Suffering

Suffering: When people encounter hardships in their lives, one of the first responses is to blame God. How could a loving God allow this to happen to me? What we fail to realize is his plan is to strengthen us through troublesome times.He wants us to put our faith and trust in him. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says: Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me. Here it clearly says he works best when we are weak. A goal of parenting is to raise a child to one day be self-dependent. Although we think of God as our heavenly father, his desire is different. God leads us through life longing for us to be GOD-dependent, for he works best when we need something greater than ourselves. In those moments we must have FAITH that God will strengthen us and provide for us in our time of need. When we can put our faith and trust in him, our relationship with him will grow. Just as friendships strengthen in tough times, so does your relationship with God. Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church said, “Your most profound and intimate experiences of worship will likely be in your darkest days. When your heart is broken, when you feel abandoned, when you're out of options, when the pain is great, and you turn to God alone.” Through a personal relationship with Christ, God promises an abundant life here on earth and the promise of eternity in heaven. Romans 8:18 What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. This verse references the promise of life more abundant as well as the glory of heaven. Know that God wants a personal relationship with us and for us to rely on him to meet our needs. Our troubles now are NOTHING compared to the glory that is to come. Be strong in your faith and trust God for guidance through suffering.