This comic was inspired by many of you. I marvel at the amazing faith that some of you have. I wish I had it. That kind of faith is a gift. I apologize if that phrasing is not comforting, but chances are, those of you who have that gift will say a hearty "amen" to what I said earlier. For the rest of us, it's ok, suffering is tough, and expressing your emotions honestly (even when it doesn't seem very "spiritual") is important. The Psalmist offers many Psalms of high emotional intensity, and it can serve as a good example for us for emotional expression to God.
I wish there was a magic wand we can swing to make suffering disappear, but there isn't. I strain to find any comforting words because I remember what suffering is like, and no words comforted me, only God Himself could keep me going, and He did. Sometimes, what choice do we have but to grit our teeth and try to make it out the other side? What a wretched world, one that will be replaced by a better one, and that is our ultimate hope.
As mentioned in the comic, one of the good things that God can bring out of our sufferings is growth. Another is the assurance of faith. At least, that's what the Bible says, I suppose I won't know for myself until I've walked through it all. Regardless, I place my trust in the Lord.
I have struggled with the problem of suffering for so long. I have no problem with my suffering, I blame no one, and I continue to look to God. But when I look at my little siblings, or children that I take care of at my job, and think about how they might suffer hardship (whether it's now or in the future), I simply cannot stomach that thought. I know it's a reality assumed by the Bible, but I cannot emotionally be okay with that, and I will try my absolute best to ensure the well-being of those around me.
Of course, I ask myself why God would allow all this. The answer is not given, at least not satisfactorily, in the Bible (The best answer is given to Job, it was not an answer, but a sampling of God's power, eliciting repentance from Job, perhaps our wimpy human brains can only comprehend the answer of "it's too great to understand"). But I think of the alternatives. It is only because of my faith that I have any ounce of hope at all. Without God, I can't even consider suffering bad, why? Because it's just a random occurrence, it's just nature taking its course, and nature does not care whether I feel bad about a situation or not. I might feel better about it eventually, or I might just suffer till I die, I don't know, and that's as much hope as I'm gonna get without God. A terrible, sad existence. So, even though it's beyond my understanding, I trust in the God that made hope a possibility in the first place.
With all that said, I still find no good reason for suffering. Sure, God can bring good out of it, and sure, it's an opportunity for the Church to be of service. Yet I fail to find an ultimate purpose for it. Maybe I'm just too emotional a person to work through this. I know the cause of suffering. It's because the world is not as it should be. It's because there is sin in the world, and it reigns supreme. There are fundamental things that are broken all over the place, minds, souls, bodies, and societies, are all broken. Sometimes it seems like things are beyond fixing, and that's true, at least for our human efforts. There's no use trying to find a reason for a particular suffering, if we fall into that mindset of trying to find "God's will" in every occurrence in life, that'll only lead to fruitless speculation and anxiety, look, God is not obligated to reveal to you that answer.
Additionally, when we try to make everything out to be "God-ordained", why should we help anyone at all? We might interfere with God's chastisement! Or His blessing! Or whatever! God does chastise, and He does bless some through suffering, and sometimes He makes that clear. That's rarely the case, however, and it's generally foolish to be desperately finding a reason for a particular suffering (Luke 13:1-5 may be of interest here). Imagine wondering what you did to upset God every time something bad happened. What a waste of God's grace, and what a way to make your life unnecessarily anxious! Suffering is an effect of sin, it's meant to be remedied, and that is why God still graced us enough to allow us to have some "goodness" left in humans hearts (so we can help others), and instituted the Church as an extension of His helping hand. You will strain to find a purpose, but you can be assured that God can use a random evil event for good if you'll let Him. And of course, YOU are one of His primary tools for helping the suffering.
The next time I see suffering that I simply can't understand, I shall waste no time by dwelling on the "why?". Instead, all I'm going to ask is "Lord, how can I help?". Don't get me wrong, it's not wrong to consider the first question if you're uneasy with it. My major concern is only this: I hope you will at least consider the latter question.
Oh Lord, please send help to those who suffer. May there be people around them who will listen, understand, and love. May there be a relief. May the church do what it is commanded to do. May there always be hope for a better tomorrow.
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