Suffering, pain, wisdom and growth


SUFFERING, PAIN, WISDOM AND GROWTH

Mario D’Couto

"When you get what you want, that's God's direction. When you don't get what you want, that's God's protection."

In preparation for the Easter Triduum and given the time that we find ourselves, doing all we can to fight the deadly pandemic, I thought of taking the opportunity to share something that may be helpful. Sometimes God blesses us with good things and we are on top of the world. But when we don’t experience good things, we feel like the whole world is coming down on us. This is where our faith is put to the test and the more it is subjected to it, the stronger it will become. There are only two things that can happen when one’s faith is tested: either it will crumble or it will become stronger. The main thing is to stay put in the midst of the storm, for in the end we will become stronger.

Adversity makes some people better while for some it could make them bitter. It is all on how we view and perceive situations. There is much to be learned from passing through difficult times. Of course, this does not in the least imply that to learn something or become wiser that one always has to go through some problem or difficulty or suffering. It is just that if we find ourselves being bruised and battered by the not so good things in our lives, we can use those difficult experiences to teach ourselves some very important things. You could probably learn more about yourself, about your strengths and weaknesses in such times.

A crucial thing for this to be possible is discipline and let’s face it, discipline is involved in any kind of learning, especially in the wisdom that comes from God. The irony is that God is not going to drop it into the minds of those who don’t want it or care to pursue it (although there can be exceptions like the lives of St. Paul and St. Augustine). But He will never turn away from those who diligently apply themselves to learning from Him and about Him. So ‘pray as if everything depends on God but work as if everything depends on you’ for prayer is one of the best ways to get connected with God.

Sometimes God doesn’t always tell us what we want to hear. He tells us the truth and the truth can hurt at times. It can be hard to accept and painful. But pain is not always an enemy, I repeat, “pain is not always an enemy”, it can be your ally too, an ally in becoming the best version of yourself, into that person that God Almighty, in His infinite wisdom created you to be. Ask any top athlete and they will tell you how many hours of training they had to go through and the sacrifices they had to make in order to achieve what they wanted to become. There were no shortcuts but it was all done for a higher goal. Sometimes, the truth about ourselves can be painful to accept but the good news is that it does not have to be that way. We have the potential to change for the better. The question is, “Do you want to?” A person who will tell you the truth, even at the risk of hurting you, is worth much more than a hundred friends who will pat you on the back and agree with you for everything you do or say but backstab you from behind the moment you’re gone.

God’s instructions may not always be what we want to hear although nonetheless, it is always for our benefit. God may warn us that we are heading down a wrong path. When He does, it is because He is giving us time to change directions. He may be advising us to stop engaging in certain types of behaviour or choices that is not good for us to us or maybe something that may be harmful to us but for some reason we may have not realized it. Now this does not in anyway imply that God is some kind of sadistic supernatural Spirit who derives pleasure by watching humanity suffer. That’s a lie from the enemy (the devil)! It’s because of His infinite love for humanity that He does what He does and like any good father who would always look out in the best interest for his children, we cannot but acknowledge that God is the epitome of perfect fatherhood. (Matthew 7: 9 – 11)

On the other hand, the Lord may tell you exactly what you want to hear. He may say, ‘Go ahead with this thing you want to do, it will bring you blessings and great joy’. He may tell you that you’re on the right path and that He is pleased with you. Or He might simply instruct you in ways that are neither immediately good or bad but which are important for you nonetheless for you to know as you make your way through life.

Given the facticity of our lives, most of us find ourselves short – sighted, in the sense that we only see the temporary struggles and disappointments but for God, it is different. He sees all eternity at once. When God looks at our lives, it’s like He is picking up a roll of movie film and stretching it out and seeing everything at the same time. In other words, He sees every frame all at once. You and I, because of our limiting vantage point, can see only one small frame at a time.

God sees every action in the context of a whole. He knows what the results of each step will be and He knows how He is going to work things out so that the big picture comes together as a blessing. We need to have an eternal perspective. It is important that we ask God in prayer to help us see things, all the situations in our lives, the way He does. When we come to that point, it will be a lot easier to take temporary setbacks in our stride and to pay attention to the Lord’s instructions when He tells us to do something we really don’t want to do or not to do something we really do want to do. Sometimes, an apparent “NO” can actually be a blessing in disguise. You see, whatever is going on in your life, if you trust God and look to Him as your Helper and Guide, He will bless you. Ultimately, sin would not have the last word. His death on the Cross has proved it where He conquered sin. My prayer and wish for you and me is that as we will soon embark into the Easter season shortly, that we will never forget that God is in control over all that is happening in our lives and even though we may find ourselves in these trying times (like the pandemic that we are all going through), we can be sure that He will not let us down.

To conclude here’s an Italian song that I came across a few days back which I thought kind of sums up the above message by Roby Facchinetti, “Rinascero, Rinascerai” (I’ll be reborn, you’ll be reborn)




God love you. Stay safe! Stay blessed!




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