![]() It was then that my faith radically changed. I needed peace and I couldn’t find it anywhere besides Christ. I cried out asking God to help me to trust him, to reconnect, and to find hope in what seemed like impenetrable darkness. ![]() I realized, however, like Peter, that there was nowhere to go, because only Jesus had the words of life (John 6:68). When things kept getting worse, I angrily stopped talking to God, wondering if he was even listening. What Suffering Produced in MeĮach time something else went wrong, I begged God to fix it, to take away the pain, to restore things to the way they were. Then a marriage crisis almost undid me, and just as I started healing, our infant son died unexpectedly. After I became a Christian as a teenager, I felt sure that God had promised me an easy life and all I had to do was live it.įor years I felt God fulfilled his part, but my confidence eroded after my first miscarriage. I too have had unwritten, unilateral contracts with God where I tried to live a righteous life and in return expected God to bless me by fixing all my problems - especially if I prayed and read the Bible. “My hope is not that my situation will turn out a certain way, but that God will always do what’s best for me.” ![]() She was tired of doing the right thing because it hadn’t gotten her anywhere. She asked angrily, “Is this how a good God treats his children?” and went on to list all that God had not done for her, despite her faithfulness. She had prayed and asked him to change her situation, but things continued to get worse. I still remember our last conversation about God, as she told me that he had not come through for her. Monroe Ave., Green Bay, WI 54301.Several years ago, a close friend walked away from faith. Pastor Bobbie Skelly is a locally ordained minister. I hope this gives you something to think about, and thanks for writing (for many) and blessings to you. Read 1 Peter 4:13, “Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.” What we do know God is sovereign and Satan is in control of this world (Matthew 4). Philippians 1:29 tells us, “For it’s been granted to you by Christ to believe on Him, also to suffer for Him.” Romans 5:3 says, “suffering produces perseverance, character and hope.” The Bible says, “if we want to share Christ’s glory, we have to be willing to share in His suffering.” It’s very hard to understand things like floods, but please read Matthew 24:4-8. God does love us, and the proof is the suffering he allowed his son to endure on the cross for us. ![]() It’s hard to “count it all joy,” when suffering comes, and when it does we need only ask God to sanctify it and use it to make us more steadfast in our faith. The devil believes in God, and he will spend eternity in hell with the rest of his cohorts. Just because people believe IN God does not make one a Christian (look up the meaning of believe). If we read about Lucifer, devils, evil spirits, hell, lake of fire, judgment, it’s very clear “hell is real” and nonbelievers (those who never confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior) will spend eternity there (read Matthew 5:22, 29, 30 Mark 9:43, 45, 47 Luke 12:5 16:23 James 3:6 and 2 Peter 2:4). First, one cannot believe in God and heaven and not in the devil or hell they come from the same book. Also, only God can control the weather, so why are there so many weather-related disasters bringing such suffering to his people? ![]() If God is “all loving,” how could he throw people into fire after they die? I don’t believe in hell those who believe will go to heaven, and those who don’t will remain in their graves forever. ![]()
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