WHY MUST WE SUFFER?
This morning my Pastor spoke on suffering? It was a message for the decades as far as I am concerned. I was so in tune with everything he said, especially since I just finished my newest book “Broken”; http://www.lulu.com/shop/don-bolena-jr/broken/hardcover/product-20254268.html the comparison from today’s message and my book was astounding to me. So I had to write about this in my Sunday blog.
Dr. Cooper made a statement this morning that stuck with me more then anything else he said. In the very beginning of his message he said this “If we could see Heaven today, we would not want to live here on earth another day.” I’ll bet that is so true, but what is real here is we can only imagine what Heaven must actually be like? I would think that God does not allow us to see Heaven simply because we just could not handle its amazing majestic, perfectness, happiness, no pain, no sorrow, and complete unforeseen beauty, as we could not ever comprehend in our small minds.
Yet, I’ll bet the same go’s For “Hell” What if God were allow us to take a glimpse in to “Hell”? Yes I am talking about the “Hell” where Satan roams the halls of darkness in. The place of fire and brimstone, torment and suffering that a lost soul will spend eternity in, if he/she does not become a Christian and ask the Lord to save them from them-self’s and their sins.
So, why is there suffering in the world? Well this morning Dr. Cooper gave us 5 great reasons, and I agree with every one of them.
1.) A Fallen World - Romans 8:18-21 Present Suffering and Future Glory I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. Then lest see what the bible says in John 16:33 - “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
2.) Sin - He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” Meaning Evil comes from evil sin.
The point is we suffer all do to our poor decisions, and the only real answer is the good news of Jesus.
3.) Satanic Activity– The Devil is real, we first learn of the Devil in Genesis we he appeared as a SERPENT to Eve. 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” and in 1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Here is something we must realize; rather we are will to acknowledge this truth or not, we suffer by the choices we make in life. It is a proven fact that one person can destroy an entire family by his/her choices.
4.) Human Choices – (Galatians 6: 7-9) Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.We can not sit back and mock God Almighty Himself. To Mock God would take someone who is insane or possessed. For example; the terrible tragedy that has America ’s attention that just took place out in Aurora , Colorado
The Bible tells us that there is an evil alien force that walks around on this earth and I believe this evil force is Satan or the Devil. The Devil is loose and he is moving through our country like a Wolf in Sheep’s clothing. (Matthew 7:15) Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. A perfect example of this is the (Same Sex Marriage) law that was passed in this White House administration. This is nothing more then an act by the Devil, the Bible is very clear about Homosexuality and yet our very own American Government has done nothing more then spit right in the Lords face by passing such an immoral act as a law that would be ok.
Sodomy is a sin, and in some states it’s against the law, and there are no baby’s being made by two men having anal sex, it is sick and immoral. By the way there will never be any child that will be conceived by a man; simply because it is humanly impossible. Homosexuality is clearly condemned by the Bible. It goes against the created order of God who created Adam, a man, and then made Eve, a woman. This is what God has ordained as the normal means by which we carry out his command to fill the earth (Genisus1:28). What God has set up is what is right -- not what sinful man sets up.
(Levicitus18:22) "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination."1
(Leviticus 20:13) "If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their blood-guiltiness is upon them"
(1 Corinthians 6:9-10) "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit thekingdom of God kingdom of God
(Romans1:26-28) "For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper."It is for reasons like this that springs the forces of evil to grow and create pain and suffering. America
5.) Persecution– (Matthew 5:11-12) Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.Anytime we take a stand for what is right in the eyes of God, we will be persecuted.
So now let’s get to the question at hand. Does God cause this suffering on earth? The answer is clearly NO. Why would God be the cause of our suffering? That would be a biblical double negative. We are clearly the cause, we go to God with our problems and when we do, he takes care of them. And you know what, one day he is going to clean up American, just as he cleans up the problems in our life now when we go to him. I will say that God does use our suffering for our on good, but only after we go to him. However he is not the cause of our suffering, that all comes from the evil that is in this world. Romans 8:28-29 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, whohave been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. (Romans 8:28) Or that all things work together for good to those who love God, who; or that in all things God works together with those who love him to bring about what is good—with those who LOVE HIM and SERVE HIM.
One of the dumbest most ignorant things I have ever heard is “ALL THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON” man that is such biblically, uneducated, trailer-park, backwoods, thinking. That is not true, all things do not happen for a reason, at least not a divine reason. God is not involved in all things. He is not involved in anything that is Un-Godly. . . As matter of fact, it is impossible for God to be involved in “ALL THINGS”. People get so confuse by this scripture in the bible that says “ALL THINGS GOOD WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THOSE WHO LOVE GOD” let’s look one more time” FOR GOOD TO THOSE WHO LOVE GOD’’. God is perfect, there for it is impossible for him to get involved.
However, just as the Bible give us warning and reason, it gives us faith and hope.
1.) With Faith – We must be still and know that God is with us. Present Suffering and Future Glory (Romans 8:18) - I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
2.) With Hope – (Romans 8:24)For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?
3.) With Love – (Romans 8:39) neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The truth is, from the minute that Eve took a bite out of that piece of fruit back in the garden, man fell to temptation. We all became victims of pain and suffering from that point forward. But however we do have a savior, His name is Jesus, and he is only a prayer away ~ Donnie Bolena
