Why Do We Resist Suffering?

Why do we resist suffering so much?

It’s really natural for us to do this, its part of our human nature.

But we think we’re supposed to be free from pain, we’re trained to be easily satisfied;  to not have pain.

Where evil is and sin is, then suffering will be a part of our lives.

What do we do in the midst of suffering?

We want to run or medicate, with alcohol, drugs,

But want to control the things in our lives so we choose things to stop the pain, we want answers so we ask ‘why’ so we can figure out the reason, or we blame others, or God because we don’t know what else to do.  We don’t know what to do in the suffering.

But if we can believe that God is with us in all things especially in our suffering, then we can let him in.

Suffering can elicit in our hearts the questions about life, the deeper things of our lives.

Our search for God can be intensified in the midst of our suffering and if we can go to God with those questions and that desire, we’ll find him there.

Sometimes people tell us to give that to God, give your suffering to God, but there is a trap in that because we want to get rid of the suffering and go back to being ‘normal’ again.

 But there is a difference between giving your suffering to God versus giving God permission to come into the suffering with us, to join with God and let him be with us in our suffering.

Redemptive suffering:  redeemed on the cross by Jesus, he redeemed the world and suffering.

When we allow our suffering to  be joined to his, we stay in communion with God, as our hearts stay with God in the midst of suffering, then we can join our suffering with his and be redeemed because he redeemed suffering on the cross. 

Let yourself be found.

There will be times in our lives when we feel lost, scared and we don’t know what to do, we need to remember that the most important thing for us to do during those times is to put ourselves in the position to be found. 

 God is pursuing us, calling us tirelessly no matter where we are, let God find you in the midst of your suffering.