Bible Study: Why Does God Allow Suffering?

Alright. Well, if you're ready, I'm ready. If you'll just bow your heads, we'll ask God's presence to be here. Our dear Heavenly Father, thank you once again for an opportunity to come before you today to not only hear your word, but also to sharpen one another through our different comments and thoughts. Please stir thoughts, stir comments, and allow it all to be to your glory today, as we just now dedicate it to you.

We ask for your presence to be here and to bless this Bible study, and we pray this in your Son, Jesus Christ's name. Amen. Alright.

What is, perhaps, one of the... What is THE topic, the preeminent topic or question that prevents or moves people away from a relationship with God? I would propose that the topic we're taking on in today's Bible study, it is the topic and questions surrounding suffering. It is the dilemma that men and women have much difficulty addressing, and it comes in different phrases, such as, why would an all-powerful, all-loving God allow for such suffering? You can turn on any webcast or media, you can go into YouTube or wherever you get your news from, and you'll see that each and every day, even this last week, with the different horrendous events of air traffic, trials and crashes and that kind of thing, where you just think, wow, what is going on in this world?

And there's more and more each and every week, and there's more coming. So, we as God's people need to work, put in the hard work to not only have the answer embedded in our hearts, but also then to be able to be skillful in communicating to others, to give them hope in times of trial, in times of suffering. Many without God or with God try to alleviate the dilemma, the problem of suffering. I wanted to begin today just by giving you perhaps three of the most common ways people try to alleviate the problem of suffering.

One example is some will try to alleviate suffering, pain and suffering, by simply saying that it's an illusion. I don't know if you've ever heard this, but have you been exposed to Christian science? How many of you know what Christian science is?

Okay, there are a few for sure. Christian science is a set of beliefs and practices. They're associated with the members of the Church of Christ, and there's a sector of that which have labored long and hard to convince us to see pain as something of an illusion.

You can work to alleviate pain and suffering with a kind of mind over matter approach. So, they put forth that we have control to remove ourselves from the dreadful experience of pain and suffering by controlling the mind and how we think of these things. It's interesting, but it's good to know about. I don't know if those proponents perhaps have such a strong belief in that when it comes to broken bones or ruptured spleens and that kind of thing, with that kind of a notion that it's all an illusion. So, the solution offered up is if you just kind of deny it, it won't be there. I found this quote in kind of doing a little search on that.

There was a little poem that goes this way. Quote, there was once a Christian scientist named Diehl who said that pain isn't real, but if you sit on a pen and the point enters in, you'll dislike what you fancy you feel. So, it's all in your mind.

Others try to deal with the dilemma of suffering and pain by rejecting God. Perhaps they reject a belief in God that they once believed. They say, if this is how things are to be, I will simply reject the God who has allowed it. This is a little bit more common even amongst our circles. And while you might not acknowledge it outwardly, perhaps anger, confusion, those kind of feelings may be sourced from the human nature of looking to reject God.

Whenever we're going through immense suffering and pain. But I think we could all acknowledge that when we do that, we remove the possibility of providing a meaningful answer to the predicament of suffering. Hemingway states this, quote, Life is a dirty trick, a short journey from nothingness to nothingness.

If you look at Hemingway's journey and his belief system, it did ebb and flow till he finally came to that conclusion. Rejecting any notion of God and simply life is a dirty trick, short journey from nothingness to nothingness.

Dealing with suffering by rejecting God. And perhaps the most common way to deal with the dilemma of suffering is not by saying it's an illusion, maybe not by rejecting God, but perhaps by redefining God. This was a prominent movement that came forth from a book that sought to redefine God. The book was written by Harold Kushner. He wrote a book called, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. When bad things happen to good people. And in this book, he doesn't deny the existence of God, but he says that God is not all-powerful. A quote from this book, Kushner says, We advise you to love God and to forgive Him despite His limitations.

So redefining God. Because you can understand why someone would move in that direction. It's a wrong thought, of course. But you understand because in their minds it's inconceivable that an all-powerful, all-good God would allow such suffering. And so Kushner seeks to deal with it simply by redefining God. So deny its existence.

It's an illusion. That's not logical. Reject God. That doesn't help. Makes it worse. Redefine God? Well, what authority does the clay have to read to come up with its own definition of the potter? So what is the right answer? What is the answer to why suffering? If God, in all of His sovereignty, controls everything, why did He create a world where He knew everything would go so wrong?

In a world in which there is so much suffering would result. Why suffering? All right. We're going to get right into it. And you might come up with many more. I came up with four reasons today, and I thought what we would do to kind of organize our discussion.

What I might do is go through the four, speak very briefly on each one. And at the end of each one, I want to then seek your comments on it. So each one I'll go through, and then I'll take a break and let you comment. Give me your thoughts. It will speak to the overarching questions that I asked in the email. Anyone who looked at that.

That's how we'll organize our discussion today. All right. Let's get right to it. Number one, four things to state when endeavoring to answer the question, why suffering? Number one, suffering is a consequence of choice. Okay, so that's number one. The Bible reveals that suffering is a consequence of choice. Here's a statement for you. I love a good statement. God gave His creation the freedom to choose Him in order to teach His creation to serve Him freely.

And lovingly. And not just because He gave Him no choice otherwise. Okay, so God gave His creation the freedom to choose Him so that they may choose to serve Him freely, lovingly, and not to serve Him just because they didn't have another choice. And by providing this freedom, the experience of suffering entered into man's experience when Adam and Eve chose their own way. Okay, again, suffering is a consequence of choice with the freedom of choice.

This experience then entered in, suffering entered into the human experience when Adam and Eve chose to go their own way. So this first statement is true because God could have stopped Eve's disobedience. God could have knocked the fruit out of her hand. God could have annihilated the devil there in the Garden of Eve, couldn't He? He could have prevented all this. But again, God chose to teach men and women the meaning of willful love and genuine obedience. And it is only the freedom of choice which makes this a reality. By allowing them first the freedom to go their own way, God allowed then the other choice, sin, to come into the world with all of its horrible results of pain and suffering.

So do not apologize for God in relation to the problem of pain. Don't go down the path of saying, Well, God's just not powerful enough. You have to forgive Him. Do not apologize for God with regards to the existence of the problem of pain and suffering.

We recognize God Himself is ultimately sovereign. He could stop all pain and suffering tomorrow if He chose. There is a day coming when He will bring all suffering to an end. But until that day, He determines to allow the freedom of choice, again, to allow His creation to freely and lovingly choose Him. Now, I want to open it up for any comments, any thoughts that come to mind with this first attempt to answer the dilemma of suffering in our world. Can you put it a different way? Is there a better way to say it right over here?

I'd say as creators, they have the reason to have a plan. Say that one more time. As creators, as creators, they have a reason and a purpose, a plan to do that. So they allow that. So for us to question that, it's not in the realm of reason.

That's a great point. So we're going to use the same argument. Yes, because God is all-powerful and all-loving, He established a loving plan for mankind and gave us the freedom of choice. It's almost like, yes, we acknowledge He has authority, sovereignty, and that's comforting that He does have that plan. Yes, back here. Sometimes the consequence of choice that brings on suffering is not from us. It's caused by choices other people have made, and then we are like in the way.

For instance, if someone drinks and drives and hits somebody else, that can either cause a death or severe accident, which causes pain and suffering, but it's not always us that causes it. Great point. This world is not as God intended it, and not as He intended it from the beginning. So there is pain and suffering just living in this world that has rejected it. Yes, Chris? Well, I was going to comment. God looks at the big picture of eternity, and He knows that we have to learn this lesson of what causes pain, mainly sin.

And He knows that if we don't learn this lesson, then throughout eternity it would be a continuous problem. So we have to go through this experience. And He also has the record, of course, of what Lucifer did. And He knows that Lucifer obviously rebelled, and that took a long time. We have no idea how long it took, but it did happen. He doesn't tell us that He knew this was going to happen, but it obviously happens.

And He uses Him, that is Satan now, as a tool to teach us this lesson. And then again, when the second resurrection comes and people finally learn their lesson, God knows that they're going to look back and say, What a wonderful Creator you are, taking away all tears and pain and sorrow and suffering.

And throughout eternity we will be living in joy with Him. But this doesn't happen overnight, so we have to endure this life, whatever comes our way, and keep that hope in mind. Beautiful. Perfect. Right here. And then we'll take one more over here, and then we'll take these last two.

Yeah, that's a really good point. If you look at the overarching plan in the end. I agree with Rich, too. But I think in a basic way we wouldn't even know how or why to worship God if we didn't know what freedom and choice was. And it highlights for the people that are following God the truth and the beauty and the light of that as compared to the darkness. Yeah. What a beautiful teacher that choice provides to us. We're able to see the fruit of both, and God helps us reinforce His way as the way.

Through us navigating good and bad decisions. Yes, one more, pal. Thank you. So, in this life, God has chosen a remnant. We are called into a special covenant with Him. And just as Jesus had to learn obedience through suffering, I mean, it's easy to obey when everything's going well.

But we need to learn obedience through our suffering as well, so that we can be in His image. Yeah, you can say, boy, wasn't it awesome that God sent His Son, the one we heard about in the sermon? And He stepped onto this earth and overcame through making the right choices for us. And in that, He suffered to the point that was made earlier. No fault of His own. He experienced that suffering and died as a sacrifice to us. That's really awesome that He showed us the way. He just didn't shout down into our world. He actually stepped upon it and went through these things with us.

He was tempted in all areas, yet without sin showed us the way. And so He mimicked how wonderful it is that we're just not pre-programmed. You might engage with someone just to say, what would pre-programming mean to our existence? That wouldn't be any way to live. So when you think about this first choice, the freedom of choice, really rest in this. If you have an opportunity to talk to someone over a little bit of length of time, talk about the other side. What if we were pre-programmed with no choice and no introduction of suffering, the consequences of the other choice? What kind of world would that be? I wonder what that would be like. Really engage with people in that way. Great comments! Thank you.

Second reason to state, as we endeavor to answer this question of why suffering, this one follows closely with number one. But a second reason we experience suffering is, number two, sometimes God plans for suffering to be corrective. Number two, thinking about this dilemma of suffering, sometimes God plans for suffering to be corrective. Look at Psalm 119.

We're not going to turn to many scriptures for this study, but if you look at Psalm 119, verses 65-68, I think this really gets to the essence of this second aspect of why suffering. Psalm 119 verses 65-68.

Look at what the Psalmist says here.

Psalm 119 verse 65.

The Psalmist, David, speaking to God.

You have dealt well with your servants, O Lord, according to your word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe your commandments. Now listen to this, verse 67. Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word.

You are good and you good. Teach me your statutes. Let's stop there. Oh, isn't that a true statement? Before I was afflicted, in other words, before I went through this suffering, this from correction, before I was afflicted, I went astray, but afterwards, through this corrective suffering, I now obey your word.

Isn't this true? Isn't human nature, when everything's going well, and there's blue skies out there, birds are chirping, not a cloud in the sky? Those are times when we might be more susceptible to not looking to God with the urgency and the depth that we need to. But when a storm cloud comes, and some of you I know when hurricanes and tornadoes come, figuratively speaking, it is a shake-up to move us to obey His word. Let me give you just one more scripture with regards to this second endeavor to answer the dilemma of suffering.

It's found in Hebrews 12, verses 5-11. If you want to turn there or just listen to me read it. Hebrews 12, verses 5-11. It's very clear here that this correction aspect with regards to our experience of suffering, it's hard to wiggle around this second one when it comes to answering suffering from Hebrews 12 here. Here it is, Hebrews 12, verse 5. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons. My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him, for whom the Lord loves, He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives. Verse 7. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons.

For what son is there whom the Father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who have corrected us, and we pay them respect. Shall we not much more readily be subjection to the Father of spirits and live?

For the physical fathers, they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He, H, for our prophet, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now, no chastening seems joyful yet for the present, but painful. Nevertheless, afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Let's stop there. So there it is. In the end, we want this correction aspect of suffering, so that we may be trained by it to produce the peaceable fruit of righteousness.

So while it's not all-encompassing, it's not THE aspect with regards to suffering, it is part of it. It's part of God's corrective plan. So as painful as it is, as empty-producing as it is, it's a meaningful blessing to us. Any comments with regards to this aspect? Yes, back here. An answer to prayer that's going to be a real faith-builder is that there is no solution. There's an actual, complete impossibility. There's nothing in science, there's nothing physically that's going to be able to stop it. And you're at the mercy of God.

And once you come out of it, you know, and it's a personal builder, you know absolutely that you weren't alone and that God rescued you and you can't unknow that. So it's a faith-builder and it draws you closer to God in a way that no other... I think it's the biggest test. Yeah. And boy, that's a great comment.

And in thinking about maybe the corrective aspect of that particular example you gave, yes, we are to explore everything possible for us to be removed from a trial or a suffering circumstance. Yes, maybe the corrective aspect of it is at the same time, don't neglect the fact that God is the ultimate healer. He is the ultimate suffering reliever. Right? So don't neglect that fact. I'm going to correct you a little bit, perhaps, which doesn't prevent or move you away from doing what you can, but make sure as you do that, acknowledge me and do it with me because I am the ultimate peace.

And so I'm going to use this trial, this suffering, as a means to give you a little correction to give you some of this peaceable fruit of righteousness. So it's beautiful. So, so, correctness can be part of our suffering, the experience of our suffering. Any other comments on that? Yes. I was just thinking, and by the way, that was a great comment.

I was thinking about how we're talking about the blessings from God to us, but we're also the blessing to God. And so one of the things by chastening is to build character. And God could just go out and create all of us in whatever, however He wants to make us, and He could have prevented sin and prevented all of that. But to me, one of the reasons for this is because He's building character in that uniqueness that you could only have by free choice and by going through some of these sufferings because it's a blessing to Him.

And if not, I mean, He might be very bored with just a creation that is only what He made it. And this allows us to be something that isn't...we are created by God, but we're also creating ourselves through His discipline and His format of how we should live.

Yes. Thank you for that. Yeah, that's really good. You know, God is perfect in my life. He's been perfect in allowing me to receive some of the consequences of my choices, giving me the full brunt of that which was a result of a bad decision. He just let it come to me. And then there's other times where He didn't give me what I deserve. And I have learned so much by God giving me what I deserve and letting me feel the full brunt of consequences from a bad decision. I could count the ways, but I've also learned equally in those moments where I knew God allowed me to escape without receiving the full blunt of correction. And I've learned so much from that grace, too. So God's so perfect in this as He provides correction through suffering, knowing the perfect balance between judgment and the consequences of bad decision and grace. He's great in that balance. Do we have another comment? I also think that if we suffer a certain thing, we can more identify and have empathy and sadness and whatever for the other person that is suffering the same thing. For instance, there's so many things that I could come up with, but when our son died, no one can imagine what it's like to lose a child unless you have lost a child. And you can identify with whoever else has lost a child because you have that same experience, just like any other illness. And I think it makes our heart more tender and caring and concern for that person.

That is the perfect transition to our next third aspect. So if you'll notice, all these start with a C and it's going to go perfectly in line with that. So first we have choice, then we have correction. Third C in endeavoring to answer the dilemma of why suffering.

The third C is constructive. Number three, God uses suffering not simply to be corrective, but also in order to be constructive. That's our third C, constructive.

The essence of this third aspect of suffering, why suffering, is found in Romans 5 verses 1-5. You want to turn there. Very familiar passage of Scripture, of course.

Romans 5 verses 1-5, we're going to build on that comment by Masseniger there.

Suffering produces or it builds character. Suffering has a constructive aspect to it. And here Romans 5 verses 1-5 speaks to that.

Romans 5 verses 1, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom also we have access by faith into the grace in which we stand and rejoice in the hope and glory of God.

That's one thought. Now verse 3, Paul says, And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces, constructs perseverance and character, and then character, hope.

Now, hope is the final result of this building aspect of suffering and tribulation. Hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which was given to us.

So let's stop there. That's exactly what was just spoken about. This is our third aspect, our third seed, if you will.

And, boy, you nailed it.

Suffering the constructive aspect of suffering, where, you know, there was no corrective aspect in losing a loved one, but suffering in this constructive aspect, sometimes that kind of suffering is the means by which to produce a tender heart towards someone else.

If you look at someone that's been through a lot of suffering, you will see the tenderness in their eyes.

I don't know if that could be produced in any other way. That particular tenderness, when you go through suffering, how did this man or this woman understand my suffering?

Well, very often in their life, God has constructed him or constructed her, and they wouldn't be the man or woman they are. So, had God not chosen to employ suffering in this corrective aspect?

Comments over here? Yes?

So, this life we've been called to is not a philosophical life only. We have to practice. We have to experience it, as you're saying. I think we would all like, at times, for God to come down and just tell us what we need to do.

But, as it says in Job, who is a teacher like God, so he's chosen to do it this way. It is the best way for us.

But I think it definitely does. I like this point because, going back and tying it with the previous, when God is correcting us, we're in a relationship with Him. It's not that anger that we may have experienced when we were younger, unless we just are being obstinate and disobedient.

But we've surrendered to Him, and He's teaching us, and it's more of a feedback loop to show us a better way.

And again, to show His value in our lives. Sometimes we don't see that. So, it's about that loving relationship, and, hey, you need to go through this, just like teaching a child to tie their shoe. At some point, they have to learn to do it and struggle with it, for they're good, not because anyone's angry at them. So, it is a constructive correction, if you will.

Yeah, absolutely great comments on that.

Oh, over here?

So, it is through our sufferings that we are given the ability to participate in God forming us to who He wants us to be, so that we may fit into His kingdom.

It's how He both allows us to have free will, yet also allows us to be made to ultimately be a part of His family.

What a wonderful thing that Christ is our suffering Savior, you know.

Oh, right here? Yes.

Okay, thank you. I've thought sometimes how we probably all know people that have been in the church and for whatever reason, you know, drifted off. You know, we've got people even in our own family.

And I have thought that probably the only thing that's going to bring them back, maybe some kind of a tragedy in their life, because right now, you know, things are going great, you know, jobs going fine, families going fine.

But if something comes along and interrupts all of that, maybe that's when they'll stop and think, you know, maybe there's a big mistake that I made.

And that's what we keep hoping, you know, and then they'll bring them back.

So I think, you know, that's... I'm hoping that that's the case many times.

Yeah, and no doubt you have experienced a fork in the road, something tremendous that has gotten you back in line, and you want that for your loved one.

And so in a counterintuitive, counterintuitive to our natural human nature, we know the value in the times where we're knocked off our feet a little bit.

Yes?

I've always thought the constructive part of suffering, because I seem to have had quite a bit of it. I tell myself that God is using us in the world tomorrow when Christ returns by the suffering, because there's going to be so many people with so many different sufferings that each and every one of us have at least one thing in common with somebody that is going to be resurrected at the end time.

Yeah, thank you for that. One more back here, and then we'll move on. Rich?

Triggered by mine and of thought, Jesus Christ is our judge, because he learned by suffering.

And that's why God the Father appointed him to be judged, and he didn't take on that role himself.

Yeah, he's the perfect judge. What a wonderful individual to follow.

Jesus Christ, he experienced all that we experience, and it's authentic. His words are authentic to me, and they're real, and they're valuable, because he knows what he experienced.

Much of the suffering that we go through, all of us, thank you.

Alright, choice, corrective, constructive. Our fourth and final C is, the purpose of suffering is that the person may show their love to God is credible. That's the fourth C. That's our fourth C. God allows suffering in order to establish whether our love to God is credible.

In other words, we love God for who he is, and not nearly what we get out of him.

Okay, so, endeavoring to make these easy to remember, if you're engaging in a conversation.

Here's the fourth C. Suffering reveals whether or not our love to God is credible. Is it a credible love?

Ultimately, in the ultimate conclusion, our goal and purpose in this life is in the end for us to love God through it all.

And in spite of it all, we love God through it all.

Now, this goes well with Derek's comment.

And he mentioned Job. If there's any individual in Scripture who went through the process, who God put him through the process of suffering, maybe not exclusively, but primarily to determine whether his love was credible or not, I think it could be Job. Righteous Job to determine before all of heaven, Satan, the angels, and all, whether he would be an individual who would love God through it all.

Now, with this final one, let's turn to Job. I just want to read you a portion of Job's story.

Job 1, verses 8-12, where it really emphasizes that Job was going through this type of, this aspect of suffering, to determine Job's love for God. Job 1, verses 8-12 is what we'll read to highlight this.

God's allowing Satan to have some access to Job, to see how credible Job's love for God was.

Job 1, let's read verses 8-12. This is such an interesting moment that we break into here.

Remarkable. Job 1, verses 8-12, Well, not verse 9. So, Satan answered the Lord and said, Well, huh, does Job fear God for nothing?

Let me ask you, God, have you not made a hedge around him and around his household and around, really, all that he has on every side?

Of course. You have blessed the work of his hands and his possessions and have increased in the land.

But now, what if you stretch out your hand and touch all that he has?

My bet is he will surely curse you to your face.

This has added some words there, just to add a little drama.

So, he's questioning Job's, how credible Job's love for God.

Do not take his life. So, Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. Did you just that? Let's stop there.

It's such an interesting back and forth there. I don't know. How credible is Job's love to you?

I think I would love you too, God, if you gave me such blessing.

Let's suppose you took those hedges away.

I'm adding a little bit to the narrative, but I think it's honest toward the interaction here.

It's very important. God doesn't want us to love him simply for what we get out of him.

God doesn't want his people to love and to come to him just as an insurance policy against trouble.

So, therefore, he doesn't want us to live free from suffering.

Why? Because he wants to show the world that his people are credible.

The love of his people are credible enough to suffer with the world's suffering and still trust him and love him.

So, true Christianity is not about how to escape from suffering. True Christianity is how we face suffering.

True Christianity is not about how we escape suffering. True Christianity is how we face the suffering in our lives.

So, it's not a prosperity gospel, if you will. It's not come and follow Jesus and escape all suffering. It's not that.

No, it's come and follow Jesus and you're going to experience all the suffering that the world experiences.

And the difference that Jesus makes is not to remove us from the circumstances.

It is to grant us grace and comfort and understanding in the midst of the circumstances.

To grant us grace, comfort, understanding. In it, does not always remove us from it.

Any thoughts on that? This fourth aspect of trying to endeavor to answer the dilemma?

I think of Matthew 6, 33. I was just looking at it.

The CQ first, the kingdom and all these things. His kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added.

The problem is human nature won't allow for it. It won't. It's going to protect itself. It's going to defend itself.

It's going to find loopholes. And that was the point that Satan was making.

In most cases, yes, it pays well to obey God. And we just can't fight that one on our own.

So the response to that would be that we're going to have to go through trials.

We're going to have to find out that it's not necessarily going to be as extreme as it will be with Job.

And I think we tend to look at that as a barroom bet.

But it goes further than that because you almost feel sorry for the devil in this one because God was way ahead of the game.

And it's the same deal with the rest of us because he knows who he's calling. He knows when he's calling them.

But he also knows, and Christ says, pay me my price.

So what price is that going to be? And for every person, it's an individual thing.

And it's designed so that we will be able to enter the kingdom, will be qualified at some point by his rules, not ours.

Great comment. Great comment. Yeah. Actually, the comment I was going to make was sort of similar to that.

And I think part of the love, when we're proving to God that we are going to follow him regardless of what we might be experiencing, and that our love isn't dependent on sort of like a health and wealth type of doctrine, is that we trust that he is working with us individually in the best way possible.

And that's something that, like I've learned over the years, dealing with pain and suffering is like God is doing what's best for me, and that might be different than what's best for someone else.

So I think actually comparing yourself can be problematic at times, like saying, oh, you know, I have more difficulty than that person over there, but we're each kind of on our own journey, and God wants you to reach the place he wants you to reach in your character, so he works with each of us in that way.

Beautiful. Got to have a perfect individual, personalized plan for all of us.

And we can rest in that. Beautifully said. Yes, please.

Well, I think that everybody suffers, not just us as Christians and not just anybody else.

The whole world suffers, range from the just and the unjust, but we have hope, and we have our great God, our Father, walking along with us, holding our hands, and help us to get through the suffering where the world does not have that.

Perfectly said.

This made me think of James 1.12, where it reads, Blessed is a man who remains steadfast under trials, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. It's just the trials are our sufferings, and after we've stood that test, we have that credibility.

We face those trials, and it's only then that we are accepted into God's kingdom.

Perfect. Yes. Absolutely.

The interesting thing is, what we long to tell ourselves sometimes, but maybe what we also long to tell the upcoming generations, is God's way actually is the easier way.

It's the more blessing way. It's the way that will bring you more happiness.

So, you're up against the crossroads here, and God is wanting you to take a deeper level to show the depth of your love, choose the right way, and you'll have this hope that will never be taken from you.

So, I tell our young people sometimes, it's so exciting to just think, yeah, this is my love, and I want to have a deep, credible love for God, no matter what happens in my life.

I'm not going to let it shake me, and it's going to get stronger, even in the difficulty.

It's even going to get stronger from these things that aren't in my suffering and this pain.

It's pretty exciting to endeavor to show God how credible your love is from this point forward. And know what God's perfect plan is for. I think that really comes out good, perfectly.

God uses pain, illness, crashed and crushed hope, bereavement.

God uses suffering even as a result of wrong choices to correct all of it, to construct.

In the end, to determine if your love and faith in Him will stand the test, and in all He'll be putting on the character which His Son embodies.

Therefore, could we say, suffering is one of God's greatest blessings?

Could we say that? It's so counterintuitive, you know.

But if you know these three C's, it allows you to step into that understanding.

And we pray that God would use suffering and use grace, use it all, to shape us toward His purposes.

And God, don't hold anything back of what you want to endeavor in my life.

I'll finish our study today just by looking at the end of Job, since we're here.

Job 42, verses 1-6, in the end, again, like it was mentioned, Job is kind of this extreme example.

But I'm so glad it's here in Scripture.

We're to see how we can come out on the other side and come out stronger than ever and really allow the suffering to produce what God is looking for it to produce in us.

Job 42, let's just read verses 1-6.

Here in the end, perhaps Job still didn't understand at all, but he's got now a little bit of clarity, a little bit of the blessing of knowledge of how God has worked with him. Job 42, verses 1-6.

Then Job answered the Lord and said, I know that you can do everything, your sovereign, and that no purpose of yours can be withheld from you.

I know you could have withheld these things.

You asked, Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?

Therefore, God, I uttered what I did not understand.

Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

Listen, please, and let me speak, you said, I will question you and you shall answer me.

In verse 5, I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear after all of this, but now, God, my eye sees you.

Therefore, I abhorred myself in repent, in dust, and ashes.

Let's stop there.

Through this tremendous suffering, the end result for Job, and God willing, the end result of us, is while we have heard God and we know a measure of Him, after this suffering, in the end, now I'm beginning, God, to see you.

To see you. See you in a way I've never seen before.

And I did not know these things. They're too wonderful for me.

But I'm glad I now have this insight of what you were doing in my life.

You know, during the suffering, I uttered things that I didn't understand.

So forgive me, Father. Forgive me for... and I repent in dust and ashes.

And I abhorred myself because along the journey of that suffering process, I resisted.

I got in the way of what you were producing in me. And I'm sorry for that.

But, Father, bring me... I want you to bring into my experience any and everything that will make me like your son and fulfill the purposes that you want in my life.

And so our prayer, if you're going through suffering right now, you could pray those words.

Father, at the end of this, allow me to see you. See you. Truly see you. That's my prayer.

Father, allow my experience in suffering to fulfill whatever purpose you're doing.

So guide me in the right choices. Correct me when needed. And construct me into your son or daughter.

So in the end, it may reveal a credible and everlasting love for you.

Thank you for your comments. Wonderful, as always. This is a great group.

Alright, well, let's conclude by saying a prayer. You can just stay seated where you are.

Our dear Heavenly Father, once again, we're so thankful for the men and women here who have your spirit or are being guided by your spirit.

No doubt have this understanding and have contributed today. We're blessed for it.

Thank you for these voices that we heard and the continuing conversation, perhaps, that we'll have.

We close this service now. We close this Sabbath services completely to you.

We dedicate it to you. Help us to drive home safely today and return us next week into the blessing of your fellowship.

And we pray all this in and by the name of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Alright, thank you, everyone.