Hurt, Pain, and Suffering

I watch a message delivered on TV this morning that really hit me in a few areas. We look to God to remove hurt, pain, and suffering. However, the Bible states in multiple places that it is good for us to suffer, we are meant to suffer as Christ did, and that he blesses us for our suffering. The problem is that we don't seperate the different types of suffering. We are meant to, and will, suffer. There are several differences though.

Good suffering is presented by God for a purpose. Some purposes we see, and some we won't know about until we are in heaven. This suffering will make us stronger and better. It is rewarded by God through blessings and the character it builds. It is the kind of suffering that Jesus went through. Aside from the moment that all the sins were cast upon him and God turned his head, I believe that the suffering he experienced in the garden was worse than all the pain he went through that lead up to being nailed to the cross.

Bad suffering is a result of sin. It is suffering brought on by ourselves and is better described as consequences. This suffering is a result of setbacks brought on by sin and many times, we get through it to not only find we aren't ahead, but that we are further behind than when it started. There are some blessings in it. We gain experience, knowledge, wisdom, and what it means to lean on God during such times.

If we want to get anywhere in life and want to follow God's will for our lives, we much go through suffering. We certainly don't need to bring any added onto ourselves. Many times, as God leads us into trials meant to help us, we fail and fall into sin and make it so much worse because that is when we deal with the good suffering wrong and add to it the bad suffering.

This world is not meant to be easy. God has given control of it over to Satan but is here to help us get through it and even accomplish great things through him. It all has to start with a change in heart, mind, and attitude. We can so easily look at the battles that go on around us and know what to do--whether we actually do it or not. However, the "I can't's" come in when that battle is taking place in our minds. We have to gain control over our thoughts. It's like spraying a fire. We all know that you have to spray it at the base to put it out. You have to get weed killer to the root of a plant to kill it for good. Our sinful actions begin in our minds and we have to battle them there to overcome them and avoid the suffering that they lead to.

This is simpler than we think. We have to pray...and I personally think that it needs to be on your knees and given full attention...or maybe just my own prayer times seem more meaningful when I do. We need to surround ourselves with the right people. We need to love God with all our heart, mind, and strength and love others as ourselves. Do good for others and feed off the blessings it gives you. Church...church shouldn't be as big a part of our walk as we let it. It should be a time of celebration for what your walk is the rest of the week. It should be a time of encouraging others and time to know you aren't alone in your battle.

Give to receive
Love to be loved
Hug to be hugged
Seek joy rather than happiness
Don't tackle your burdens alone because that is not how it was meant to be

Unsafe People

Just ordered a recommended read entitled Unsafe People, and randomly researched some blogs on the subject. Although not all experts, it seems that people most often discussing this subject are usually people that have been abused, hurt, or used by an unsafe person...perhaps several times before they realized it and took control and realized what they needed to do to identify and avoid such unsafe people. Of about a dozen blogs that I read, here are the characterstics that showed up in at least half of them. There are obvious things that show up once it's too late and you're into the relationship, but these are signs to identify them before you get too close:

>Their lives revolve around themselves and everything is about them.

>They are extremists - everything is either great or horrible because they always want praise or help.

>They are gossips and secretly take pleasure in other people's pain.

>They have advanced manipulation tactics that you see them use on others, and eventually on you.

>They don't trust other people or their motives because their own are so often unpure.

>They don't own up to their mistakes...they will deny, lie, and hide them to the very end.

>You could see them in that same role as a high schooler...because unsafe people have never grown up.

>They will not do for you the things they want you to do for them. They can even disguise this by quickly to giving you 'tokens' that you yourself need in life that don't compare to what they are asking of you.

>They do not love and appreciate your family and other friends and the importance of them to you. They are jealous of other people you are close to or are friends with--including your own family.

Anyway...just interesting reads from people that have apparently gone through a lot in life, but hopefully are on the right track...some were obviously Christians and some did not appear to be. The world is not a safe place for us, and it is so important to find those safe havens and people in the midst of it all.

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