WHEN ALL SEEMS HOPELESS

"If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come."JOB 14:14.

Pixbay
Why Do The Righteous Suffer?
The fact that one is faithful to God does not mean one will be free from trouble, pain and suffering. The Bible abounds in stories of God-fearing people who suffered much for a variety of reasons. Notable among them are Joseph, Job, David, Jeremiah, Daniel and Paul.

When enduring trials the tendency to lose hope becomes strong because all seems to be hopeless.

Some reasons why righteous suffer:

• Believers experience suffering as an ongoing consequences of the fall Adams and Eve:

GENESIS 3:16-17KJV

"Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee.
And unto Adam he said, because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life."

• Some suffer for their own actions: A man reaps what he sows:

  GALATIANS 6:7KJV

"Be not be deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that he also reap."

• Some suffer because they live in a sinful and corrupt world:

2PETER 2:8KJV

"For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds."

• Some suffer at the hands of the devil, the god of this age:

2CORINTHIANS 4:4.KJV

"In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."

• God himself may use suffering in our lives as a catalyst for spiritual growth or change.
• God can use the suffering of the righteous to further the cause of his Kingdom and his plan of redemption. The injustices that Joseph experienced at the hands of his brothers and the Egyptians were part of God's plan to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.(Gen. 45:7).
  
  Pixbay
  Almost every person has, at one time or the other, felt that he has come to the end of the road. The prophet of fire, Elijah, after defeating the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, fled from Jezebel, and felt that life was not worth living. Overcome by exhaustion, discouragement, and grief, Elijah prayed.
  Paul also came to such a point severally in his ministry of storm and said to his associate pastors and followers that: we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us.(2 Cor.1:8-10)

In time of this, let us learn from our forbears: look unto Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, turn to his word for encouragement and pray that help may be sent down. His promise is I will never leave you nor forsake you.(Heb.13:5).