July 31st, 2023: More Thoughts on Suffering

"Lord, have mercy on us as we mourn. We feel numb and crushed, filled with the pain of grief, and our strength has given up. You know all our sighing and longings: be near to us and teach us to fix our hope on you through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Pain and suffering are not part of God's desire when He created us and the world. They are the outcomes of sin, corrupting the whole creation. We experience numbness in grieving because there is nothing normal about suffering. Our spirit is crushed as we face desolation in our pain.

In times of tremendous testing, it is tempting to give up and be indifferent toward what God has in mind for us. Our faith is tested due to the abundance of evil in the world. We long for God's comfort, and we can find it by having hope in what we have not yet seen: the final return of Jesus.

To be near to God in such times means believing that God longs to be there for us regardless of our circumstances. We must fix our eyes on the reality of the cross and trust in His unfailing love."

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." - Ephesians 6: 12