Advice from an Old Man
You are going to get hurt in this life. Do not pretend otherwise. When it happens, do not run away from God. Run toward Him. You may not understand what He is doing, but you can still trust who He is. ______________________________________________________________
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)
If God is good, why does He allow suffering?
That question has been asked by people for thousands of years. The Bible does not give one simple answer because suffering does not come from one simple cause.
Sometimes we suffer because we live in a broken world. People get sick, bodies wear out, accidents happen, and people die. Sin damaged this world long before you and I showed up.
“For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.” (Romans 8:22)
Sometimes we suffer because of our own choices. Sometimes we suffer because of what somebody else did to us. And sometimes we have no idea why something happened.
That is hard to accept, but it is true.
God never promised to explain everything. He did promise that our pain is not wasted.
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God.” (Romans 8:28)
That verse does not say everything that happens is good. Some things are terrible. It says God can take even the terrible things and use them for His purpose.
Suffering can make you bitter, or it can drive you closer to God. It can destroy your faith, or it can show you whether your faith was real in the first place.
You may never get the answer to “Why?”
But you still have to decide what you will do with the pain.