Suffering need not destroy the heart; it has the potential to lead to life. But few people I know suffer deeply and profit. Instead, pain is seldom expected nor embraced when it comes. It is often denied or swept under the spiritual rug of "God's sovereignity." The apostle Paul tells us that as we "groan inwardly," we "wait eagerly" for our final redemption (Romans 8:23). But few of us enter the tragedy of living in a fallen world and simultaneously struggle with God until our hearts bleed with hope. We either give into pain with a hopeless cynicism, or we settle for an arificial resolution that insists that things really aren't too bad and we need not muck around in the "negatives" of life.
God's perspective on suffering is very different. He invites us on a healing journey through the valleys and over the cliffs of an evil world, but we often miss out on his redemptive path. Too many of us suffer for naught...
Healing in this life is not the resolution of our past; it is the use of our past to draw us into deeper relationship with God and his purposes for our lives. We need a new understanding of how to deal with past hurts, one that acknowledges that damage to the human spirit while charting a path toward the abundant life God promises.
- The Healing Path; How the Hurts in Your Past Can Lead You to a More Abundant Life
by Dan B. Allender
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