Views On Pain And Suffering

      Why must we go through pain and suffering throughout our lives? For the Christian, the answer is quite simple and complex at the same time. The short answer is that there's sin in the world and Jesus never promised us an easy life. God knows that pain and suffering isn't fun to endure but He can use our suffering to further His glory and to help us grow and learn. I have definitely learned from my share of pain and suffering that I've gone through. I am still learning and growing. Yes it is frustrating and even seemingly unbearable at times but I am thankful that the lord uses my pain to help me grow. It gives me a deeper understanding to life and God's purpose for me.
      As fallen creatures, we bring a lot of pain and suffering upon ourselves; whether it be directly or indirectly. I admit that my depression has been caused by me and me alone. When I started to notice that I was getting depressed, I ignored the warning signs and I nearly paid for that with my life multiple times. That was directly my fault. When I was a young child, I had psychological and physical hurts done to me that still affect me to this day. I was unaware of the true impact of these events until my therapist helped me to remove a mental block in my mind. That was indirectly my fault. I cannot always control what happens to me but I can control how I react to it. Now, I do not expect myself to react perfectly to every painful situation nor do I expect anyone else to. This is something that we must train ourselves to do throughout our lives.
       When we are afflicted with pain and suffering, our instinct is to look for relief or to cast the blame on another. To cast the blame on another is part of our sinful nature and we must learn to accept responsibility and to see events for what they are. I often had thoughts/ideas come rapidly to the surface of my mind as who was to blame for my pain and suffering. I fought these thoughts by saying to myself that God is in control and He will use this to teach and bless me. I try my best to be open and listen to what God has to teach me. I won't lie. I constantly looked for relief when my emotional pain brought me to my knees in tears and trembling. Suicide became a crutch for me. Thinking of a way out was comforting to me at the time because I just wanted to be with Jesus. Satan whispers so many lies to us. Lies like 'You're weak. You're not fit to survive. Living only means more pain. Nobody can love you.' My thoughts and emotions were so distorted and irrational at those times that I nearly believed those lies. To escape reality, I would always take a nap because I was so exhausted from fighting.
        Pain and suffering is necessary for us to grow and learn. You can either choose to learn, or succumb to misery. The answer is simple but not always easy. I choose to learn and Grow