SUFFERING, OUR TEACHER

Many people despair to the point of ending their own lives when going through the valley of suffering. There is physical, mental, emotional and spiritual suffering. There are pains in the soul that hurt more than having the flesh attacked by illness. Not a few people rebel against God. Instead of being like wax that melts in the sun, they are like clay that hardens even more when exposed to its heat. Suffering should teach us rather than destroy us. He must take us by the hand and teach us to live with more sensitivity and wisdom instead of imprisoning us in the existential pit of death. King David said, “It was good for me to suffer, that I might learn Your decrees” (Psalm 119:71). It must be made clear that not all suffering is the result of a specific sin or punishment. The man who was born blind was suffering not because of his sin or the sin of his parents, but so that the glory of God might be manifested in him (John 9:1-9). In this world we go through affliction and it is important that we enter the Kingdom of God through many tribulations.

Hernandes Dias Lopes