As a pastor, I can’t begin to count the number of times that people have asked me why they (or their loved ones, or other people) are going through a period of suffering — be it a health crisis, financial difficulties, marital struggles, the problems involved in child-rearing, persecution by enemies or any of the other categories of suffering that people around the world go through (and have been going through for millennia). The simplest answer is, I don’t know.
But, God does! In Deuteronomy 8:16, he “pulls back the curtain” for just a moment to mention one of the many possible answers: “that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end.” I’m sure that the apostle Paul had that statement in mind when he wrote Romans 8:28 — “we know that all things work together for good for them that love God.”
“God has a wonderful plan for your life” (from “The Four Spiritual Laws” tract). Right now, he is busily working that plan. If suffering is part of it, he knows the reason. Trust him, and allow his grace to carry you through it!
“If I’d never had a problem, I wouldn’t know God could solve them” (Andrae Crouch).
John H. Roller
