Times Of Suffering

Times Of Suffering

"And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."
1st Peter 5:10

I usually get several e-mails each day from my readers, telling me about the problems and suffering they are going through in their lives. When I hear of someone suffering, I feel concern, sympathy and even sadness for them. It is sometimes difficult to realize that the Bible tells us that we will endure suffering, and see the kinds of problems that some people are facing. However, we need to realize that God knows what people are going through, as He knows all things. We don't understand why He allowed tragedies, such as the earthquake in Haiti, to cause so many people to suffer. The bottom line is that we will never understand why God does what He does, and allow these things to happen. We must continue to live by faith, and believe and trust that God has a reason for everything that happens to us. The scripture above gives us a glimpse of how God views our suffering, as it tells us that "after you have suffered a little while, Christ will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." When we keep our faith and trust in God during these times of confusion and pain, we will have more peace, comfort and hope in our suffering. We must look beyond our pain for the moment, and pray that God will reveal the bigger picture and plan that He has in store for us. We may not see God's bigger picture, but we must realize that He has a plan for each of us. We must trust Him to do His will, and give us the strength to endure.