FAITH ON TRIAL: Part 4a – If God is so loving why do we experience so much suffering?

Everything you thought that you knew about life, faith, and God can seem irrelevant when you’re in pain. As life around you grinds to a halt … you ask the question … God why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this? What’s wrong with me? God why are you doing this to me? For many of us our lives are consumed with eliminating these difficulties. Maybe you’re here tonight and you’re so tired of it all that you’re barely hanging on anymore. We attend seminars, we develop strategies, we read how to books, and even pray that God would bring relief. Blaming, denying, escaping, and giving in to self-pity are not right responses.

What do we do when life doesn’t turn out like we planned it to? No matter what our age or stage in life, we all have asked this type of question at some time … I think God DOES have some things to say about handling disappointments and suffering in life.

Can we expect any comfort at all when our questions go unanswered? YES!

Dealing with disappointments: It’s all about perspective. Get God’s perspective on living life to help you handle disappointments.

Disappointment wears many masks. It may take the form of a lost job, a broken relationship, the death of a loved one, or even bad news during a routine checkup at the doctor’s office. But one thing is usually sure. To the victim of suffering it doesn’t make sense. You have to live in ambiguity. Everything you though that you knew about life, faith, and God seems irrelevant when you’re in pain. As life around you grinds to a halt … you ask the question … God why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this? What’s wrong with me? God why are you doing this to me?