April 3, 2016 Sermon

I hear this question a lot. How could a loving God allow good people to suffer? We hear about God’s love all the time. He sent his only son to die for us, then why doesn’t he save us from pain? Break-ups, sickness, loss of loved ones. Nearly all of us have had heartbreak, and many have prayed during those times for healing, change or for a life to be saved, and our prayers are not always answered – at least not how we intended.

I’m reminded of the footprints analogy. A lot of us know it – where you look back at your life, see two pairs of footprints – one of them is yours and the other is Gods. Through the toughest times, there is only one set of footprints. We are left to think that we’ve been abandoned, but God tells us “That is when I carried you.” I personally know for a fact that God does carry us through those times, but I never stopped to think, why carry us, when he can stop or even prevent our suffering?

The answer from Sunday’s message is that God allows suffering so that we can grow. Jesus used the metaphor of a farmer pruning the fruit-bearing grape vines so that they can produce even more fruit. As a parent, I see this with my boys. I don’t let them live on grapes and graham crackers. I give them time-outs when they misbehave. I don’t buy them all the toys they like at the store. To us grown-ups, these actions seem minor to the grief that we’ve experienced, but to a two-year old, it’s the end of the world. I could easily give in and give them what they want, but I know it isn’t what they need. It’s not easy – making someone you love so much hurt, letting them make mistakes so they can learn from them, but it allows them to grow. Think of the person you are. Was it the times that you were given everything you needed that defined who you are, or was it the times that you had to fight through something?

The important thing to remember is although there will be trails that we need to face, we don’t have to face them alone. If we pray for help, God will be with us. He might let us continue to face our struggle so that we can grow from it, but he will give us peace.

My husband was an EMT and remembers responding to a call where a father passed away suddenly. He expected to see disrupt, anguish and grief in the family, but instead he felt peace. He came to find out that family had faith in God, and trusted his plan. When we pray to God and truly have faith in him, we have peace. Not because we know what the outcome will be necessarily, but because we know that God will give us the strength to face whatever the outcome will be, and that we will grow from it.

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