HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 325
page A323
PROMISES FROM GOD
• PSA L M 6 0 :1 2 | With God’s help we will do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes.
• PSA L M 8 4 :1 1 | The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.
Suffering See also Adversity; Betrayal; Death; Depression; Enemies; Grief;
Healing; Pain; Poverty
Who among us does not suffer, bearing persistent pain and hurt? Sickness or disabilities,
broken relationships, insufficient resources—these are all sources of pain and suffering.
Some are by chance, like an auto accident that maims us or a disease that cripples or
takes the life of a loved one. Some is by neglect, such as our failure to prepare for times
of pressure. Some is by design, where we willingly take on enormous responsibilities
in order to achieve some goal. Some are because of sin, where we willingly go against
God’s commands and then must suffer the consequences. Whatever the source, we all
feel the dark shadow of suffering. While the Bible never promises a life free from suffering, it does assure us that God is with us in our pain.
Sometimes the suffering that comes to us is not our fault. It just happens. In this case, how
we react to the suffering is key.
• G E NE SI S 3 7 :2 8 | So when the Ishmaelites . . . came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of
the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver.
• J O SH U A 7 :1 | A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the
Lord was very angry with the Israelites.
• 2 SA MU E L 1 5 :1 3 -1 4 | A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell David, “All Israel has
joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!” “Then we must flee at once, or it will be too
late!” David urged his men.
• J E R E MI A H 3 2 :1 8 | “You show unfailing love to thousands, but you also bring the
consequences of one generation’s sin upon the next.” (See note on page 697.)
Sometimes we suffer because of the sins of others—not our own sins.
• G E NE SI S 3 :6 , 2 3 | The tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious. . . . So she took
some of the fruit and ate it. . . . So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden.
• L E VI T I C U S 2 6 :4 3 | At last the people will pay for their sins, for they have continually
rejected my regulations and despised my decrees.
• PR O VE R B S 3 :1 1 -1 2 | My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline. . . . For the Lord corrects
those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
Sometimes God sends suffering as punishment for our own sins. He disciplines us because
he loves us and wants to correct us and restore us to him.
• DE U T E R O NO MY 8 :2 | “Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness
for these forty years, humbling you and testing you . . . to find out whether or not you would
obey his commands.”
Sometimes God tests us with suffering to encourage us to obey him.
• 1 PE T E R 4 :1 4 | If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed,
for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you.
Sometimes we willingly suffer because we must take a stand for Christ.
• J A ME S 1 :3 | For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance
to grow.
HelpFinder
• J O B 1 :1 9 | “The house collapsed, and all your children are dead.”
• J O H N 9 :2 -3 | “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it
because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” “It was not because of his sins or his parents’
sins,” Jesus answered.
S
Why am I suffering?