Principle
God works all things together for good for His children.
Explanation
We observed that GOD allows suffering, even in situations when the person seemed to be innocent.
Suffering is a consequence of living in a sin-cursed world.
For the child of GOD, thankfully suffering is not meaningless or for naught. Rather, GOD promises to work even the bad things that happen to us for our ultimate good.
The apostle Paul wrote:
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28 NASB
It takes faith to believe this, especially in the midst of suffering.
Often, we see the rewards of long-suffering while in this life. Consider the biblical accounts of Job, who lost everything but was richer and more blessed at the end of the account, and Joseph, who was sold into slavery out of envy but became second in charge of all Egypt.
When we suffer, GOD wants us to cry out to Him for help. He loves and cares deeply. And yet, we must remember that He sees a much broader picture with perfect clarity. It is one of the greatest miracles that GOD is able to orchestrate the threads of billions of people together in such a way that those who are His children are blessed.
Unfortunately, sometimes we do not receive the blessings of our suffering while in this life.
Cancer comes to mind as an example. I have a cousin who passed from cancer in 2015. While imperfect like all of us, she was a faithful Christian. She did not appear to do anything that would have brought the suffering of cancer upon her. And yet she had to endure it. And cancer took her life.
Why did GOD allow her to get cancer? Why didn’t He heal her? Why did she not see the rewards of suffering before she died?
Only GOD knows. We aren’t given every answer we seek. Not here anyway. Job never got an explanation, as far as Scripture reveals, as to why he suffered so greatly. As far as we know, GOD never told Job what He had done in leading Satan to target Job.
But GOD never asks of us something that He was unwilling to do. Jesus suffered in this world, too. Jesus was GOD’s firstborn, the only begotten God. He was unique.
And yet Jesus suffered.
Jesus came for the very purpose of suffering. His mission was to pass every temptation without sin so that He qualified and then to give His life and die so that His (innocent) blood could serve as the necessary substitute for our (guilty) blood.
Jesus calls His disciple to take up our individual cross and follow Him. That implies suffering. The cross is an instrument of death. The call of Jesus is to die to ourselves so that we have new life through Jesus.
As Jesus was early in His ministry, He offered the first century Jews the encouragement that their suffering had purpose. Take comfort in these words:
3 `Happy the poor in spirit — because theirs is the reign of the heavens.
4 `Happy the mourning — because they shall be comforted.
5 `Happy the meek — because they shall inherit the land.
6 `Happy those hungering and thirsting for righteousness — because they shall be filled.
7 `Happy the kind — because they shall find kindness.
8 `Happy the clean in heart — because they shall see God.
9 `Happy the peacemakers — because they shall be called Sons of God.
10 `Happy those persecuted for righteousness’ sake — because theirs is the reign of the heavens.
11 `Happy are ye whenever they may reproach you, and may persecute, and may say any evil thing against you falsely for my sake —
12 rejoice ye and be glad, because your reward [is] great in the heavens, for thus did they persecute the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:3-12 YLT
If you are currently suffering, be encouraged and strengthened, what you are enduring has purpose. It won’t last forever. And the reward is worth it.
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