I have always struggled with suffering. It has been the one chink in my faith that I battle continuously.
Yesterday I read an article on the dark nights of our souls. Prolonged illness, suffering, trials that go from days to weeks to years. Where is the “joy that comes in the morning” that your word so promised it asked?
For any of us that have walked the dark roads of suffering this has been a valid question. “Where is the light you so promised Lord? I am faithful in prayer where are you?”
Suffering and trials are a part of this life for everyone, the redeemed and the unsaved alike. The difference is those who are children of God do not go through the darkness alone.
In our lives we will have different lengths of time where we cannot see the next step. Sometimes it is only for a night, many times it is for a season, occasionally – years.
God knows this. He is not one who looks down and just wonders how we are doing. He is in control of every single trial that touches our lives and the lives of those we love. Nothing is out of his hands.
Could he heal, stop, prevent, end – absolutely. But his ways are greater than our ways. Just because we don’t understand what he is doing does not mean he is not good.
Remember His goal is to make us like His son Jesus. We all have a sin nature still that needs to be honed and sanded down. True reliance on “self” must be eliminated. The right to ourselves, our “I” must become the “all you Jesus”.
My life is no longer my own – it was bought with a price. So often in our trials the gift of the cross becomes lost, mundane, an afterthought.
We must remember the price paid at Calvary means our lives are no longer ours but His, to do with what He wishes. God wants our hearts fully surrendered to him. I have no right to myself. None.
How counterintuitive to a culture that is so “selfie” centered. One that has created an atmosphere where “me first” is the norm. The culture pulls – yet if you are a person that has been rescued by God’s grace and have true saving faith God will not let you go. The world will not win – you are bound for victory!
Yet while we walk these earthly days, breathe this air – we are subject to pain and suffering. And God will use this to bring us to himself.
The greatest gift of all is to be shaken by the Lord – for Yahweh to love you enough to want the very best for you.
We must remember that every pain and trial has a greater purpose. It is not wasted. And God will never allow it to continue longer than it takes for Him to complete his purpose in and for you.
So though the night might be long, look for the rays of light, the change in hues from the blackest night to the charcoal of predawn to the faintest glimmer of color. God is there – always.
We can calm our self-centered hearts and souls and say as David did with thanksgiving, “Return, O my soul, to your rest for the Lord had dealt bountifully with you.” Psalm 116:7
