God Is With Us When We Suffer

And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept.
Genesis 21:15-16

Over the last few weeks we have considered some examples of suffering from the Bible. We’ve seen that all suffering in some sense is caused by sin. It could be my own sin that causes my trouble (like Jonah). It could be that I suffer because of someone else’s sin (like Joseph). And sometimes our suffering is a test of faith (as with Job) and/or simply a way for God to manifest His glory (as with the blind man Jesus healed in John 9). Besides the fact that all suffering in some way is caused by sin, I want to point out another common thread in these stories.

In his suffering, Job cried out to God and God was listening. The blind man of John 9 was probably resigned to his fate, accustomed to his impairment, but God had him marked out for something special. Jonah had sinned against God, but he prayed and God still heard him. Joseph was sold into slavery, but Genesis 39:21 and 23 tell us that “the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison…. the LORD was with him; and whatever he did the LORD made it prosper.” None of these faithful sufferers had been abandoned.

Satan wants us to believe that the fact that good people suffer means that either God is not loving or He is not all-powerful. Neither of those is true. Satan also wants us to believe that when we suffer, God has abandoned us. Another lie.

I’ve always felt sorry for Hagar, the servant woman who had to have a baby for Abraham when he was 86 years old (Genesis 16:16). It was Sarai, his wife’s idea, but no big surprise, after it happened, she wasn’t too happy about it. When Hagar became disrespectful (16:4-5), Sarai treated Hagar harshly (16:6), so pregnant Hagar ran away. But “the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness,” and God spoke to her there and told her to return to her mistress. In a profound and unique moment, Hagar responded by giving God a name. She called Him “El Roi” which means “God of sight,” for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” (Genesis 16:13)

Later when Isaac, the child of promise, came along, Hagar and her son got kicked to the curb anyway. They were sent away with nothing but bread and a bottle of water… in a desert! When the water ran out, she thought it was the end, but again God saw Hagar. “And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water,” (Genesis 21:19). God did not abandon her; He provided for her and her son.

Perhaps when we suffer we should be praying for God to open our eyes. To possible solutions, yes, but also to what can be accomplished through the suffering.

Look at how often the writers of the psalms called out to God in the midst of suffering. “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning? Oh my God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear, and in the night season, and am not silent,” (Psalm 22:1-2). Even Jesus quoted those words as He suffered on the cross. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses,” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus will not abandon us during our suffering. He knows how it feels.

He also knows what can be accomplished. Through one person’s suffering, many can be blessed in the end.

We don’t have to understand. We don’t have to have a full explanation. We just have to be faithful. And that’s easier when you know that you’re not alone.

Later on in Psalm 22 it says, “He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from him; but when he cried to him, he heard,” (v. 24).

Truly, “the Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,” (Psalm 34:18a).

Dear God, when I am in sorrow, remind me of Your presence and of Your promises. Remind me of Your love, such love that You sacrificed Your own Son to make me Your adopted child. Thank You for seeing me. Help me never to lose sight of You. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

by Christie Cole Atkins

Related Reading:

Forsake Me Not