There is a song I loved to hear and sing when I was a child. It had a chorus that rang clear with the words:
O Rejoice, in the Lord, He makes no mistake,
He knoweth the end of each path that I take,
for when I am tried, and purified,
I shall come forth as gold.
It’s strange, in a way, I never truly thought about that song until right at this very moment, as I type this. I have been thinking about a situation that two of my best friends, are going through. I hope this piece can bring at least some comfort to them. God bless them all. I wanted some way to write out how these friends’ situations made me feel, and even evaluate my own problems that I am enduring. I wrote a couple of weeks ago about how I felt because of these situations. My PTSD problems, my fear, anger, guilt over sin, and my loneliness, among other burdens. Why has a loving God allowed this to happen to me, and so many other veterans? Or anyone else for that matter? Why does He allow suffering at all in this world?
I honestly don’t know. The Father does not share that much of His plans with any one of us. I am left to contemplate, and wonder why He allows it to happen. Then this song comes into my head, and I realize that I might not know the precise reasons behind the Lord’s decisions, but I know some of the benefits behind them. Yes, I said benefits.
I am able to help others that I might not have been able to help otherwise. I know that the Lord loves each of us, and wants us closer to Him. I also know that even though the Lord could remove all pain and temptation from the world, He will not. Why? Because that is the opposite of love. We can only have true happiness if we can enjoy and communicate with the Lord, and we can only do so through conscious choice. To take away all of the problems of this world, is to take away our free will, and ability to enjoy Him. Yes, He draws us to Himself, I believe this, for I firmly believe in predestination. At the same time, we also, by making our choices in life, are able to enjoy Him. How is this balanced? Who knows? I know it is, though, because the Word tells me so.
Enjoying the Lord is not the only benefit of suffering, because if my life had gone more easily, I could still conceivably make the same moral choices, and enjoy the Lord. I could easily fulfill my purpose, as the catechism states. What is even more of a benefit, however, and a true blessing to me, is my ability to help others. I suffer, and can take the burdens of others, and help share them. I am truly a Christian, or “little Christ” when I do so. I follow in the Master’s footsteps. Isn’t that amazing? My suffering has a purpose. Two, in fact, that I know of, and perhaps many, many more. I can know the Lord, and be refined by Him, brought closer to Him, if you will. I also get to help others. How exciting can that be?
I hate to suffer. Everyone does. I hate watching other people suffer. I will not say that these things make up for it all, for myself, or anyone else. I don’t know, only each of us, in our communication with our Savior, can decide that. I can say that I am not grateful for my suffering. I will be honest about that. I am, however, grateful for the closeness to the Lord I experience as a result of it, and I am so grateful for the ability to be a blessing to others.
Along with the Apostle Paul and the Lord Himself, I pray that the burdens might be removed from me, but above all, no matter what, that God’s will be done. Suffering comes, but God is in control. He has already turned our burdens into blessings. All we have to do is grab onto them, and hold close to our Father, Who is ready to care for us. Isn’t that exciting?
