Why Christians Suffer?

[Robert Pate]

I am not an authority on this subject. I have been having sever health problems lately and may be on the way out. It seems like my whole life has been one of trouble and suffering. Much of the problem is with the choices that I made before I became a Christian. We most certainly will reap what we sow. If we have abused our bodies for decades with alcohol, tobacco, or whatever, that is going to affect us as we get older and we will have to pay for our stupid mistakes.

After I became a Christian, I was 34 years old, I lost everything that I owned and went through a divorce. This was devastating, it took me years to recover, but in the long run it was a blessing, but at the time I could not see it. Perhaps the Lord was testing me. The Lord does try his people to see if they are sincere, this is illustrated in the Parable of the Sower, Matthew 13:23. In spite of all that I went through I remained faithful and grew in Christ. The Lord has restored the years that the locust ate.

Christians will and do suffer persecution from unbelievers. Jesus said, "If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you" John 15:20. Who are the they? More than likely they will be people that are the closest to you, your friends and your family. Jesus said, "And a man's foes shall be those of his own household" Matthew 10:36. I heard of a young Jewish girl that became a Christian, her whole family turned against her. They promptly ordered a casket had a funeral and spiritually buried her.

Another reason that Christians suffer is because of sin. Many do not understand that when you become a Christian you now have a new Father. You have been adopted into the family of God. Romans 8:15. Sin is the departure from the faith. God now sees us as his children, Hebrews 12:7-13. In Jesus Christ we have been justified, sanctified and redeemed, 1 Corinthians 1:30. In the old days when a child sinned his father would take him out to the woodshed and give him a good whipping. I think that I have been to the Lord's woodshed many times.

I will conclude by saying Christians suffer because of past and present mistakes and sins. Christians suffer because they belong to Christ. Please enlighten me with your ideas. I feel like death warmed over and need understanding.

 

[Nancy]

I am not an authority on this subject. I have been having sever health problems lately and may be on the way out. It seems like my whole life has been one of trouble and suffering. Much of the problem is with the choices that I made before I became a Christian. We most certainly will reap what we sow. If we have abused our bodies for decades with alcohol, tobacco, or whatever, that is going to affect us as we get older and we will have to pay for our stupid mistakes.

After I became a Christian, I was 34 years old, I lost everything that I owned and went through a divorce. This was devastating, it took me years to recover, but in the long run it was a blessing, but at the time I could not see it. Perhaps the Lord was testing me. The Lord does try his people to see if they are sincere, this is illustrated in the Parable of the Sower, Matthew 13:23. In spite of all that I went through I remained faithful and grew in Christ. The Lord has restored the years that the locust ate.

Christians will and do suffer persecution from unbelievers. Jesus said, "If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you" John 15:20. Who are the they? More than likely they will be people that are the closest to you, your friends and your family. Jesus said, "And a man's foes shall be those of his own household" Matthew 10:36. I heard of a young Jewish girl that became a Christian, her whole family turned against her. They promptly ordered a casket had a funeral and spiritually buried her.

Another reason that Christians suffer is because of sin. Many do not understand that when you become a Christian you now have a new Father. You have been adopted into the family of God. Romans 8:15. Sin is the departure from the faith. God now sees us as his children, Hebrews 12:7-13. In Jesus Christ we have been justified, sanctified and redeemed, 1 Corinthians 1:30. In the old days when a child sinned his father would take him out to the woodshed and give him a good whipping. I think that I have been to the Lord's woodshed many times.

I will conclude by saying Christians suffer because of past and present mistakes and sins. Christians suffer because they belong to Christ. Please enlighten me with your ideas. I feel like death warmed over and need understanding.

Hello Robert,
Good post, I agree with the things you mentioned. We will always reap what we sow, even a lifetime of suffering for the foolishness or the sins we committed. That is not at all saying that "we" are "paying" for our sins, not at all as we KNOW only Christ can do that. But the bible holds true in the reap and sow issue.
Then I think of Job, he didn't sin for his many troubles but The Lord God already knew that Job was: "...whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. ... A man named Job lived ...Job 1...:1

And another reason IMHO is to prepare us for spiritual warfare. We cannot be a bunch of Nerf balls people! We truly need the kind of strength that moves mountains, or at least gets us around them, or rise above them; to fight the evil dark forces coming at us at ever increasing intensity.
JMHO

 

[Robert Pate]

Hello Robert,
Good post, I agree with the things you mentioned. We will always reap what we sow, even a lifetime of suffering for the foolishness or the sins we committed. That is not at all saying that "we" are "paying" for our sins, not at all as we KNOW only Christ can do that. But the bible holds true in the reap and sow issue.
Then I think of Job, he didn't sin for his many troubles but The Lord God already knew that Job was: "...whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. ... A man named Job lived ...Job 1...:1

And another reason IMHO is to prepare us for spiritual warfare. We cannot be a bunch of Nerf balls people! We truly need the kind of strength that moves mountains, or at least gets us around them, or rise above them; to fight the evil dark forces coming at us at ever increasing intensity.
JMHO

My troubles are nothing like Job's. How did the poor guy survive? even his wife turned on him. It is a wonderful book, thanks for bringing it to my attention.

 

[Nancy]

My troubles are nothing like Job's. How did the poor guy survive? even his wife turned on him. It is a wonderful book, thanks for bringing it to my attention.

You are welcome brother.

 

[Aunty Jane]

My troubles are nothing like Job's. How did the poor guy survive? even his wife turned on him. It is a wonderful book, thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Job is in the Bible for a very good reason…..he teaches us some very important lessons.
Fistly, we see that Job was already on the devil’s radar as a man of integrity and love for his God. In the days of the Patriarchs, the head of the clan was their spiritual advisor and represented God to all in his household. So to be as strong as he was spiritually meant that he had no outside influence to do God’s will…it was in him.

Secondly, we see that God would not bring calamity upon a righteous man himself, but in order to reply to the devil’s taunts, he allowed satan to test Job’s integrity. That first onslaught would have made the strongest man crumble, and yet Job did not ascribe anything bad to God, even in his intense grief.

Not satisfied that Job was tested to the limit, satan again taunted God over Job’s faith saying that if we was allowed to inflict pain and suffering in a physical way, Job would lose his faith. So again God allowed satan to attack Job’s flesh, putting him in a state of so much pain and suffering, that Job could not speak.

Then we see his wife, who had suffered all the losses with him, now watching the abject suffering of her husband spoke rashly out of her own pain, but God never criticized her for that.
And the so called comforters who charged Job with secret sins that God was punishing him for….but Job was confident that he had done nothing wrong. Just trying to image the degree of suffering is difficult in any one of those trials let alone all of them.

So why did God permit satan to challenge Job’s faith to such a degree?
For one, he knew his servant well and would never have allowed him to go beyond what he could bear. (1 Cor 10:13) And In his second attempt…..
”…Satan answered Jehovah: “Skin for skin. A man will give everything that he has for his life. 5 But, for a change, stretch out your hand and strike his bone and flesh, and he will surely curse you to your very face.”

6 Then Jehovah said to Satan: “Look! He is in your hand! Only do not take his life!”

So we can see there that satan was not only challenging Job, but in saying “a man will give everything he has for his life”…he was including all men….all humans would leave God if they had to suffer. We are all included in this test.

We can be confident that if we are serving the true God through the mediation of his son, then we will have support through all our trials, confident that God knows our limits, even when we do not.

I especially love the way the story ends….
Job 42:10-17….
“After Job had prayed for his companions, Jehovah removed Job’s tribulation and restored his prosperity. Jehovah gave him double what he had before. 11 All his brothers and sisters and all his former friends came to him and ate a meal with him in his house. They sympathized with him and comforted him over all the calamity that Jehovah had allowed to come upon him. Each of them gave him a piece of money and a gold ring. . . . . He also came to have seven more sons and three more daughters. 14 He named the first daughter Je·miʹmah, the second Ke·ziʹah, and the third Kerʹen-hapʹpuch. 15 No women in all the land were as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers.

16 After this Job lived for 140 years, and he saw his children and his grandchildren—four generations. 17 Finally Job died, after a long and satisfying life.”

So Jehovah blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the beginning.

God’s reward was great, and in the resurrection that Job believed in, (John 5:28-29) all 20 of his children will be reunited with their parents to enjoy paradise together as a family…..forever.
Death cannot separate us from God…only our own ungodly conduct can. If we repent and change our lives to comply with God’s moral standards, and worship God in truth, we will be remembered in the resurrection to come.

I wish you well…..Robert Pate.

 

[Robert Pate]

Job is in the Bible for a very good reason…..he teaches us some very important lessons.
Fistly, we see that Job was already on the devil’s radar as a man of integrity and love for his God. In the days of the Patriarchs, the head of the clan was their spiritual advisor and represented God to all in his household. So to be as strong as he was spiritually meant that he had no outside influence to do God’s will…it was in him.

Secondly, we see that God would not bring calamity upon a righteous man himself, but in order to reply to the devil’s taunts, he allowed satan to test Job’s integrity. That first onslaught would have made the strongest man crumble, and yet Job did not ascribe anything bad to God, even in his intense grief.

Not satisfied that Job was tested to the limit, satan again taunted God over Job’s faith saying that if we was allowed to inflict pain and suffering in a physical way, Job would lose his faith. So again God allowed satan to attack Job’s flesh, putting him in a state of so much pain and suffering, that Job could not speak.

Then we see his wife, who had suffered all the losses with him, now watching the abject suffering of her husband spoke rashly out of her own pain, but God never criticized her for that
And the so called comforters who charged Job with secret sins that God was punishing him for….but Job was confident that he had done nothing wrong. Just trying to image the degree of suffering is difficult in any one of those trials let alone all of them.

So why did God permit satan to challenge Job’s faith to such a degree?
For one, he knew his servant well and would never have allowed him to go beyond what he could bear. (1 Cor 10:13) And In his second attempt…..
”…Satan answered Jehovah: “Skin for skin. A man will give everything that he has for his life. 5 But, for a change, stretch out your hand and strike his bone and flesh, and he will surely curse you to your very face.”

6 Then Jehovah said to Satan: “Look! He is in your hand! Only do not take his life!”

So we can see there that satan was not only challenging Job , but in saying “a man will give everything he has for his life”…he was including all men…all humans would leave God if they had to suffer. We are all included in this test.

We can be confident that if we are serving the true God through the mediation of his son, then we will have support through all our trials, confident hat God knows our limits, even when we do not.

I especially love the way the story ends….
Job 42:10-17….
“After Job had prayed for his companions, Jehovah removed Job’s tribulation and restored his prosperity. Jehovah gave him double what he had before. 11 All his brothers and sisters and all his former friends came to him and ate a meal with him in his house. They sympathized with him and comforted him over all the calamity that Jehovah had allowed to come upon him. Each of them gave him a piece of money and a gold ring. . . . . He also came to have seven more sons and three more daughters. 14 He named the first daughter Je·miʹmah, the second Ke·ziʹah, and the third Kerʹen-hapʹpuch. 15 No women in all the land were as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers.

16 After this Job lived for 140 years, and he saw his children and his grandchildren—four generations. 17 Finally Job died, after a long and satisfying life.”

So Jehovah blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the beginning.

God’s reward was great, and in the resurrection that Job believed in, (John 5:28-29) all 20 of his children will be reunited with their parents to enjoy paradise together as a family…..forever.
Death cannot separate us from God…only our own ungodly conduct can. If we repent and change our lives to comply with God’s moral standards, and worship God in truth, we will be remembered in the resurrection to come.

I wish you well…..Robert Pate.

Every time that I read the book of Job, I get all choked up.

Job survived because of his faith in God. Thanks for the narrative.

 

[strepho]

Like your post.
Second Timothy chapter 3 . The man of God/women, will suffer some persecution.
David had some hard knocks in samuel.
I believe God was preparing David for being king of Israel.

I believe God will use hard knocks to toughen up the election.
Satan as antichrist is coming 6th trump to Jerusalem. We have to be careful whos in foxhole with us.

When I converted to christianity in 2000. Satanic forces were after me . Multiple times, a daughter or son of belial tried to get me fired.
Ephesians chapter 6. Were against evil forces as Christian people.

In 2004. A former friend, woman. Who I cut off contact in 1998.
She left message on answering machine. It was 5 minutes long. Vulgar and Hatred.
Her voice changed to masculine voice halfway through. This is demonic possession. She even admitted she's evil.

The body of christ is in this together.
Psalm chapter 73 . Stay in the sanctuary. This is protection and blessings. Dont forget to repent. Those outside the sanctuary, are following satan.

Luke chapter 9. Use Jesus name to order satan and evil spirits away from you. Get behind me !!.

 

[Robert Pate]

Like your post.
Second Timothy chapter 3 . The man of God/women, will suffer some persecution.
David had some hard knocks in samuel.
I believe God was preparing David for being king of Israel.

I believe God will use hard knocks to toughen up the election.
Satan as antichrist is coming 6th trump to Jerusalem. We have to be careful whos in foxhole with us.

When I converted to christianity in 2000. Satanic forces were after me . Multiple times, a daughter or son of belial tried to get me fired.
Ephesians chapter 6. Were against evil forces as Christian people.

In 2004. A former friend, woman. Who I cut off contact in 1998.
She left message on answering machine. It was 5 minutes long. Vulgar and Hatred.
Her voice changed to masculine voice halfway through. This is demonic possession. She even admitted she's evil.

The body of christ is in this together.
Psalm chapter 73 . Stay in the sanctuary. This is protection and blessings. Dont forget to repent. Those outside the sanctuary, are following satan.

Luke chapter 9. Use Jesus name to order satan and evil spirits away from you. Get behind me !!.

Jesus said, "As they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you" John 15:20.

 

[amigo de christo]

Jesus said, "As they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you" John 15:20.

March onwards in the LORD my friend . we shall point to Christ till our last breath .
The LORD is our hope and our salvation and is with the lambs no matter what we face , or endure . Praise the LORD my friend .

 

[Debp]

And another reason IMHO is to prepare us for spiritual warfare. We cannot be a bunch of Nerf balls people! We truly need the kind of strength that moves mountains, or at least gets us around them, or rise above them; to fight the evil dark forces coming at us at ever increasing intensity.

So true. When we go through trials or suffering and keep trusting the Lord no matter what, our endurance is strengthened.

We all go through trials and suffering but how we respond to those things is important.

 

[Robert Pate]

So true. When we go through trials or suffering and keep trusting the Lord no matter what, our endurance is strengthened.

We all go through trials and suffering but how we respond to those things is important.

I appreciate all of you and what you have said.

I am going into the hospital next month for another surgery. I think that this will be my seventh.

Paul said that nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ, Romans 8:38-39.

 

[amadeus]

I appreciate all of you and what you have said.

I am going into the hospital next month for another surgery. I think that this will be my seventh.

Paul said that nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ, Romans 8:38-39.

Praying for you.

 

[MatthewG]

Job was never given an answer for his Suffering. Only his faith continued to be put on Yahava, and the he will make these things right, which he did, however not one explanation of anything that had happened to Job by Satan.

 

[Robert Pate]

Job was never given an answer for his Suffering. Only his faith continued to be put on Yahava, and the he will make these things right, which he did, however not one explanation of anything that had happened to Job by Satan.

Maybe Job was afraid to ask. Since God was the one that gave him life, why question God about what he does with it?

 

[Robert Pate]

Praying for you.

Thank you.

 

[MatthewG]

Maybe Job was afraid to ask. Since God was the one that gave him life, why question God about what he does with it?

Dont know if he was afraid, or if he asked his question only to receive no answer.

 

[Taken]

I am not an authority on this subject. I have been having sever health problems lately and may be on the way out. It seems like my whole life has been one of trouble and suffering. Much of the problem is with the choices that I made before I became a Christian. We most certainly will reap what we sow. If we have abused our bodies for decades with alcohol, tobacco, or whatever, that is going to affect us as we get older and we will have to pay for our stupid mistakes.

After I became a Christian, I was 34 years old, I lost everything that I owned and went through a divorce. This was devastating, it took me years to recover, but in the long run it was a blessing, but at the time I could not see it. Perhaps the Lord was testing me. The Lord does try his people to see if they are sincere, this is illustrated in the Parable of the Sower, Matthew 13:23. In spite of all that I went through I remained faithful and grew in Christ. The Lord has restored the years that the locust ate.

Christians will and do suffer persecution from unbelievers. Jesus said, "If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you" John 15:20. Who are the they? More than likely they will be people that are the closest to you, your friends and your family. Jesus said, "And a man's foes shall be those of his own household" Matthew 10:36. I heard of a young Jewish girl that became a Christian, her whole family turned against her. They promptly ordered a casket had a funeral and spiritually buried her.

Another reason that Christians suffer is because of sin. Many do not understand that when you become a Christian you now have a new Father. You have been adopted into the family of God. Romans 8:15. Sin is the departure from the faith. God now sees us as his children, Hebrews 12:7-13. In Jesus Christ we have been justified, sanctified and redeemed, 1 Corinthians 1:30. In the old days when a child sinned his father would take him out to the woodshed and give him a good whipping. I think that I have been to the Lord's woodshed many times.

I will conclude by saying Christians suffer because of past and present mistakes and sins. Christians suffer because they belong to Christ. Please enlighten me with your ideas. I feel like death warmed over and need understanding.

Exactly.
May God Bless you and comfort you,

Taken

 

[Debp]

I appreciate all of you and what you have said.

I am going into the hospital next month for another surgery. I think that this will be my seventh.

Paul said that nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ, Romans 8:38-39.

The Lord give you peace and comfort through this. Praying for you now.

 

[Robert Pate]

The Lord give you peace and comfort through this. Praying for you now.

Thank You.

 

[Nancy]

I appreciate all of you and what you have said.

I am going into the hospital next month for another surgery. I think that this will be my seventh.

Paul said that nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ, Romans 8:38-39.

Lord protect Robert and find favor with him through this surgery I ask in Jesus Name, amen.

Philippians 4:6-7​

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus".

I hope it all works out Robert.