Suffering

Do any of these sound familiar...

Why is this happening to me...
What else can I do to change this situation...
I am doing everything I can, why isn't it working...
Why do I deserve this...
Has God forgotten his promises to me...

God revealed something to me this weekend through a faithful man sharing his testimony at church. This man had complications at birth and flat-lined twice within the first 24 hours of his existence... leaving him with Cerebral Palsy. He shared that he went through a time of questioning why this had happened to him. Why were his siblings perfectly "healthy" when he had to suffer with this disability? He was led to John 9 where Jesus meets a blind man and his disciples asked him who sinned- this man or his parents that he would be born blind. Jesus responded ³"Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." Essentially, may his suffering be used to bring God glory.

May this suffering bring God glory.

I do not want to suffer. I do not want to embrace suffering.
I run from suffering. I want it to end. I want to control it and fix it immediately. I want to follow the steps that it will take for me to wipe that part of my life away.

I feel led to believe through this testimony and biblical truth that we are not meant to run from suffering. But should believe that God is still present even through the suffering and working- perhaps harder than ever for people to see his love for them through it.

This is not something easy to embrace. This is a hard hard truth. I can honestly say though that I feel so much more freedom hearing it. I have spent periods of life running hard and fast from things that hurt. Running is exhausting. I am preparing my heart to sit in the presence of the Lord through hard times. Attempting to not fight back. Hard to do, yes. But I saw the fruit of the choice to sit instead of run in this young man and it was unbelievable. I was in awe of his faith and the glory that IS pouring out of his life for the Lord.

So for whatever question you may have for the Lord regarding the suffering that is in your life... health, heart, relationship, or all of the above I encourage you to sit in John 9:3. I am still processing it and the reality of the rest that is available is blowing me away.