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Suffering and God Love...

R

razzelflabben

Guest
I'm not 100% yet, well never 100% anymore but back to where I was...so any response I give with be gingerly given but here is the question I pose today.

How is suffering a picture for us of God Love.

Before you answer, we know some obvious about God's Love to us, but what about those things that are not as obvious like His ability to relate to us.
As to the rest of the question, how is our suffering a picture of God Love?
How is our suffering helping others understand God Love?
How is others suffering helping us understand God Love?
How does persecution (to add a more specific suffering to our list) showing God Love?
How can we allow our suffering to demonstrate God Love to the world?
(NO JUDGEMENT STATEMENTS WILL BE TOLERATED BY ME)
 
Love disciplines the children, Heb 12:5-1, and sequesters polite society from the predationss of the eternally evil ones, Matt 25:41.
 
Ted T said:
Love disciplines the children, Heb 12:5-1, and sequesters polite society from the predationss of the eternally evil ones, Matt 25:41.
Click to expand...
My cognitive is still a bit off so I am not totally clear on the last half of this but amen to the first half for sure.
 
It's hard to think about examples of suffering without thinking of the extreme suffering of Job that was not cast upon him due to any wrong doing on his part.

In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Job remained steadfast in his faith of the sovereignty of God whether he was rich or not, healthy or not, childless or not.
 
Sissy said:
It's hard to think about examples of suffering without thinking of the extreme suffering of Job that was not cast upon him due to any wrong doing on his part.

In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Job remained steadfast in his faith of the sovereignty of God whether he was rich or not, healthy or not, childless or not.
Click to expand...
yes and may we all have the depth of Faith Job demonstrated when confronted with hard times.

Blade
 
Sissy said:
It's hard to think about examples of suffering without thinking of the extreme suffering of Job that was not cast upon him due to any wrong doing on his part.

In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Job remained steadfast in his faith of the sovereignty of God whether he was rich or not, healthy or not, childless or not.
Click to expand...
amen and yet in even this, Job still had to learn more about the sovereignty of God...
 
razzelflabben said:
I'm not 100% yet, well never 100% anymore but back to where I was...so any response I give with be gingerly given but here is the question I pose today.

How is suffering a picture for us of God Love.

Before you answer, we know some obvious about God's Love to us, but what about those things that are not as obvious like His ability to relate to us.
As to the rest of the question, how is our suffering a picture of God Love?
How is our suffering helping others understand God Love?
How is others suffering helping us understand God Love?
How does persecution (to add a more specific suffering to our list) showing God Love?
How can we allow our suffering to demonstrate God Love to the world?
(NO JUDGEMENT STATEMENTS WILL BE TOLERATED BY ME)
Click to expand...
GOD is long suffering towards us. Jesus suffered wrongfully at the hands of evil men; for the sake of all; even those who persecuted Him. I think to suffer wrong and seek not revenge or retribution is a facet of the love of GOD...
 
popsthebuilder said:
GOD is long suffering towards us. Jesus suffered wrongfully at the hands of evil men; for the sake of all; even those who persecuted Him. I think to suffer wrong and seek not revenge or retribution is a facet of the love of GOD...
Click to expand...
Very true, so what does that tell us about God Love and how does it benefit us for Jesus to suffer without retribution?

One of several passages that comes to my mind is 2 Corinthians 1:4
 
Sissy said:
It's hard to think about examples of suffering without thinking of the extreme suffering of Job that was not cast upon him due to any wrong doing on his part.

In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Job remained steadfast in his faith of the sovereignty of God whether he was rich or not, healthy or not, childless or not.
Click to expand...

When I was still a teenager, my Dad who was already in his seventies and had been dealing with diabetes for over 30 years ended up in hospital with a sore on his toe? In hospital? Yes, as it developed gangrene and had to be amputated. Then a number of months later that surgical site became infected and non-healing and they told him that they would have to amputate mid-foot.

My Dad was so discouraged. I remember it clearly. And he was a good and righteous man. A farmer, and then a farm equipment salesman after he sold the family farm and he was well loved by all the farmers who knew him to be a man of integrity. I remember on those rare occasions when I would rise early, I'd find my Dad on his knees in a corner of the still dark living room in prayer, with his head buried in the couch cushions, or he'd be sitting reading his Bible.... EVERYDAY.

After that second surgery with the partial foot amputation he was given a special shoe to wear so he could keep working and traveling the countryside from farm to farm selling cultivators and such... he still got around pretty good. When news came that he was heading for another surgery, this time a just below the knee amputation he was pretty devastated. I can't find the exact book he was reading in the hospital, but I do recall it was something to the effect of - "What about those of us who are NOT healed."

My Dad didn't want to lose his leg. I KNOW he prayed for healing and I know he was discouraged, disappointed, even depressed that God didn't see fit to provide him healing in this situation. It was a years long battle and though he was able to get fitted with an artificial limb after this final amputation and get along without much complaint at all, I know it hurt him inside to think that God didn't, or wouldn't just reach out and touch him in such a simple thing (for God to do). He had to have the gas pedal on the car moved to the left-foot-side and ultimately he ended up bound to a wheel chair when after some strokes he lost his ability to hold his balance.

And at his funeral, at my Dad's personal pre-planned request, the one song he wanted played was this one....

View: https://youtu.be/NwXAhcVQZps
 
Mr E said:
When I was still a teenager, my Dad who was already in his seventies and had been dealing with diabetes for over 30 years ended up in hospital with a sore on his toe? In hospital? Yes, as it developed gangrene and had to be amputated. Then a number of months later that surgical site became infected and non-healing and they told him that they would have to amputate mid-foot.

My Dad was so discouraged. I remember it clearly. And he was a good and righteous man. A farmer, and then a farm equipment salesman after he sold the family farm and he was well loved by all the farmers who knew him to be a man of integrity. I remember on those rare occasions when I would rise early, I'd find my Dad on his knees in a corner of the still dark living room in prayer, with his head buried in the couch cushions, or he'd be sitting reading his Bible.... EVERYDAY.

After that second surgery with the partial foot amputation he was given a special shoe to wear so he could keep working and traveling the countryside from farm to farm selling cultivators and such... he still got around pretty good. When news came that he was heading for another surgery, this time a just below the knee amputation he was pretty devastated. I can't find the exact book he was reading in the hospital, but I do recall it was something to the effect of - "What about those of us who are NOT healed."

My Dad didn't want to lose his leg. I KNOW he prayed for healing and I know he was discouraged, disappointed, even depressed that God didn't see fit to provide him healing in this situation. It was a years long battle and though he was able to get fitted with an artificial limb after this final amputation and get along without much complaint at all, I know it hurt him inside to think that God didn't, or wouldn't just reach out and touch him in such a simple thing (for God to do). He had to have the gas pedal on the car moved to the left-foot-side and ultimately he ended up bound to a wheel chair when after some strokes he lost his ability to hold his balance.

And at his funeral, at my Dad's personal pre-planned request, the one song he wanted played was this one....

View: https://youtu.be/NwXAhcVQZps
Click to expand...
and so how did God use it? What good came from it as God promises in Romans 8:28?

btw I love that song, especially after knowing the story behind it...when our son died, his favorite song at the time was by downhere called How Many Kings I can't hear that song without being reminded that God didn't ask for more than He had already given, even when He asked for our son...songs have huge meaning.
 
Mr E said:
When I was still a teenager, my Dad who was already in his seventies and had been dealing with diabetes for over 30 years ended up in hospital with a sore on his toe? In hospital? Yes, as it developed gangrene and had to be amputated. Then a number of months later that surgical site became infected and non-healing and they told him that they would have to amputate mid-foot.

My Dad was so discouraged. I remember it clearly. And he was a good and righteous man. A farmer, and then a farm equipment salesman after he sold the family farm and he was well loved by all the farmers who knew him to be a man of integrity. I remember on those rare occasions when I would rise early, I'd find my Dad on his knees in a corner of the still dark living room in prayer, with his head buried in the couch cushions, or he'd be sitting reading his Bible.... EVERYDAY.

After that second surgery with the partial foot amputation he was given a special shoe to wear so he could keep working and traveling the countryside from farm to farm selling cultivators and such... he still got around pretty good. When news came that he was heading for another surgery, this time a just below the knee amputation he was pretty devastated. I can't find the exact book he was reading in the hospital, but I do recall it was something to the effect of - "What about those of us who are NOT healed."

My Dad didn't want to lose his leg. I KNOW he prayed for healing and I know he was discouraged, disappointed, even depressed that God didn't see fit to provide him healing in this situation. It was a years long battle and though he was able to get fitted with an artificial limb after this final amputation and get along without much complaint at all, I know it hurt him inside to think that God didn't, or wouldn't just reach out and touch him in such a simple thing (for God to do). He had to have the gas pedal on the car moved to the left-foot-side and ultimately he ended up bound to a wheel chair when after some strokes he lost his ability to hold his balance.

And at his funeral, at my Dad's personal pre-planned request, the one song he wanted played was this one....

View: https://youtu.be/NwXAhcVQZps
Click to expand...
Beautiful song, and a beautiful person your father was for remaining true to the Lord through it all.

I blame a lot of discouragement of being healed on the health & wealth prosperity preachers that twist the scriptures (like Job's friends did) to gain a following.
I want to slap them every time I hear them say if you aren't healed or prosperous it's because you don't have enough faith.

I don't think God minds that we sometimes feel He has abandoned our suffering, especially when we see even Christ cry out "Why have you forsaken me?"
He had to endure the same emotions we do.
David felt forsaken at times too.
And of course so did Job.
I think God understands human emotions and does not hold it against us.
I mean, tribulation is practically guaranteed us in this flesh body life.
It is when we get our new bodies that tribulation will be non-existent for us.
 
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