Season Of Suffering

The season of Lent is a season of suffering! None of us can go through life without some suffering. It's been that way ever since Adam and Eve.

Before the fall, Adam and Eve knew nothing of pain, of failure, of suffering, of death. After the fall, they experienced all these things -- and more. Whenever sin separated Adam and Eve from God, Eve experienced pain in giving birth; Adam felt failure as he planted good seed and harvested only weeds; Cain caused the death of his own brother; suffering became a way of life.

Adam and Eve, and everyone since, have asked, "If God is truly good, how can He allow evil to ruin life? If God is so great, why do people suffer, for no apparent reason?"

Lent is a time to find answers to these disturbing questions.

In Old Testament times, Job suffered! Suffered the loss of all his property and possessions -- 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 1,000 cattle stolen and all his buildings burned. Suffered the death of all his children via a storm -- Job lost his seven sons and three daughters in one horrific moment. Suffered the loss of his wife and closest friends -- they all turned against Job in his time of greatest need. Suffered the pain of sores that covered his entire body. None of us have suffered nearly as much as Job!

To add to his suffering, Job's wife and friends tried to find a reason for his extreme suffering and pain. Job's wife had a simple solution, "Curse your God, and just go ahead and die! End the suffering; get it over with!"

Job's reply, "No! I trusted God through the good times; I'll trust God through this season of suffering."

One of Job's friends offered this advice, "Think positive, Job! Keep your chin up; grin and bear it; things will get better bye and bye."

Job, "No! My pain and suffering are real! No amount of positive thinking will relieve the pain."

Another friend said, "God is punishing you for your sins. You must really have sinned big to deserve this much suffering!"

Job says, "No! God is a caring parent. He would never deal with my sins in this way! God forgives sin; he does not punish sin!"

Finally, God gives His answer, "I could give you an answer to your suffering, Job, but you wouldn't be able to understand it; it would be like trying to explain nuclear physics to a two-year-old. Just trust Me, Job, and I will give you courage and strength to see you through all your suffering!"

In New Testament times, Jesus Christ is the perfect example of suffering. He was despised and rejected by the very people he came to help. His Nazareth neighbors rejected him and his own disciples betrayed him. Jesus was a "man of sorrows" and on a first-name basis with grief. The religious leaders viewed him as a threat, had him falsely accused, had him beaten, accused him of doing the Devil's work and cried for his crucifixion. Jesus "bore our griefs and carried our sorrows" to the cross. Jesus willingly went to his death on the cross, faithful and obedient to his Father's will. Jesus was "wounded for our sins and bruised because of our transgressions." Jesus suffered not only physical pain; Jesus suffered spiritual anguish as he carried all the sins of all the people in the world on his shoulders! Not even Job suffered as much as did Jesus!

As we behold Jesus hanging in suffering and pain on the cross, we begin to make some sense of suffering. Every one suffers. None of us suffers as much as Jesus did. Through Jesus' suffering, God brought salvation and redemption to us all, perhaps through our suffering, God will bring peace and hope to those around us.

God has promised, "If we suffer with Christ, in his name, so we will also triumph over suffering and death, and will rise with Christ to eternal glory!" In every "season of suffering " God is with us -- and that is always more than enough! Amen!