Psalm 6 1-3
O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.
My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O LORD, how long?
Lao Tzu, an ancient Doaist philosopher once said,
“Life is suffering.”
We all suffer in our lives. Is God Punishing us?
Is he a vengeful God?
I do not believe so.
Throughout my life my suffering has brought me closer to life, to God and to humanity. It connects me, makes me part of the whole.
Suffering without the presence of God disconnects us from the world. Alone, we loose hope and fade away, but with the presence of God in our lives this suffering allows us to be part of the world, connected to the human struggle. We are God’s children and as we grow and mature we must have growing pains, hard lessons learned. With each step we grow closer to God’s vision of the possibilities of humanity. Some people drown out their suffering with rationizations, drugs and avoidance, they drift out of life and in the end lose their humanity. They step off the path that is toward God’s hope for us. I have suffered a great deal in my life, but if I took away all the misery and pain then I would not be the person I am today. I would not be connected to God’s love for us or understand the pain of the people around me.
JOHN 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.
How did God get through to us? How did we come to know that God is loving and not vengeful? Through the suffering of his only Son. He connected with us, became human and suffered. In this way he showed us that he is a loving God. Suffering is the human condition; we only have to decide if we learn to love through it or just fade away.
Father in heaven,
I am suffering,
Give me the faith to persevere,
Allow me to see the possibilities of your Love,
Ease my suffering.
Amen
