Reasons Why God Allows Suffering?

[GoldenEagle]

Re: Tithing

You keep bringing up tithing… Regarding tithing I pretty much believe that is an OT principle given to Israel. I would say there’s a lot of Biblical backing for it being an OT principle given to Israel. Nowhere is the Christ-follower commanded to tithe. However, giving is a principle given to the Christ-follower and involves so much more than just 10% in my estimation. Of course that is a discussion for another thread.

 

Started a thread on this Rodain. This can be discussed here in this new thread:

 

[GoldenEagle]

Hey GE,

 

     I did not say fear is not the beginning of wisdom as God says it is - what I said was, fear in these Scriptures to our society means "frightened, scared, terrified, etc". Fear in the dialect of English that it is translated into is "to have great reverence for, to stand in awe of", essentially realizing you are the creation, God is the Creator - He knows it all and if you ever want to accomplish anything, have anything, do anything, be anything for yourself, for others - you must depend on Him, or else be a fool and get a fool's results.

 

So, with that understanding, when I say Job was in fear, in this context, he actually IS scared. You see WHY he acted like that, and later out of his own mouth, he says, "Behold, the thing I greatly feared has come upon me." And you see that same statement in Proverbs multiple times and THAT is why you see fear opens the door for the Devil, while faith opens the door for God. Still think I'm wrong on this? Spend some time fearing and see what happens, versus spend time only in faith, see what happens.

Jesus told Jairus, "Fear not! Believe only, and she shall be made whole." Now if Jairus couldn't do that, if he was incapable of not fearing when his daughter had just died, then Jesus would be unjust. He will never tell us to do something we can't. Notice He didn't tell him, TRY not to fear, He said, "Fear not!" because if he DID fear - the result would have been no miracle for his daughter. His daughter's miracle was tied up in his faith in Jesus. ANY fear, Jesus says no miracle. Not because He doesn't want to, but because fear tolerated is faith contaminated - it takes faith only.

 

Can't ever find one time that Jesus was in fear - and that, with the anointing and the Spirit of the Father, is how He did everything and got everything. Never teach yourself or others to fear - it will only end up getting you killed, stolen from or destroyed.

 

I believe if Job was simply spending time in fear the way you are saying he was sinning. Therefore how could Job be blameless and upright?

Healthy fear of the Lord is a result of love for God. But I think we're going round and round in circles on this one and we need to move on brother.

[GoldenEagle]

Both of these posts have been moved to the new topic... This is a good discussion for a new thread. I have started a thread on the topic here:

 

 

GE the point was missed on whether or not every Believer can be rich/blessed/favored/tongue-talking/victory-walking/healing...

 

You say not every Believer is guaranteed any of these things, that God is the One who chooses whether or not a Believer can be/have any of these things. Well, that just isn't the case:

 

Jesus said in Mark 16:17-18 that ALL Believers would speak in tongues. There is no way out of that - it cannot be explained away - so either Jesus is lying or what you said about tongues is not true. Jesus said ALL Believers, tongues.

 

As for riches for every Believer: the word blessing means empowered to prosper; part of prosperity IS riches (money), there is no getting around that. Gal 3:13-14 says we used to be cursed, now we're blessed with the blessing of Abraham (why does God say Abraham unless we're supposed to be expected to be blessed just like Abraham? And Abraham was the wealthiest guy in the world - gold and silver and possessions and servants and herds, etc). So again, there is no way around this.

 

Performing healing being for ALL Believers is found in Mark 16:17-18 again, there is no way around that either. As well, Jesus said ANYONE who believes in Him would do ALL the same things He has done and greater - so again, there is no way to understand that other than ALL Believers can do it!

 

 

Blessings CurseoftheRodain,

      Actually the Word blessing means Gods favor/promoting happiness(short definition).....and of course God can prosper a man financially but true prosperity & riches have nothing to do with money....this is why Jesus warned us how hard it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God....His Word is the treasure.....

    And I am sure what I am about to add may cause a bit of controversy but it has since the second century.......Any good reliable Bible translation will always note at the end of Marks Gospel that in the final chapter verses 9-20 may be a later addition. The oldest and most respected manuscripts end with the 8th verse,Codex Sinaiticus & Codex Vaticanus.Fourth Century Eusebius noted that all the Greek manuscripts did not contain verses nine through twenty,There is a great probability that it was not even written by Mark as there is no continuity from the 8th verse to the ninth and the word usage is unlike the rest of the entire Gospel.....just a thought

                                                                                                                         With love in Christ-Kwik

And every believer is NOT guaranteed healing ,Gods Word says that God will have Mercy on who He will have Mercy on......He is not a genie in a lantern ,there to grant your every wish

 

 

Let's continue with the discussion on "Reasons why God Allows Suffering?" on this thread.

[GoldenEagle]

Blessings Everyone

      and to you,Golden Eagle...

  When the Lord leads me to testify of His Mercy,Compassion & Power to heal incurable terminal disease to someone who is frightened,lost,alone or losing faith...I have been blessed to give Him Glory.I have  had my share(& probably enough for a few)of pain and suffering and I have been taught the frailty of life and to appreciate and be thankful every time I awake in the morning by Almighty Gods Mercy.....Every time I writhe in pain I say,"It can only get better"and it seems it only gets worse-lol......but it can never compare to what Christ suffered for me that I may have eternal joy & happiness with Him one day.......When everything around me seems to be falling to pieces I hold on to my favorite Word God has spoken "My Grace is sufficient".....

      The details of my suffering would not give God Glory but the fact that He spared me from death does,when all doctors said I would not live.....Before being stricken with cancer I earned a profitable living & acquired many things,I was always self sufficient but I did not give glory to the One Who gave me the means to do so & now disabled & living on a fixed income I have learned Who Jehovah Jireh really is and when 1+ 1 does not equal 2,He still provides for me.

    God has allowed,not allowed(wrong word)......God has given me the honor & privilege to become a living testimony to be used by Him according to His Will & purpose,to bless,to help,to encourage,to give Him Glory ,Honor & Praise.My Heavenly Father trusted me,that I  would not lose Faith.....How could I not trust Him?So I have learned through trials and tribulation to make each day count as though it were my very last and to be so truly grateful that He has placed me in the Loving Hand of my Lord & Savior,Christ Jesus......My Lord has not caused one second of pain or grief in my life but through it all He has never left my side........it has gotten mighty hot as we walk through the fire together but I have never been burned,even the clothes on my back have never smelled of smoke!

                                                                                                                            With love,in Christ-Kwik

 

Praise God for your life an testimony Kwik! I would agree with you that God hasn't caused the pain but He hasn't left your side this whole journey. God is always near.

 

Your testimony reminds me of my aunt being healed from her cancer in her knee. She was able to keep her leg even though the doctors didn't have much hope. Praise God!

Does God always heal, give a miracle, or do things the way I'd like him to? Nope. But God is faithful, good, and will carry me when I lack the strength to go on.

God bless,

GE

[Guest DRS81]

But question, where does the BIble say God will never give us more than we can endure?

 

1 Cor 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

 

Makes you wonder why people commit suicide on a daily basis...

[GoldenEagle]

 

But question, where does the BIble say God will never give us more than we can endure?

 

1 Cor 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

 

Makes you wonder why people commit suicide on a daily basis...

 

 

Notice the passage says God will not give us more temptation than is beyond our ability. I think sometimes people think that also means God will not give us more trials, tribulations, or storms in life than we can handle. I think the opposite is true. Sometimes God gives us (allows) exactly what we can't handle in order to point to our need for His strength - that we can't do it on our own.

That is my take on the passage.

[Guest shiloh357]

 

But question, where does the BIble say God will never give us more than we can endure?

 

 

God always puts more on you than you can endure, so that we will depend on Him.   Our power to endure comes from Jesus living within us in the Person of the Holy Spirit.

[Guest DRS81]

God always puts more on you than you can endure, so that we will depend on Him.   Our power to endure comes from Jesus living within us in the Person of the Holy Spirit.

 

 

But 1 Cor 10:13 says the opposite. It says we will not be tempted beyond our ability so we will endure it.

[GoldenEagle]

 

God always puts more on you than you can endure, so that we will depend on Him.   Our power to endure comes from Jesus living within us in the Person of the Holy Spirit.

 

 

But 1 Cor 10:13 says the opposite. It says we will not be tempted beyond our ability so we will endure it.

 

 

I think you guys are discussing two differnt concept as I tried to mention earlier.

 

1 Cor. 10:13 has to do with temptation. What Shiloh is talking about I believe are tests, tribulations, and storms in life. Two very different things.

I agree God won't tempt us more than we can endure and will give an out. I also agree that God will put more on us than we can endure so that we learn to depend more on Him.

[rjp34652]

 

10 Reasons Why God Allows Suffering

 

Better than asking, “If God is good, why would he allow suffering?” would be to ask, “Because God is holy and no one meets his requirements, why doesn’t he just send everyone to hell?” God is by no means obligated to be gracious to anyone because he is perfectly just and we are sinful in every way. Yet, he displays is grace and mercy by making salvation possible for the elect through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Because we live in a fallen world, suffering occurs and it is healthy to discuss for encouragement.

 

Though there are more than 10, here are some reasons why God allows suffering:

 

1.To make us more like Jesus (Romans 8:17).

2. To make use more dependent on him (2 Corinthians 1:9).

3. To remove idols in our life (1 John 5:21).

4. So that we can learn to comfort others who are also suffering (2 Corinthians 1:4).

5. To remind us that heaven is our home (John 15:19).

6. To remind us of the severity of sin (Genesis 3:14).

7. To give us a deeper impact for the lost because nothing grabs the attention of an unbeliever like a Christian devoted to Christ in the midst of deep pain (Philippians 1:13).

8. To encourage other Christians (Philippians 1:14).

9. To make us long more for heaven (Philippians 1:23).

10. To strengthen our faith (James 1:2-4).

 

Suffering is a blessing. Paul writes to the Philippians, “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake” (Philippians 1:29). Like our faith, suffering has been granted to us and is a blessing for all the reasons mentioned above and more.

 

Ultimately, we won’t know the full reason for our suffering until we get to heaven. At that moment, Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eye, death will be no more, and the current suffering that we experience on earth will not be worth comparing to the glory we will experience for an eternity with our suffering servant Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

“We cannot look at the cross and see Jesus there and think we will be spared.” – John Piper

 

You will suffer. Look to Jesus. Live for heaven. Enjoy the blessing.

 

As a follow-up or split from this thread:

1. Do you agree with this article and this list presented? Can you think of other reasons?

 

2. What role does God play in suffering?

 

3. What role do we as Christians play in suffering? Which of these reasons resonates the most with you?

God bless,

GE

 

 

The book of Job clearly indicates God's position on human suffering.

 

IT IS NONE OF OUR BUSINESS.

 

Read the book.

 

and that's just me, hollering from the choir loft….