The Righteous Suffer Too!

If bad things only happened to bad people, suffering would not pose so great a dilemma for us. But, we all know that bad things happen to good people. Theologians and philosophers have wrestled with this issue for centuries. The example of Job from the Old Testament is a classic one. This man was among the finest men of his day, yet trouble filled his life. He lost his family, then his wealth, and finally his health. The only thing he didn’t lose was his faith. We can’t afford to forget his example. He showed us how to conduct ourselves in the face of suffering.

I am sure that some who are reading this today are carrying heavy loads. You may feel a close affinity with Job. And, you may be asking, “How can I go on? Why has God let this happen to me?” The questions are understandable. The answers are elusive. Let me make a few suggestions.

We should not expect good fortune to be with us all the time. Ours is not only a world of beautiful stars and lovely sunsets, of lush valleys and fertile plains, but also a world of tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes and forest fires. The good, the bad, and the ugly are all a part of life. It is unreasonable to expect our lives to be filled with only the good and the beautiful. The devil will not allow that to happen.

Life isn’t fair, and there is nothing that says that it is. Some people have more than their share of heartache while others seem to go through life almost unscathed. We don’t know why one airplane crashes and a thousand others fly trouble free. We can’t explain why a tornado levels one town while a hundred others are untouched, or why one person has multiple medical problems and another seems never to have a cold. Again, life isn’t fair.

I don’t have answers to all the questions. I wish I did. But, I do know this. God will not give us more than we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13). Some of the most important lessons of life are learned in the face of adversity. Good things can come from bad experiences (Romans 8:28).

It is the adversity we encounter here that makes us long for heaven. If there were no burdens to bear, if there were no obstacles to hurdle, if there were no crosses to carry, I suspect heaven would not hold the attraction it does to the believer. God does have something better prepared for us.

It was with that thought in mind that Paul wrote: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory… For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 4:17; 5:1). It is that knowledge which gives us the courage and faith to continue on. The burdens of this life may be great, but the rewards of faithfulness are eternal.