Why does God promise suffering?
He’s God, after all. Can’t He protect me from suffering once I have chosen to follow Him?
He could, I suppose, but my motives would then be suspect. Would I be choosing God, or would I simply be choosing the path of no suffering?
Well, why does there have to be suffering in the first place? The answer is that it is self-inflicted. We brought it on ourselves. And we continue to do so!
The good news is that God will one day put an end to all suffering. That’s why Jesus can say that peace and courage are possible even in the midst of all this suffering.
Almost all movies have a happy ending of some sort. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be nearly as popular. They would be too hard to watch. Who wants to invest two hours of their life watching someone else’s problems? No one. But when there is a happy ending, a glorious solution and relief at last, the two hours are a delightful distraction from reality where things rarely end up neat and tidy and resolved.
But today’s verse promises a happy ending to reality! Jesus did the work to make sure everything will end up neat and tidy and resolved for those who choose Him. So, don’t worry. We may all be in the middle of some drama or horror or dark comedy, but there will be a happy ending.
Dear God,
Thank you so much for promising that everything will come out perfectly in the end. Help me to be patient in the midst of my movie where things will go wrong and I will screw things up and bad things will happen. Teach me to focus on you and not my suffering. I look forward to your beautiful ending.
CamDevo 