SUFFERING (2)

1. Bible Topic

a) To learn what the Bible has to say on a variety of topics affecting our everyday lives, we may find what we are looking for here.

2. Suffering

a) Is my suffering a punishment for some sin I have committed? Suffering is not necessarily a punishment of one's sin. It's in the Bible, John 9:2-3, NKJV. "And His disciples asked Him, saying, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus answered, 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.'"

b) I'm a Christian, why is God allowing me to suffer? Jesus never promised that His followers would not suffer. It's in the Bible, John 16:33, NKJV. "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

c) Suffering is unavoidable, but can be a growing experience. It’s in the Bible, James 1:2-3, NKJV. "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience."

d) Jesus suffered in His life and in His death on the cross for the sins we did, not His own. It's in the Bible, Isaiah 53:3-5, NKJV. "He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."