THIS WEEK'S DEVOMAIL

It Happens for You

by Skip Heitzig | Tuesday, December 17, 2024

The story of the blind beggar in John 9 raises a question. Do you think God can use suffering to bring out a greater good in your life?

You might say, “Nobody likes to suffer,” and I'm with you on that. But do you think that God can use it and make something really good out of it? Well, I can think of a few ways that God can use our suffering for good.

First, it can equip us to minister to others. If you’ve never had a problem in your life, what are you going to say to the person who is struggling deeply with pain, or issues of loneliness, or depression? You have to join the club of the suffering to be able to speak to people who are struggling.

Paul called our God the "God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God" (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).  As God works in us and comforts us, we learn how to minister to others.

Second, suffering strengthens us. James said, "Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." (James 1:2-3).

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul said that because of all the revelations he had received, "a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure" (v. 7). He asked God three times to take it away, but the Lord said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (v. 9).

And suffering corrects us. David said, "Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep Your word" (Psalm 119:67). C.S. Lewis said, "Pain plants the flag of truth in the fortress of a rebel soul." God can use suffering to get our attention and to put us on the right path.

So think of it this way. Nothing happens to you. It happens for you. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). Behind the pain is a God who is in control of every “prescription” you take. He's the perfect physician. He knows exactly what you need. Nothing happens to you. It happens for you.

Suffering can lower the expectation that life is going to improve. The blind beggar in John 9 always expected to remain a blind beggar. Suffering does that. However, though God may call somebody to prolonged suffering, we must never limit the power of God. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What He did then, He can do now.

In Psalm 78, there is a passage that says the children of Israel "limited the Holy One of Israel" (see v. 40ff). How do you limit a limitless God? By unbelief.

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus went to Nazareth, and it says, "Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief" (Mark 6:5-6).

We must never limit God. Even if our expectations are low, God may be working.

He did it for the blind beggar. He can do it for you.