Can Suffering Be A Blessing?

In life varying degrees of suffering will occur. Padre Pio suffered with Christ’s nail wounds in his hands for much of his adult life. This was the cross he bore and in spite of the pain he constantly suffered he was able to do so much good as a Franciscan monk. His prayers were powerful, and he was able to convert and heal many who came too him for help.

We all at one time or another throughout our life will have our own cross to bare. How we choose to move forward in our life of suffering will make a big difference in the quality of our life. We can choose to bury our head in the sand, and let our suffering get the best of us or we can accept it for what it is and deal with it in a way that brings honor to us and our Lord.

I think you may have heard the expression that God will not give us more than we can handle. For anyone fighting the effects of a deadly disease I’m sure you are thinking that you are way over your head and suffering unimaginative emotional and physical pain. Jesus himself cried out to His Father from the cross; “My God, My God why have you forsaken Me?” (Mathew 27:46) as He hung on the cross with his dying breath.

At times when we feel alone, isolated, and hurting, this is when we most need too turn to the one who can save us, but like Jesus we have asked why me? We might not know the answer, but how we choose to respond will make a big difference.

I choose to put my faith in the Lord, and I believe it is His will to help us with our suffering. Our suffering makes us see how much we need the Lord to help us with our pain. Our lives are changed for the better when God plays a much bigger part. We grow closer to God when we are suffering, this is part of God’s great design.

I believe the suffering we have will become a blessing when we place our faith and hope in Jesus. His will becomes our will and this gives us the best chance for a spiritual, mental/emotional, and physical recovery. Padre Pio believes God’s will for us is to be well in mind , body, soul, and spirit. I too believe this as well, and I hope you do also. May all who are suffering receive God’ s grace, mercy, and His blessing. My prayers and love go out to everyone. Godspeed, and Carbie out.