Why does God allow suffering?

Transcript

so as was mentioned I chose the topic that I wanted to um the Bible up and discuss with you tonight on

the very tough question and sometimes um you know almost taboo topic of why does God allow suffering and I did so with

um the thought in mind of you know a lot of the things that your equation has been going through in the prayer request that we've been getting regarding some of the tragedies that you guys are are dealing with the Heartbreak that everyone's working their way through so I wanted to try to offer this as a as a scriptural help to really kind of get back to

the nuts and bolts of you know looking Beyond just the impact that sorrow and suffering can have but like what's the what's the big picture

so as we know even though we might be sheltered here in America we are acutely aware that there is a massive amount of distress that is felt all over the globe you would agree with me that this ongoing pandemic

all the news headlines about natural disasters

we have current new threats of terrorism the increase of War

not to mention economic instability that's now making the cost of food at an all-time high

all these things on a macro level and then especially down to a personal level of dealing with

anxiety

living with depression

perhaps living with a disability or stress over money stress over family issues we almost feel some sense of hopelessness

as we see how the world is falling apart and that there are so few answers to be had sometimes

and as I mentioned I asked brother Nate if this topic might be appropriate or perhaps even a bit too much because I know that your Ecclesia is going through

um just it feels like trial after trial

I know that there's an immense amount of prayer that needs to continue to be had for the families that you mentioned and individuals that you mentioned and we do pray that our God hears these prayers and allows his angels to answer them swiftly to intervene

from my own experience when you start exchanging stories between ecclesias about who's on your prayer list and um you start learning about other people that you didn't even know needed to be included in prayers it can get pretty harrowing pretty quickly

um

when you comprehend the consequences of some of these requests um you know particularly I believe brother Tom Cannon

just how much

lives both can and will change just in an instant and it can make your heart sink in your chest

crying out for answers

and it feels like these days if it's not something that's

particularly impacting us then it's something else that's too close to home I Know Myself personally

um back in the spring with the Uvalde shootings that was something that really really struck a chord to me because I was still teaching at the time and

um just feeling for what that school must have been going through

every week we keep hearing about more mental health related suicides

more mass shootings

the key word behind all of it is suffering

human suffering

we might have a tough time dealing with this accepting why is it that people have to go through such affliction

what good is it doing

um I think the question that can come to most people's minds is that cliche why do bad things happen to good people I think that this question in particular has driven people both Believers and non-believers alike into three different camps

so I think there's really three different ways that people have chosen to try to answer this question

and that's what I've got on the screen at the moment the first is to just flat out say that there is no God that we just suffer for no reason

that the events that unfold in our personal lives as well as to nations in general are just random chaos and that's like the heartbreaking equivalent of saying you know what I'm really sorry that your daughter was killed by a drunk driver

I'm really sorry that your country is running out of clean water

tough luck

the second view would at least acknowledge

that there is a Divine something

that created the world and its inhabitants but that now events would just unfold on their own

um much like a clock that's been wound up and is now just ticking away

once again this kind of answer would say that we just suffer for no reason there's nothing to stop it there's no hope of intervention

so obviously the third point of view that I'd like to express this evening is what I hope most of us believe in that there is a personal and involved God

that both created this Earth and still controls it still intervenes in this world but yet

we still suffer

so then there has to be a reason for it

I think the first step in understanding why God allows suffering begins with understanding and perhaps accepting as well our position before him

the Bible tells us that we are but dust

that our egos need to be left behind

we were not created to be waited on hand and foot but in turn we were made to serve him and to give him the glory

it says as as uh hopefully you can see on the screen in Isaiah 64 verse 8 but now oh Lord you are our father we are your clay you are our Potter and we are all the work of your hand

and on a similar note in Romans 9 . what ill what is molded say to its motor why have you made me like this has the Potter no right over the clay

I think that something we're all familiar with and hopefully

um you know something we can accept

and another obvious thing that I believe needs to be said right off the bat is that a hard burden of Affliction is not

our Maker's fault as some would carelessly suggest is in fact our own the Bible also tells us this that the suffering that we understand is a direct correlation so the consequences of our own sin

that in the beginning God did create the Garden of Eden as a paradise

with the most ideal conditions there was no disease no injury no disaster no crime no pollution these things did not exist we did not understand stress

violence death

they were not experienced by mankind

God said that he saw everything that he made and behold it was very good

we know that Adam and Eve's Disobedience introduced

uh a separation between us and our master from them being so easily persuaded away from obeying God they chose to change things

mankind

no longer dwelling in harmony with God's laws we have Disobedience and affliction introduced to our human experience and I think most of us would probably also agree that it if it were not Adam and Eve it would have been us it would have been myself making those same poor decisions thinking of the lust the eyes the lust of the fresh the pride of life

Yahweh fairly told them in Genesis 2 verses 16 and 17. that the consequence of their Disobedience would be death

says you may surely eat of every tree of the garden but of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die

so today

is the result of that 6 000 years of Disobedience willful Rebellion against God so it's clearly evident why this existence of suffering is something that's so entrenched in our existence that it's so Perpetual that even though we have your babies and young children that have not chosen yet to disobey God

born in them is a nature to even disobey parents just because that's that's the the downfall of the flesh

this is the long-term effect of being removed from righteousness

and if you went back to our three answers and you went back to answer number one and you said well you know there is no God and we just we just suffer random once again there's no hope then there's no intervention and if you say again that answer number two there has been a Divine creation but that was just at the beginning things just almost go like a clock now once again we're looking for what is that answer of why is there suffering is there any reason behind it

it's interesting to note also

that it says that God does not force us to act against his will that displeases his righteous character he would wish that we would fear his name and in fact the scriptures indicate that mankind is generally determined to oppose the wisdom of God

in Ecclesiastes 8 and 11 it says

because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily

the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil

and in chapter 9 verse 2 it is the same for all since the same event happens both to the righteous and the wicked to the Good and Evil the hearts of the children of man are full of evil and Madness is in their hearts where they lived

and after that

they go to the Grave

so I lay these things out really really just to push the issue

why should we question the presence of evil and suffering when Humanity we're told despises the very means of its solution which is to obey God

all the horrible things around us that we could point to famine War disease

these are all a result of Mankind's greed

are

insatiable appetite to please ourselves the lust of the eyes and flesh

mankind given the responsibility to write its own destiny has just brought us to this point which is ignoring the Bible ignoring the advice of God ignoring

her recognization of a Creator and a need to respond to that creator

so

this would then be a fair time I think to insert the tough question

well if that's the case

why doesn't God intervene if God is truly benevolent if he truly loves us

if there is a reason why is he let it go so bad

I think there is um

there's a point in emphasizing some say that God could remove all these Dreadful circumstances from our our Earth from our existence and he could he could there there's power in admitting that brothers and sisters we believe in a god that is able

that is able to

end all things in a moment and he does allow

suffering to continue

but we know that if God came in and fixed everything

that we had wronged they would just validate the mischief and sin that we would get up to

God has told us from the beginning he hasn't purposed he wants to accomplish with us which is to fill the whole Earth with the knowledge of his glory and to produce a people for his own name a people that are called out to represent him

so I think it stands to make a point that we should be thankful that our God does not change that he is righteous he is right he stands by that same principle throughout time he does not Bend our circumstances but it's that we should bend to his even to the point of being humbled even to the point of being broken

um there's a number of different scriptural characters that we'll reference

um the Apostle Paul job as well

the honest truth is that without suffering

we would not then know the relief of the mercy and love of God

it's an understandable point to say you know without a in a perfect world you wouldn't see a need for God

if there was not trouble and discomfort we would not cry out for him we would not cry for help we would not ask for guidance we would not seek answers to these things

if there was not Affliction we would not have any need to draw close to a god that we saw any need of

and that's unfortunately where you've got people who've answered those three questions with the answers of number one and number two assuming that if there is no

Divine creator that is intervening on their behalf

then they just look past any hope of ending reflection

and that's the exact problem with what happened with Sodom and Gomorrah the days of Noah it's the humanistic thinking that well

you just live for it today eat

drink

be merry and one day you'll die

and people I guess just accept suffering is just

part of that existence

something I wanted to

bring up this is a little bit of different thought that I had

let me pull this screen up for you guys

this just came to me recently but I was thinking about the instance of when Jesus healed the man who was lowered in through the roof this is one of my favorite um healings because of how unique it was for a lot of different circumstances but you'll note that this is the only person that received technically two different blessings from Jesus he famously forgave his sins which then shocked the room but then he also to prove that he had the power to forgive sins insisted that he would also heal the Man's legs and he gave him that healing as an additional I think it's important to note here that was not part of the original plan

presumably

Jesus only sought

to forgive what he felt this man needed the most in order to better his life and to return closer to his God which was to forgive his sins Jesus did not intend to heal this man's physical calamity something that most people would assume was his main point of suffering

presumably

Jesus would have left the man lame if not for the murmuring of the Pharisees who questioned him

it reminds me of a similar circumstance with Paul

in second Corinthians 12 Paul mentions

praying for his Affliction to be removed from him multiple times

but yet it was it wasn't

and in both instances the fact that Jesus presumably would have left this man with his physical um disability

as well as somebody like Paul praying that a simple bodily Affliction would be removed from him

and in both instances

it was going to be allowed to remain

that might be a little bit of an insight to us into how

and why

God sometimes has the ability to reverse the situation but chooses not to

Paul writes in that reference from second Corinthians 12. starting at verse 7 through verse 10. so to keep me from becoming conceited

because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations a thorn was given me in the flesh messenger of Satan to harass me to keep me from becoming conceited and three times I pleaded with the Lord about this that it should leave me but he said my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness and so therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness so that the power of Christ May rest upon me

for the sake of Christ then

I am content with weakness I'm content with insults

hardships I'm content with persecutions I'm content with calamities because it is when I am weak then I am truly strong

but it's when we see I think suffering especially suffering that we feel is undeserved from people that we're close to that we always wish that it goes away we always wish that our our you know prayers are heard

I think it can be brothers and sisters one of the hardest things to square away in your mind when you pray fervently for someone to be healed

especially if it's drawn out over a long time

and then it doesn't happen

and people can fairly question

why weren't our prayers answered

did did we not pray enough

why is it that some people recover

and then we see others only get worse

foreign

we are very prideful as humans

we get very uncomfortable when we feel weak

when we feel that we don't have the control over a situation and I think if we get angry about this very easily we despise

an awareness of being limited we despise feeling weak

we say

How could a merciful god let this happen

how am I supposed to trust God if if grief and suffering remain in my life if I continue to have to deal with this burden

people say

God has abandoned me

so I'll abandon him

and people Curse God in their heart

we make an enemy of our own maker

but yet all these things don't do anything to take away the pain

that doesn't stop a loved one from dying that doesn't blunt regret

people will leave the thought of God behind

because they despise the idea of being left in our weakness

such as Paul was asked to do

remain without

full capabilities have no control

feeling like they're being made to suffer and that the fact that there could possibly be a reason for it but that is not being shown that's how people come to think that there is no God and that we just suffer for no reason

and I don't mean to be cheap when I say this but some people want the crown but are unwilling to carry the cross

some people want to be glorified with Christ but are unwilling to suffer with him

we're told though that key verse from second Corinthians 12 it is through weakness that God shows his glory in us our ability to trust in him and let go and and allow ourselves to be limited and to be weakened to be vulnerable it is in our sufferings

that the love of God is made perfect

that he's willing to take all these things away if we trust him if we show our faith

but of course I say that fully aware that

it is a really sad thing when

righteous men and women

especially ones that are close brothers and sisters close family it is tremendously sad when we're seeing them subjected to tremendous grief

trials burdens that we feel that even they cannot bear

as I mentioned in the beginning I'm sure even Beyond this past couple weeks I'm sure many of us that our lives have known faithful loved ones

who went through very tough times despite their love of God if maybe it frustrated us

that's okay it is okay to be frustrated and be upset it is okay to question God

why should Yahweh permit even his own beloved people who he has called to still suffer the effects of evil

actually I just want to check in because I'm not looking at my zoom screen

can everyone still hear me and see my screen okay

everything looks great okay we can hear you just fine thank you

so

one of the big things I think hopefully most of you know and I assume because this is what you were just talking about before we started our class but the job phenomenon is one of the key pieces of understanding the role of suffering for a believer

a lot of the times it's for someone's development it could be your own personal Spiritual Development it could also be a way to help others understand the reason for suffering

you can't go over the concept of suffering without mentioning job he's the poster child for it despite having that righteous attitude

the very first first of the very first chapter his introduction describes him as a man that was blameless

and upright he was a man who feared God he turned away from evil and you would think that surely of all people he would be protected by the God that he served from the experience of suffering but Yahweh saw that there would actually be benefits gained by job personally

and by those like him in every generation after if in that moment he were indeed tested

job wisely did not condemn his Lord for his anguish recognizing that all he possessed came from God originally and belonged to him

famously it says in Job 1 21-22 he said

excuse me naked I came from my mother's womb

naked shall I return

the lord gave

and the Lord is taken away and all these things blessed be the name of the Lord

and we're told that in all this job did not send a did not charge god with wrong

okay

there's another interesting Bible character that came to me recently thinking about this aspect and that's Jacob

Jacob had a very tumultuous life for a lot of different reasons but when I think about his suffering I think primarily about losing his son Joseph

it caused him such grief

broke his heart

because Joseph was his favorite son

would it have been better in any circumstance for him to instead lose one of the other 12. one of the other 12 that was born to one of the handmaids and not to Rachel one of the other 12 that he very clearly loved less than Joseph

we know that it caused a great amount of animosity between the family to the point that the brothers wanted to kill and get rid of Joseph because of their Envy because of the emotional damage and Trauma that clearly they suffered from understanding that their father loved them less than he loved Joseph

from Joseph's sorry from Jacob's perspective losing his favorite son caused the most amount of suffering than it would have the others but from God's perspective

any son lost should be cause for tremendous suffering

would it have really been better just hypothetically but just want to put this thought out there

would it have really been better that he instead lost Reuben or Judah or Simeon

and then perhaps not been as upset because well thankfully still got Joseph

that's not the kind of heart that our Lord wants to create in US

God cherishes all of his children equally life is precious to our God

and perhaps this is the hardest lesson to handle we asked the question the cliche the cliche question why do bad things happen to good people but

the parallel concept

you could say why do good things happen to bad people

there's something wrong with that kind of mindset and this is why I I think it included this as part of the teaser and this has been something I've been thinking about in the past couple years

we should not want for only good things to happen to good people

because the inverse is not glorifying God whatsoever we should not want for only good things to happen to good people and only bad things to happen to the bad people because where is that any salvation

then for those who we feel are bad or those who were less fortunate those who've been mistreated those who've never had the good things in the first place

one of the very impactful things you learn from being a teacher is that

you can't punish a bad child

because a lot of the reasons that they're probably already acting out is because they've been neglected because they need positive reinforcement

there is a quote that is such a true quote and they'd say it every year which is the kids that are hardest to love are the ones that need love the most

okay

so it's important sometimes for us to take a step outside of our own thought about suffering and think about we shouldn't wish that

we don't have to deal with the suffering so that someone else has to

because

it's not that anyone else deserves the suffering more than us

I'll give you an example

it can be easier I find this is just pure I'm emitting this myself it can be easier to tune out the horrific news I hear about places that I'll never go or people that I might already look down on

it's easier for me to tune out suffering when I hear about another famine in Africa

or another news clip about a drive-by drug shooting in downtown Philly

I could just say well that's just how it is they must just be in that position due to some bad decisions that's what you get

but then

how does God feel about that suffering that Affliction that loss of life

we wanted to be different to God when it's our own precious child that has cancer we're looking for answers

why should

why should my family suffer why should my my innocent child you know be diagnosed with cancer

well in God's eyes

yes you and your family are just as precious as that poor family that

lost someone to a drive-by drug shooting

or that Village in Africa that's still running out of food

along those same lines

to God

Judas was just as cherished as Jesus was

of course Jesus was his own beloved Son who did no wrong and Judas betrayed him

but it's important to take a step back and say that death is not something that is pleasing to the god of life

Our God that we Love Takes no pleasure in our suffering

what he does look for

his hearts that acknowledge

how limited we are

how thankful we are that when things are plentiful and when things do go well in our life when we do have joy

that we trust him

God wants us to trust him

holy and not necessarily that we should be willing to lose all things

but that in faith that he will provide for us no matter what Affliction we may be going through

that it will be enough

just another example from scripture is the Widow of Zarephath from First Kings 17. the Prophet Elijah comes across a widow and her son who we come to understand have been in such a state of Affliction that they've been starving to death she literally has just enough food

for what she says she assumes will be their last meal

and after that she proclaims that she expects to die

through God

Elijah makes it so that the jars of flour and oil that the cake was made from never run out

so coming from their moment of desperation

God teaches this family to trust and have faith that even at the point of having such intense suffering he can still through weakness show his love and Glory

well that son of her still died that Widow

still did lose her son

but once again God by his Mercy through Elijah raised him back to life

the point being that she still had to experience that suffering that fear perhaps that worst fear she could have ever had having already lost her husband losing her own son

but nothing is beyond the power of our God

when we lose something or someone

dear to us it'll always hurt more to look inwardly to dwell on what I have lost

it will always be harder to think outwardly and think of the rest of the world around us and have empathy

say man you know I may have just

lost a dear family member who suffered for a long time but

man others must have also lost someone as well this must be so hard for all of us

I think there's a lot of healing that can go into looking Beyond ourselves and thinking of a general need for the return of Christ and to ask God to to implore God to help us have whatever it is that we need to carry on

again it can hurt to dwell on

who or what we have lost

but some of us some people have never even had those same blessings at all

we have people in our Collegiate who throughout the course of their life have developed crippling disabilities that now leave them as basic prisoners inside their own bodies

you hear about children who are born to drug addicted mothers

work in the school system long enough you'll see plenty of broken families

it may be hard to hear but any blessing you have is a blessing blessings are blessings having healthy family members clean food safety and shelter these are things to be praising God for recognizing there are people around the world that don't even have these things that grow up without any family structure grow up without easy access to clean food and water

grow up knowing that their body is severely

disabled

so again there can be a lot of healing and just appreciating and praying and testifying to God for his Mercy and praying that others may have these same Comforts may have the same Joy

so like job

we need to be careful that

we don't blame our Master for any trouble that might come our way because it may in fact be his means of perfecting our character

the thing that we fear going through the most maybe the thing that's preparing us for the greater purpose that he is in store for us

I've been told this before and I like reminding people that

faith begins

at the edge of our comfort zone

and our moment of Sorrow

that can end up being your final test of faith are you willing to trust God even through this this last affliction

for Jesus that was his moment on the cross

to the last test

so will we rely on God to see us through

or

when suffering comes do we curse the day that we are born which is what job's friends told him to do

well the result of job's trial

was that by his faithful endurance his three friends also came to a knowledge and love of the lord and there was by his strength it changed not only his life but even the lives of those who witnessed his great loss

this is something that really sticks with me because it's something I felt like I suffered and witnessed firsthand

um

there's two dear friends of mine years ago when I was living in Detroit I'm sure you've heard of both of them

um Mary bobus and Grant Anderson

one that eventually lost her Battle of cancer

and another who survived and near fatal car accident but will be permanently brain damaged until God restores both of them

and

we were completely floored

by the tragedies that came upon these faithful young believers I mean we're all in our young 20s

but it witnessing it it was by both of their tremendous strength and their faith in God even through their suffering dying from cancer or

waking up from a coma

that

God's glory was shown all the more brighter because of their faith

and that's sometimes

how suffering can be a greater benefit

to the people

around them

based on how the individuals handle it

how others perceive it

showing that even in your weakness even in being limited even in being

without answers

still having faith testifying that God is in control

long after someone passes that can be the lesson that someone learns for the rest of their life

and we're told at the VIN in job 42 that his latter end

was even more Splendid than his beginning

God blessed him

to such a greater extent

than he even had

and all these things he recognized that it was the Lord who gives and the Lord who takes away

this is a parallel to what Paul tells us in Romans 8. Paul says I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not even worth comparing

with the glory that will be revealed in US

Paul understood that suffering is part of Human Condition it's a key part of our trials

and in fact it's essential

to the aspect of a life in Christ

second Timothy 2 18 the saying is trustworthy for her

if we have died with him we will also live with him

if we endure we will also reign with them

and first Peter chapter 2 Peter writes

this is a gracious thing

that when you're mindful of God

one endures sorrows while suffering and jostling

for what credit is it then if you sin and are beaten for it and you endure but if when you do good and suffer you endure this is a gracious thing in the sight of God for to this thing you've been called because Christ also suffered for you

leaving an example said you might follow in his steps foreign

as we move towards our conclusion that's obviously our confidence and our example though he did no sin or cause any harm to his fellow man Jesus the Christ suffered greatly at the hands of evil Godless men who hated him

because his righteousness was a living rebuke to their wickedness

so of course we could say why should a sinless man

be subjected to such unwarranted suffering and persecution

and we are told plainly in Acts chapter 2 it says his death was according to the definite plan and for knowledge of God he

had to die he had to die to show

that God was righteous in the beginning from the very beginning for allowing mankind to suffer and die for their sin

Jesus being morally sinless Rose from the grave opening the way for us to follow his example with the hope of eternal life that is free from the bonds of affliction

Our Savior refused

excuse me refused to conform to the sinful way of life surrounding him he now provides for us a blueprint on how to stand apart from the world

even though yes it may bring about difficulty yes it may bring about persecution

he gave us a model on how to endure through sufferings

in order to obtain up our prize our crown of righteousness even just a hope to see life restored and God can and will do those things

that says we have a high priest who is not unable to sympathize with our weakness

one who in every respect has been tempted just like we are yet without sin

so we know that suffering now

prepares us

we I would never choose to go through some of the things that I've talked about some of the examples I've given and I know a lot of us would agree

I have things that I am

deathly afraid of having to endure fears that like well what if this happened in my life what if God brought this event happened I don't think I could handle that I don't think it'd be prepared for that

and the fear of the unknown is not something that's ever gonna make it not happen

but we have confidence in what is known

we're told that suffering now

in whatever form that may take It prepares us for the coming kingdom of God

and the kingdom of God is coming

so it's important to remember that inner moments of suffering

for time

other people have suffered like this other people have said similar trials sometimes even much greater trials than us

and such experiences develop in us the human character and the important Priestly qualities of empathy

compassion

by which we are strengthened to triumph over those difficulties to encourage others to do likewise

we're told this in second Corinthians 3. I'm sorry second Corinthians 1. verses three to five

where it says blessed be the God and the father of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of Mercies the God of All Comfort who comforts us in our Affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with this comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God

for we are to share abundantly in Christ's sufferings so that through Christ we share abundantly in Comfort too

foreign

thing to remember is that

when we are at our weakest is when God can be at his strongest when we are going through our worst suffering and without answers is when God is working the most directly with us

we should take comfort in that we know that God tells us he'll never put us through more than what we can handle even with his own son he was willing to send Legions of Angels in a moment's notice

you were never beyond what your God believes you can bear

now say that again

you are never Beyond

for your God you created you believes you can bear he wants us to pray to him

to seek that jar of oil and flour that somehow will just keep going day by day it'll just find a way to keep going

and that even through death itself

help us to

have that complete faith that

life even will be restored

and like job that our latter end will be even more Splendid than the beginning that our

the glory that will be revealed in US it'll be like nothing

now where we are going through now

perhaps we won't even remember

so

I'll end just with one more tough question

make sure I'm on the right slide

needless suffering

is there such a thing

I think you say that there's like a cliche picture of like you know starving children that are just all bones and skin

does that have to happen

is there such a thing as just needless

suffering

I would say no

I would say that even by that child that you'll never meet

by it God is showing us

showing everyone that something's wrong

any suffering is meant to wake us up and jar us and shock us remind us that the condition of the earth is out of place

and that it keeps getting worse the more we're separated from him it's not originally meant to be this way that's why we need intervention that's why answer number three is the only answer

we need God's help

whether it is another Refugee crisis I mean the times you have to hear about these boats of refugees that try to flee a country and then just sink somewhere

babies that you're seeing are born with Incredible disabilities

no that's not needless suffering this is just part of the human condition and it's meant to

have us feel the same shock and agony

that we're separated from our master there is no earthly solution that can change these pitiful things from occurring it's a reminder that only when God has set up Paradise again while our suffering end

and all these things even the most shocking they're meant to Humble us to that end

to have empathy for our fellow man to try to comfort one another

to praise God for the blessings we do have good health and food

but remember that quick fixes in this life is all they are they're temporary and we need to recognize and reach this and testify to this that there's a need for a permanent change

it's one thing to cure a cold

to give me a covet booster

to even strive to cure cancer it's another thing entirely to do away with sickness and death altogether and that is what God has promised he will do

First Timothy 2 tells us that it is God's desire that all mankind be saved

all of us that all mankind somehow come to a knowledge of his truth

and by the means that that happens

sometimes requires suffering first you think of the leper

the man born blind in John chapter nine think of Jairus whose daughter died in his arms these individuals would have never come to Jesus if they were all fine they were not without grief if they were not severely aware of how limited they were It Is by their suffering that they were forced to not lean on their own understanding and to seek God

the same goes for us as well as all mankind our heavenly father does not want to lose any

he is willing that none should perish

so lastly

just

get to my last slide

sorry

we know that suffering sets the stage for joy

it is after bitter suffering that salvation tastes so sweet

and Romans 2 it says to those who by patience and well doing seek for Glory and Honor and immortality he will give eternal life

in Isaiah 40 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength they shall Mount up with wings like eagles they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint

and in psalm 30. for his angers but for a moment

his favors for a lifetime

weeping may endure for a night but joy comes with the morning

so we should

absolutely continue to pray for those who suffer we do believe that our God

his ear is not death that it does not hear his arm is not shortened that it cannot save

we believe our God hears our prayers he answers prayers his angels are working in our lives

the Bible gives us numerous accounts of healings and miracles that were done on the behalf of faithful prayers and a reminder to us that we should not lose hope prayer works there is such a power in prayer

but

even if sorrow continues even if trials remain this doesn't mean that God is not still working in your life

we just never know the way or the time for the plans that he has in store

but this thing we do know

the promise of the age to come in Revelation 21 he will

wipe away every tear from their eyes

Death Shall be no more

and there shall never again be Mourning nor crying

nor pain

for the former things that passed away

so I would leave you with the statement that

God allows suffering

so that in that day we will truly know the unlimited extent of his love