“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147: 3
We live in times when many marriages and families are going through suffering, because of physical or emotional illness, lack of employment and / or economic problems, others suffer due to a grief, separation, infidelity and conflicts with their loved ones, suffering comes in many ways. However, there are four major causes:
1. Because we decide and choose wrongly our actions. Deuteronomy 30:19. “To the heavens and to the earth I call witnesses against you today, that I have set before you, life and death, blessing and curse; Choose, then, life, so that you and your offspring may live. ” Many times we decide badly, this brings suffering.
2. We suffer because we are in a world damaged by sin, violence, intolerance, evil, which sometimes touches our lives.
3. By divine mystery. We may be suffering, and only God knows why, it is not for a punishment, because he wants us to be well, however we pass situations to affirm our faith, to form our Christian character, to see his glory in us.
4. We suffer for the actions and words of others, which harm us. Actions such as abandonment, rejection, abuse, the aggression of our parents whether by word or deed, marked us with messages of suffering, pain, guilt, that we lead through life without resolving.
The times of suffering change our relationship with God, to get away or closer, we can see it as a disciplinary act, or a test of faith, so we look for it in many ways, for his help. Sometimes supplicants, or angry, believing that he abandoned us and we move away from him, or we can feel with doubts about his existence, we feel fear, or a feeling of helplessness, of loneliness, before suffering and illness. Sometimes we exclaim, “until when Lord?”. On the other hand, we can, as Christians, begin to make theological interpretations about our situation, “I must repeat that I am in victory”, “I can do everything in Christ”, or offer sacrifices, if I do such a thing, God will answer me however, the correct way is to understand that we must maintain a character of struggle against the situation and that in this struggle He is with us. The big question for the family that is going through time of illness and suffering, is Where is God? the answer is simple, God is in control, in the gospel of Mark 6: 45-52, he tells us in verses 48-51. “Seeing them row with great fatigue, because the wind was against them, he came to them walking on the sea… and said, I am, have courage, do not fear …and climbed into the boat, and the wind died down”. It may be that you are in times of suffering and illness, it is a time to reflect first on the disease, to look for the possible cause, it will be that I do not take care of my food properly, or I suffer because I made a bad decision. It is important to do so as not to repeat it. The next thing is to truly believe that He is in control, of my illness, of my problem, of my suffering, and that it is in my boat of suffering, to sustain me, to give me encouragement, strength, or simply to tell me “My grace is sufficient”, as he told St. Paul. ” We live in difficult times, where life often crushes us, with situations of suffering, but God sees our suffering, his staff and his staff will give us encouragement, even if we walk in a valley of shadow and death.
As Christian families, we must understand that our help comes from God, and that he tells us “do not be afraid or faint, because I am with you, always … Joshua, 1: 9. Hallelujah!!! He takes care of us forever. May God help you in everything you undertake today.
Dr. Miguel and Irene Garita
Family Care Mesoamerica region, Church of The Nazarene
