Suffering Doesn't Destroy Faith, It Refines It

Suffering Doesn't Destroy Faith, It Refines It

         I heard this quote in a movie I watched this week called "I Still Believe" based on the true story of Jeremy Camp's life. In this movie and his life, his wife is suffering from ovarian cancer that ends up being terminal. She passes away 4 months after they had married. It taught me that suffering brings you closer to God after it takes you away from Him. When we suffer we turn away from God, but then realize how faithful He was in the suffering. In my life, I have gotten to the point where no matter what happens I still believe in His promises. I chose to still believe, even in the trauma, even in the storms, even from the abuse, the PSTD, the chronic pain, and more.
            How do we come back to God after suffering made us take a detour? I don’t have the perfect answer to this but those who are saved have a hard time not eventually coming back to God. It's because we were designed to hunger for Him. One thing that does help is if someone speaks wisdom into you and leads you to Christ again. Sometimes it takes crying out to God and asking him to show you the beauty in the suffering. We have to hit rock bottom at some point to receive Christ again. Another thing is to not fully give up on pursuing Christ, it's okay to be mad that something happened, but don't turn bitter at God for it. God is using it to shape and rebirth you. Read the bible on the sacrifices that Jesus had to take to cleanse us with his blood and redeem our sinful selves. Jesus had to endure whipping, draining every ounce of his blood till he ran clear, weeping, God turned his back on Him because He couldn't look at sin, the crown of thorns, holes in His hands, and more. Our suffering seems minuscule compared to what Jesus gave up to save us. Yet it is still important, it is still impactful, but it's not meant to impact us in evil ways.
         Bad things have happened but God hasn't given up on me so why should I give up on Him. I'm not saying I'm always feeling God all the time, I still have so much to take in from Him. I'm saying that even in the trials, I know He hasn't left me. So many times I could have chosen to give up but God hasn't let me. God wants my story to be heard no matter how hard it will be to tell. God has a purpose for everyone's story. Suffering is the main character in many of our stories, but God is the hero and the happy ending. I think suffering is the main character to give God the glory in the end. I think it's just a way to test our strength and trust in the Lord. 

         In current times we could look at this as a pandemic or we can look at it as a time to dive into Jesus and not the world. The world honestly is a huge mess right now. It's always been full of evil since the fall and we have to choose how we cope with it. If we don't live for Heaven we fall into the cracks of the Earth. We can't let the suffering that's going on right now destroy our faith, we need to let it build our faith. We are in God's army, not the world's army. We have to chose to allow suffering to build us stronger not crumble us. It is okay to crumble but allow God to piece you back. We could look at the pandemic as a way to search for truth when the media is full of lies. Search for Heaven and God, He is the only truth we can hold onto.

        If we don't allow suffering to refine our faith, we end up just allowing the storm to wash us dry of any emotion, faith, hope, and more. It's hard to not allow suffering to destroy us. It can destroy us but we need to get back up and trust God. In early 2018 I lost my grandma and it was 3 months before graduating high school and I was struggling to have the motivation to even go to my classes. It helped to have my church family to pick me back up on my feet. I had great teachers as well who understood. I graduated with straight A's in the last semester of high school. In January 2019 I met someone who became my "adoptive" grandma (Pamma). She helped me pick myself up the most. I had a grandma-like mentor who blessed me so much during my grieving process. 

        If it weren't for fellowship and Godly people it would be hard to get through most things. I think we all need friends and family who lead us to Christ when we're struggling to see Him in all the pain. Faith doesn't always come easy, some days it can feel like we're in deep water without a life vest. We just keep swimming in hopes of solid ground but there are miles of ocean. We want to give up because we're tired but if we do we drown, so we chose to keep swimming in God's direction even though we can't see the destination. That's Faith, in a nutshell, it's not easy but it's so worth it. Faith is choosing to go forward in the suffering and praising God for the blessings in the trials. Life isn't all about suffering but more often than not suffering is the climb to get to the top of the mountain to view the sunset that God has painted in the sky. 

        God didn't choose for us to have us suffer in our lives when He created the world, but since sin happened, and Satan rebelled against God, it resulted in suffering. God does use it for good though. God uses what the enemy meant for evil for good. The devil only wants to destroy our lives, he wants us to suffer. When we choose faith in the suffering, it puts the devil in his place. God gives a daily reminder that He is there. He felt our pain and suffered for us to live in salvation. When we resist the devil and reach for Jesus, it restores us. Trials are always going to be a part of life, but what we're setting our hearts on is greater. I'm not saying that we can't be sad, mad, frustrated, torn apart, worn, broken, and what other emotions come out. I'm saying that when all emotion is felt and we can't let out anymore, that is when we need to rest in His peace and let Him carry you forward. 

         Remember that everything you have gone through has made you strong. He is our rock and we come to Him to restore our faith and build up our foundation again. Suffering doesn't define you but how you refined your faith through the suffering is what you can go forward with. You don't have to suffer alone, by all means, reach out. Cry out to Jesus, He cares and loves you so unconditionally and deeply. He knows your thoughts, your pain, your every prayer, and your heart's desires. He wants to fill you back up and restore you. Faith is something you have to wrestle with your whole life. Only you can choose to allow yourself to have faith. Just know God's not going to go away even when Faith is a battle you can't win, He loves you too much to let go of you!