Trials And Suffering

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4

I recently heard someone on the radio say: “Without Pain there is no growth.”

While we all acknowledge the truth of that, the fact is we all dread pain and suffering.

Thursday morning I had the misery of an old inflammation problem flaring up again. Just the day before I was perfectly fine, then it suddenly struck and I had to go to Urgent Care for Prednisone to fight the inflammation and pain. The medication Prednisone is a double-edged sword. It is wonderful for inflammation, but terrible with side effects like insomnia and in my case causing my blood glucose to soar making managing my diabetes very difficult.

The next morning on Friday as I was trying to get back on my feet from the inflammation issue, I awoke to a  natural gas leak in the house. Frantically I was able to get someone to  come out and work on the problem. It took hours to fix and I needed to be at home for the service. Despite keeping the windows and the door open I was exposed to quite a bit of natural gas which did my asthma and other health issues no good even while I was still battling my inflammation issue.

Two days later I began a new bottle of my Metformin. It is a medication that controls my diabetes. To  my frustration and no little concern I had a bad reaction to the new batch of medicine. Without the Metformin my Prednsone prescription for inflammation that I was taking could not be stopped from driving my blood sugar into the clouds. It put me into a very bad situation.

Eventually, with the help of my doctor, we found a new solution for my diabetes treatment. God had brought me through yet another set of life’s challenges.

We all go through difficulties in many ways. They cause us stress, pain, and suffering. Going through them is no picnic.  Yet, when we get into the habit of relying upon God helping us through these difficulties it strengthens us and builds a foundation of trust that teaches us we can rely upon God through the difficulties that we all must face.

Through pain we grow. Through suffering we learn to trust Jesus more. Our difficulties on earth earn us experience and teach us to persevere and not give up. 

It would be nice if we could grow and deepen our faith without the pain, suffering, and stresses in life. Yet pain and suffering are necessary to teach us reliance upon the Lord and to build our confidence in Him as we mature in the Christian faith.

Prayer: Dear Lord, how we would love to be free of the many trials we go through on this earth, but thank You for strengthening us in our faith as we learn to depend upon You through it all. Amen.