" PAIN / SUFFERING "

I sincerely pray that you are having a fine day, is all well with you and yours? Thanks so much for stopping by to see about me. This week we will be looking into " PAIN and SUFFERING " again now strap in and let's get started. First things first, God Himself is the standard of Justice. He uses his power according to his own moral perfection. Thus, whatever he does is fair, and so we should appeal directly to him. Now, we all are aware that pain and suffering happens in our world. We must be reminded that we dwell in a fallen world. In our world good behavior is not always rewarded and bad behavior is not always punished. Now let's be honest when we see a notorious criminal prospering or an innocent child in pain, we say " that's wrong." And it is. Sin has twisted justice and made our world unpredictable and hideous. As did JOB many a good man suffers for no apparent fault of our own. Sadly to say, but our world is like that. Through JOB'S life we can see that faith in God is justified even when our situations look hopeless. Faith based on rewards or prosperity is hollow. To be unshakable, faith must be built on the confidence that God's ultimate purpose will come to pass. Here are six questions to ask ourselves when we suffer, and what to do if the answer is yes. (1) Am I being punished by God for sin? Response: CONFESS known SIN.(2) Is Satan attacking me as I try to survive as a Christian? Call on God for strength. (3) Am I being prepared for special service, learning to be compassionate to those who suffer? resist self-pity, ask God to open up doors of opportunity and help you discover others who suffer as you do. (4) Am I specifically selected for testing like JOB? Accept help from the body of believers trust God to work his purpose through you. (5) is my suffering a result of natural consequences for which I am not directly responsible? Recognize that in a sinful world, both good and evil people will suffer. But the good person has a promise from God that his or her suffering will one day come to an end. (6) Is my suffering due to some unknown reason? Don't draw inward from the pain. Proclaim your faith in God, know that he cares, and wait patiently for his aid. Suffering draws us back to the basics of faith, now let's take a look back at JOB. JOB was experiencing extreme physical pain as well as grief over the loss of his family and possessions. Some might say that he can't be blamed for wishing he were dead. JOB'S grief placed him at the crossroads of his faith, shattering many misconceptions about God (such as: He makes you rich, always keep you from trouble and pain, or protects your loved ones). Job was driven back to the basis of his faith in God. He had only two choices: (1) He could curse God and give up, (2) He could trust God and draw strength from him to continue.From here on out look at those who are suffering with kindness and compassion. Until next Time... Jim,