REALIZING PURPOSE FOR PAIN - MOVING BEYOND THE TEARS

                                                     FROM PAIN TO PEACE

                  REALIZING PURPOSE FOR PAIN - MOVING BEYOND THE TEARS
         
         Romans 5:3-5
We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, Hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.Job 2:13
 Then they sat on the ground with Job seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him because they saw how much he was suffering.

The Purpose of Pain

Human suffering takes many forms: emotional, natural, and moral. Loneliness, anxiety, and grief are examples of emotional suffering. Fires, tornados, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunami, and physical illnesses (e.g., cancer) are examples of natural suffering. Moral suffering is brought on by the deliberate acts of fellow human beings to cause suffering, something Christians call a moral evil(Davies-Stofka, 2013).   

I have written and reflected about suffering and realize that there will be times in our life when we just can't understand what God is up to. Why is this happening to me? Why, in the world, are innocent people/children dying in violence? Why did my loved one die and suffer so? Circumstances arise that will and we feel that God is nowhere near us and doesn't our heartrending cries for help.

You might determine in your "mind" that when you face such trials that you will remain firm in your faith and trust God.

But our trials are spiritual, not mental.

Believe me, there will be times when no amount of mental effort will get you through. It is only faith that will see you through and that will be a gift from God.
 Spiritual maturity comes through realizing how weak we are and how much we are totally sustained by God. Compassion, understanding, patience, perseverance grows from suffering as Christ did for us. Suffering prepares us for bearing fruit and serving others through God's love and grace.

Through our failures we come to know His victory.

Assignment for Growing Compassion through Suffering:

Schedule a "Day of Compassion". Hopefully the compassionate "mindset" will grow to weeks and longer eventually - but gotta start somewhere :) Our challenge will be to live each minute of that day in as compassionate a way as possible. In other words, for a full 24-hour period we commit to do our best to help other people in need, to be considerate and respectful, and to avoid causing harm to any living being.
 

FATHER GOD, PLEASE HELP ME BE FREE OF SORROW, PAIN, SADNESS AND MISERY. PLEASE HELP ME TO NOT FALL INTO THE PITFALL OF AFFLICTIONS AND ATTACHMENTS TO WRONG VIEWS. HELP ME, REGARDLESS OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES, TO SIMPLY DEAL WITH LIFE FREE OF ANXIETY AND WISDOM THROUGH YOU. HELP ME TO SEE HOW TO USE MY PAIN TO BE COMPASSIONATE TO OTHERS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PERFECT EXAMPLE OF LOVE. JESUS REIGNS! AMEN.

　

Davies-Stofka, B. (2013) http://www.patheos.com/Library/Christianity/Beliefs/Suffering-and-the-Problem-of-Evil.html. Patheos, Inc.

The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.