gifts bestowed on [you] by God… in words taught by the Spirit… (1 Cor. 2:12)

Worldly reasoning makes you fearful to lose your physical body or property.  It’s the lie that keeps you from doing what Jesus says:  “lose your life for my sake”. (Matt. 10:39) 

You must allow Jesus’ cross to remove everything from your earthly self.  Dying to your self on His Cross is the only way to have true life.  Self-righteousness says your physical life is the true measure of your existence.

You can’t “expect to receive anything from the Lord” if you still need to identify yourself as your old self (the natural born sinner) while trying to act like a Christian (in your newly reborn self). 

Thinking you are good and evil at the same time is the root of doubt in God’s Goodness!  It steals your capacity to suffer with joy!

For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind… double-minded and unstable in every way… (James 1:6,7)

Double mindedness causes doubt… and doubt steals faith.  Keep your righteousness from God! It will ensure you have mercy or love for yourself, your neighbor and your enemy. Your trust in God’s goodness builds your capacity to have joy… even when someone or something steals from you or hurts you.

How could you ever believe another person (especially an ENEMY who is trying to take away your life) can be made right with the Father if you don’t already believe the Father has made you right? 

Once you see you’ve been made righteous, you will have the faith—and mercy—to believe another person can be made righteous as well.  Isn’t that beautiful?

When you know who you are IN HIM, you can actually prosper in suffering!

Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up… and the rich [boast] in being brought low. (Js. 1:9,10)

It’s the blessing of suffering… counting our physical losses as a means of advancement! 

With the personal struggle to reestablish a “normal” life after abuse comes temptation to be selfish and self-protective. These mindsets actually lead us away from true life and love.

God’s righteousness will crush Adam’s self-righteous seed in you before it reproduce its fruit to steal, kill and destroy!  Self-protection causes people to buy weapons… but Jesus said to let them kill you if need be.  Better to lose your physical life than your eternal soul!

Seeking earthly protection through human thinking will result in death. Jesus said, “Those who live by the sword, die by the sword.”

When you allow your Satan-seeded self-righteous desires to die, you become one with God your Father who providers you with a Kingdom-of-Light powered life.

Your life will be lived for indestructible eternal realities, not for temporary earthly ease or comfort.

Jesus said you cannot have true life without giving up your old life.  Allow your reputation (good or bad), your career goals, and your retirement plan to die. 

Suffer the loss of all things for the greater joy of knowing the image of true love inside you.  You receive God’s greatest security, destiny, and purpose for your life by entering your new life reborn as His child, totally detached from this world:

Every generous act of giving, with every perfect GIFT is from above coming down from the Father of Lights… In fulfillment of His own purpose, He GAVE US BIRTH by the Word of Truth…  (Js. 1:17,18)

This is the Gospel:  God gives you a new life—better than you could ever earn or deserve—as a gift! Simply by hearing and believing His Words.  And this new birth now transforms you back into His image. 

What you see in the life of Jesus, you now become.  Whatever you see in your life that isn’t in the life of Jesus, you allow to die… including any anger about yesterday, or worries about tomorrow.