Scripture

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God

~2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NIV

Quote

Christ died to save us, not from suffering, but from ourselves.

~George MacDonald

I have suffered along side many who were battling cancer but I have never suffered from the disease itself, not directly. I have talked or listened to many who have endured chemo treatment but I have never experienced the treatment. Those who can comfort most are those who have been there and know what it is like first hand. Obviously I know some things by experience but my knowledge is very limited. Why do bad things happen to good people? This is an age old mystery that goes all the way back to Job, who according to God, was the best man on earth.  Jesus was the perfect man and He suffered more than any. It seems that the better you are, the more you suffer. We know why Jesus suffered but Job never understood himself why God allowed him to suffer. What I am saying is there is no “cut and dried” answer as to why we suffer, but the bible does tell us some of the reasons and most of them are found in 2 Corinthians chapter one.

1. Suffering sensitizes us and enables us to comfort and sympathize with others. Our ministry will always come from out pain. We will be able to help others in the area that we have suffered most.
2. Suffering decentralizes the “self”. Our greatest problem is vanity and pride and suffering shrinks the self. It is the refiners fire that burns the dross of vanity away.
3. Suffering draws us closer to Christ and He toward us. Psalm 34:18,The Lord is near the broken–hearted; he is the saviour of those whose spirits are crushed down.
4. Suffering intensifies our desire to pray; get on our knees and humble us before God.
5. Suffering creates a dissatisfaction with this present world and creates a longing for something better.
6. Suffering forges friendship and fellowship. Your true friends are those who have suffered with you and you with them.
7. Suffering fosters gratitude. I have never met a truly grateful person who has not suffered.
8. Suffering brings the glory to the surface. The more Paul was persecuted, the brighter his witness. Put him in jail and he sings and prays. Put him in prison and he witnessed to every guard. The darker it got, the more he shined.

I am sure these are not all the reasons, but what we need to understand is: THERE IS A REASON. The second thing we need to keep in mind: our present situation is temporary.

Extra

Sorry I am late posting; the kids had me out last night far beyond my bed time. We took the great-grand-boys to see the lights at Toyota Field. Traffic was light: I couldn’t believe it. The boys loved it.

Got to see Melanie and Brent yesterday. Carrie Beth and Hospice are now in play. Melanie was resting. She had no pain but didn’t sleep the night before. Pray for Melanie and Brent Mitchell. We did have a sweet prayer meeting while I was there. Keep praying for all our cancer warriors: Melanie, Christy, David Mote, Charity and I know there are others. Lift them up.

I hope you have a good day and thanks for reading the blog.