Suffering
by Paul Hazelden

    Introduction

      "Why am I suffering?"

      Almost everyone asks this question sooner or later.   Or they ask the more difficult questions - "Why is someone I love sufering?" and "Why are good people suffering?"

      I cannot give you an answer to these questions.   I do not know the people, and I do not know what God is doing in each situation.

      But I do know that God is good and loving.   I do not know all the answers, but I do know some of them.   Perhaps this will be enough for you, so that you too can believe that God is good and loving, and will choose to love and follow Him.

      1. Sometimes...
        1. Sometimes we suffer for what we have done
        2. Sometimes we suffer for what other people have done
        3. Sometimes good people suffer
        4. Sometimes the innocent suffer
        5. Sometimes suffering just happens.
        6. Sometimes God cannot stop the suffering.
      2. But always...
        1. God suffers alongside us.
        2. God is working to prevent all suffering for good.

         

  1. Sometimes

      2. None of these are true all the time, but they are all true some of the time.

      [Back...]

       

    1. Sometimes we suffer for what we have done

      2. Sometimes the connectionis direct and obvious, other times it is less so.

      If I make fun of someone and he hits me, the connection is obvious.   Perhaps he should not have hit me...

      At other times, the connection is less direct.   If I lie to people, they will learn not to trust me.   If they don't trust me, I suffer in all kinds of ways.

      [Back...]

       

    2. Sometimes we suffer for what other people have done

      3. Details

      [Back...]

       

    3. Sometimes good people suffer

      4. Details

      [Back...]

       

    4. Sometimes the innocent suffer

      5. This is what evil is all about.   If the only suffering that evil people caused was fair and right, it would not be evil but justice.

      [Back...]

       

    5. Sometimes suffering just happens

      6. Suffering sometimes happens because that is the way the world is.

      Why is the world like this?   Not because God made a world of suffering, but because we messed up the good world He created.

      [Back...]

       

    6. Sometimes God cannot stop the suffering

      7. Details

      [Back...]

       

  2. But always...

      3. Introduction to the section.

      [Back...]

       

    1. Sub head

      2. Details

       

    2. Another Sub head

      3. Details

       

Comments?  Feedback?  Let me know what you think.
Copyright © 2001 Paul Hazelden.
You are welcome to create a link to this page or to print it for your personal use, but if you would like to use some or all of this article in any other way, please contact me first.
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This page last updated 4 March 2001.
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