Friday 23 March 2012

Is Suffering Good For Us?

But ought we get to thinking suffering is 'good'? There have been some contemplative writers and teachers who thought so. We have to think seriously about what God can give us in suffering.

You can learn :
the difference between real fears and illusory fears you (or someone else) whipped up. And you can learn the difference between telling yourself to 'fear not' and actually believing there's a reason not to fear.
to depend on God's grace and active love.
to depend on what's done by those who aren't suffering, and sometimes by others who are. And you learn something about how each of us depends on each other. You learn that more good things happen when you cooperate.
that by yourself, you flail and fall and fail -- and so does everyone else.
to wait, often because you have no power to do otherwise, and sometimes because it just works best that way.
that suffering grabs you and drags you to the place where you discover how much you need God's grace.
that most material things aren't much of a help for the actual suffering.
which material things really count, which you're better off without, and which simply don't matter.
that suffering, like death, has a way of stripping away the differences we-all have created.
that you're not so important after all.
that it's a good thing to let down the walls you use to guard your inner self and your privacy.
why the gospel of Jesus Christ is good news: God loves you and is with you! You're not out there floundering around on your own.
that when you've got little to lose, you're freer to surrender yourself to the gospel.

But if good things can come from suffering, doesn't that make suffering good?

No.

The spiritual gains of suffering don't come from what you're suffering from, or even from the suffering itself. The gains come from the fact that God (and, like God, we ourselves) can take 'bad', 'horrible', and even 'evil' situations and make something good come from them. God enjoys doing that. It's this fact that gives us real reason to hope during suffering. This 'good effect' doesn't change the nature or 'badness' of suffering; it is what it is. A mountain of dung is no less filthy when there's a diamond in it.

The truth is, more often than not, the lessons aren't learned, the goodness doesn't come of it. Those who are broken may remain broken. Suffering destroys and beats people down. The devil uses it to cause confusion, anger, delusion, or resignation. It usually leaves some sort of scar or damage. It is exceptionally cruel to speak glibly of 'spiritual gains', real and/or imagined, to those who live with extreme disabilities or are stuck in the poverty class or who lose a loved one. Not that they too can't find gain or hope or even happiness, because many of them really do. But only some, and definitely not most. Our duty is not to tell them to smile harder or to feed them false hopes, but to make it so that they can live amidst their suffering and perhaps be led forward with their life. They need real hopes, and Christians are called on to help make real hopes take root.

The Holy Spirit does not stop life from having suffering. What the Spirit gives is resources so we can face the suffering and make something positive come from it. The Spirit gives the direction and power to make these resources work. The Spirit gives hope, which itself creates perseverance. The Spirit gives wisdom to find the way past the suffering, and to learn from it. And, the Spirit created a body of believers, with the gifts to support and strengthen. In a way, the gifts are geared toward suffering, because spiritual gifts are meant to be for the good of others. Who needs the benefits from those gifts more than those who suffer?

Spiritual gifts are from the Strongest One acting through the weak on behalf of the weakest.


gotquestions  http://www.spirithome.com/suffering.html

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