No matter how strong your faith, sometimes things happen which make you question how a loving God could allow such suffering in our world today. From the moment we are born we are vulnerable to pain and illness and the moment we begin to form relationships and learn to love people, we leave ourselves open to the possibility of being hurt. Often we do not realise how much we value something, the use of an arm or leg, or a deep friendship, until it is taken away from us. The experience of suffering always leaves us with many unanswered questions. Why do we have to suffer at all and why do some people suffer more than others and what is God doing about it?

There is a story told about a sixteenth century Saint. Saint Teresa of Avila was once on a long difficult journey with some of her followers when they were stopped by a flooded river and the next safe crossing was two days travel downstream. She questioned why God had allowed this to happen to her and her companions and was told by one of her followers that God always treated his friends like this. She responded by saying rather wryly, “No wonder you have so few of them Lord” It is very easy for us to question why God allows us to go through pain and suffering and the answers are not always easy to find. But one certain answer is that God suffers with us and
understands our fears and unanswered questions because when his son, Jesus, lived among us he also suffered rejection, pain and ultimately death.

“Wise men do not always earn a living, intelligent men do not always get rich and capable men do not always rise to high positions. Bad luck happens to everyone. You never know when your time is coming. Like birds suddenly caught in a trap, like fish caught in a net, we are trapped at some evil moment when we least expect it.” (Ecclesiastes 9 11:12)

I thought I heard the voice of God so I climbed the highest steeple.
But God declared, “Go down again, I dwell among my people.”