Sometimes God allows suffering that we cannot endure

My friend Dave has leukemia and today on his blog he said

We [Dave and his wife Tarnya] couldn’t begin to describe what it is like, the pain, physical and emotional, is at times overwhelming, but we are at the same time closer to God and to each other than we have ever been.

This reminded me of one of Dave’s lessons from years ago, based on 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, where Paul says

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. (NIV)

Many people believe that God will not allow suffering that we cannot endure, but this passage shows that in fact he does allow this*. If the suffering was greater than the strength of Paul and his companions it is logical to conclude that the sustaining power of God was solely responsible for their survival.

The outcomes of suffering that is beyond our endurance are shown in this passage:

1. suffering that is beyond our endurance causes us to rely on God (what other legitimate option is there when suffering is beyond endurance?)
2. suffering that is beyond our endurance causes us to set our hope on God
3. suffering that is beyond our endurance causes others to be thankful towards God when they see God’s gracious help (grace is kindness that we do not deserve)
4. suffering that is beyond our endurance causes others to be prayerful

Let’s close with some more words from Paul:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. (2 Cor 1:3-7 NIV)

Related post: What does ‘hope’ mean for a christian? (Part 1)

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All the credit for this post goes to Dave.

*We don’t know exactly what hardships Paul is referring to here, but a list of sufferings that he wrote shows that he certainly knew a thing or two about suffering.

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