How long will God allow me to suffer? How long will this end or stop? Most Christians going through pain and suffering ask these common questions all the time.
Indeed, it’s easy to lose hope and faith in God if you are experiencing unimaginable pain and suffering in your life that doesn’t seem to end.
In such situations, you begin to wonder if God even cares at all considering the seemingly never-ending suffering and bad things you are going through in your Christian life.
However, remember, that you are not the first person to experience this. Many saints in both the Old Testament and New Testament asked these very same questions.
As a Christian, you need to remember that God allows everything to work for our own good in the end be it suffering or the bad things happening in our lives (Romans 8:28).
You should always remember that all the present suffering, bad things, and pain you experience in this fallen world as a believer can’t be compared to the eternal glory that awaits you in eternity and heaven when all is said and done (Romans 8:18).
Once you enter heaven and see all its glory when you die and suffer with our Lord Jesus Christ, you will be exceedingly glad that you had to go through all the suffering, death, and bad things on earth for Christ’s sake.
So, to answer the question,” how long will God allow me to suffer and why?” we will look at what the bible says with reference to many bible verses both in the old testament and the new testament.
How Long Will God Allow Suffering In My Life?
The simple answer to that question is that God will not allow you to experience suffering indefinitely. No pain and suffering you may be currently experiencing in your life, no matter how long, will last indefinitely.
The Lord will eventually intervene in your life and turn all your suffering and pain you have been going through for a long time into tears of joy and a better ending as He did to Job in Job 42:10-17.
I am sure you are familiar with the suffering of Job in the book of job who endured unimaginable suffering and pain that can ever happen to any human being, yet by God’s grace, he didn’t lose his faith in God as most people would.
Yet, in the end, his suffering came to an end and God blessed him twice than he ever had at the beginning and that will be the case with you if you don’t lose hope and faith in God despite all the evil that has happened in your life so far.
Remember that God never gives us more than we can handle. He loves us too much to let that happen. Sometimes the suffering we go through is a result of our own sin, and sometimes it’s not.
We don’t always know why God allows us to suffer or experience bad things in life, but we can trust that His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9). He knows what’s best for us, even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time.
Sometimes we think our problems are so big and indefinite that God must not care about them but He does. The Bible says that Jesus Christ cares about every detail of our lives (Matthew 10:29-30).
God knows about every tear and every burden you carry in your heart. He sees you when you’re at your lowest point and when you feel like nobody else cares about you.
And He wants to help you carry your burdens by giving you strength through His grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) because one day, all the suffering you have been going through will soon come to an end.
Your life will soon be replaced with joy and gratitude you never knew you could have that will make you grateful for the suffering God allowed in your life.
See Also: 45 Why Does God Allow Suffering Quotes [+Animation].
Where Is God When We Suffer?
We can’t always understand why bad things happen to good people. When we suffer, the temptation is to question God’s goodness or even His existence.
In this book, Dr. Ravi Zacharias helps us see that when we suffer it’s not because God is absent; it’s because He’s present.
In his book, Where Is God when we suffer? Dr. Zacharias explains that suffering is a part of life and there are times when we wonder why God tolerates it at all.
But as he shows us through Scripture, suffering plays an important role in our lives helping us become more like Christ, and persevering through trials makes us more like Him.
Dr. Zacharias also looks at the often-asked question of why God doesn’t take away all our pain and suffering if He loves us so much?
To that question, He explains that while sometimes God does answer our prayers with physical healing, there are many other times where He uses suffering as an instrument of His grace and mercy in our lives.
In short, God is still present with you when you suffer and hasn’t abandoned you to your fate as you may think (Psalms 34:18). So, don’t give up your Christian faith because of your temporary earthly suffering.
Just remember, He is using your suffering in your life for His glory and to teach something about His goodness, which you would otherwise, never appreciate and realize if everything went well in your life all the time without any suffering to test and refine your character.
See Also: Why Doesn’t God Punish The Wicked Immediately? [Sermon].
Why God Allows Suffering In Our Lives?
God allows suffering for a reason. God has a purpose for your life, and that purpose can only be fulfilled by allowing you to go through difficult times.
There is a deeper purpose behind why God allows suffering in our lives — even though it can’t be seen right away. The Bible teaches us that God is working all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
It’s difficult to see how something bad can turn out to be good, but if we trust God and keep our eyes on him, we will see that everything will work out for our best in the end.
God allows suffering because he wants us to trust him more than anything else in the world. When we go through hard times, it’s easy to look at other people and think they have it better than we do.
But remember that your circumstances are what they are because God allowed them to happen to teach you something about yourself or His character.
When you go through trials, remember that Jesus Christ, too went through much worse than what you’re going through now (John 15:18-20). He knows exactly how you feel because He feels it too.
Suffering is a part of life. We all encounter hardships, trials, and tribulations. One thing you need to have in mind as you are reading this is God never causes the human suffering and death we all experience in life.
But He allows it because we live in a fallen world. The Bible tells us that Adam and Eve sinned against God, which has affected the entire human race (Genesis 3:16-19).
As a result, we now have a sinful nature (Romans 5:12-21), which leads to us committing sins and doing things that are contrary to God’s will (Matthew 15:19) the very reason why suffering exists in this world.
Also, you need to remember that God has given us free will so that we can either choose Him or reject Him; however, we tend to choose our own ways instead of His way (Isaiah 55:8-9).
This leads to suffering because it often results in spiritual death (James 1:15-18). When you experience suffering, it’s important to remember that it’s not because God wants you to suffer.
Rather, it’s because of your sinful nature and the world around you. It’s also important to realize that God loves you unconditionally (John 3:16), even during difficult times.
You must also understand that God allows suffering in your life so that you can be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ who endured every kind of suffering and pain a human being could ever endure and much more.
If God never allowed suffering in your life, your character will then never be perfected to be in the likeness of Christ Jesus who patiently endured the cross for our sakes so that we can have salvation and eternal life.
In like manner, God allows suffering to teach us patience and longsuffering which are one of the 9 essential fruits of the Holy Spirit so that we don’t become spoiled self-entitled children.
He also allows you to suffer in this present evil world so that once you go to heaven in God’s presence; you can now fully appreciate its significance. If you didn’t suffer, heaven will not mean much to you as you have no reference point.
Remember, it’s only when you have experienced suffering in your life that will you appreciate God’s goodness in your life just as you only appreciate the value of water when you are thirsty.
See Also: If God Loves Us Why Do We Suffer? [+Sermon].
Conclusion.
I hope the above post on the question,” how long will God allow me to suffer,” has now given you a satisfactory answer concerning this topic of suffering and helped you realize that God won’t let you suffer indefinitely. In closing, if this post was of great encouragement to you, let me know in the comments below, and don’t forget to share before you leave.
Further Reading.
- Why Doesn’t God Punish The Wicked Immediately? [Sermon].
- When Christian Friends Hurt You [Here’s What To Do].
- 7 Major Reasons Why God Allows Disappointment?
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