On Suffering
"If anyone should want to be My disciple, you must deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me" Mark 8:34
This verse has been on my mind a lot recently this past Lent, so I decided to write about it. I think it's God's way of reminding me that I'm okay and that I need to focus my attention on Him.
God will never give us more than we can handle, so our crosses will always be bearable. Going through family illness or loss, breakups, money troubles, friendship drama, or personal inner wars, all of these are given to us by God. God loves us so much and wants us to love Him, so He gives us these sufferings to have us grow closer to Him. I think we have a tendency to want to "pray away" our suffering if it happens to us. I know personally my prayers tend to sound like "Jesus take away this pain/cross/suffering that I have." However, this isn't the way to handle it. We should be embracing it, for it is given to us from God himself.
But why? Why do we need to suffer and why would God allow us to suffer if He loves us? He's our loving Father and that does not sound like a loving thing to do. What we need to realize is that without pain there is no growth. Unfortunately, growing is painful. Yet without pain, we stay in this comfort zone, a blanket of false security.
God loves us so deeply and desires our entire hearts. He craves this union with us and He is a selfish God who wants nothing but our entire attention and selves. He wants our hearts and our lives. He wants us to lay down our own wills and take up His plan for our lives, because it is infinitely better than anything we could imagine. My plan for my life 1 year ago or even 5 months ago is so completely different than how it looks now. And that was because I obstinately refused to let God have any control of my life. I wanted things to turn out the way I wanted them to.
Since we're human, we don't always see that God's will and our wills aren't aligning. Or perhaps we hold onto the control we think we have in order to fulfill our wants. We think we are in this secure little area where we have control. And that's when God brings in suffering. It doesn't always have to be in the form of death, a breakup or sickness. Sometimes it comes in the form of failed tests, painful relationships, or the realization of the pain of another.
Life is naturally filled with these peaks and valleys. Nothing in life that is stagnant is good. I heard somewhere it said that if we are not actively making progress spiritually, we are actually walking backwards. There is no standing still.
The suffering that we experience is never without reason. Through suffering, Christ teaches us to release control. He asks that we abandon our hearts to Him. He asks that we grow closer to Him - "Take up your cross and follow Me." Our God wants us to take these burdens to Him, for if we experience suffering, we are united with Christ's Passion. Understand that this pain is your chance to unite your heart with our crucified Christ. "Each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ." - St. John Paul II
When we suffer, Christ knows above everyone how we feel. He experienced abandonment, betrayal, excruciating physical pain, extreme temptation, and everything else. When we suffer, we should pray that our hearts would be united with His and dwell on the image of the cross, reflecting that we are experiencing just a fraction of the pain He felt.
Abandon your heart and your will to God and pray that you may obtain the grace to want what He desires for you. Pray for understanding and be comforted by the fact that one day you will know why it had to happen like this. Mother Teresa, who God allowed to suffer intensely most of her life, said "Pain and suffering have come into your life, but remember pain sorrow and suffering are but the kiss of Jesus - a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss Know that in His love and infinite knowledge that God will never give you more or less suffering than you exactly need. God wants nothing more than all of His children to join him in heaven. "Don't complain if you suffer. It is the prized and valued stone that is polished. Does it hurt? Allow yourself to be cut, gratefully, because God has taken you in His hands as if you were a diamond. An ordinary pebble is not worked on like that." St. Josemaria Escriva
Since we're human, we don't always see that God's will and our wills aren't aligning. Or perhaps we hold onto the control we think we have in order to fulfill our wants. We think we are in this secure little area where we have control. And that's when God brings in suffering. It doesn't always have to be in the form of death, a breakup or sickness. Sometimes it comes in the form of failed tests, painful relationships, or the realization of the pain of another.
Life is naturally filled with these peaks and valleys. Nothing in life that is stagnant is good. I heard somewhere it said that if we are not actively making progress spiritually, we are actually walking backwards. There is no standing still.
The suffering that we experience is never without reason. Through suffering, Christ teaches us to release control. He asks that we abandon our hearts to Him. He asks that we grow closer to Him - "Take up your cross and follow Me." Our God wants us to take these burdens to Him, for if we experience suffering, we are united with Christ's Passion. Understand that this pain is your chance to unite your heart with our crucified Christ. "Each man, in his suffering, can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of Christ." - St. John Paul II
When we suffer, Christ knows above everyone how we feel. He experienced abandonment, betrayal, excruciating physical pain, extreme temptation, and everything else. When we suffer, we should pray that our hearts would be united with His and dwell on the image of the cross, reflecting that we are experiencing just a fraction of the pain He felt.
Abandon your heart and your will to God and pray that you may obtain the grace to want what He desires for you. Pray for understanding and be comforted by the fact that one day you will know why it had to happen like this. Mother Teresa, who God allowed to suffer intensely most of her life, said "Pain and suffering have come into your life, but remember pain sorrow and suffering are but the kiss of Jesus - a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss Know that in His love and infinite knowledge that God will never give you more or less suffering than you exactly need. God wants nothing more than all of His children to join him in heaven. "Don't complain if you suffer. It is the prized and valued stone that is polished. Does it hurt? Allow yourself to be cut, gratefully, because God has taken you in His hands as if you were a diamond. An ordinary pebble is not worked on like that." St. Josemaria Escriva
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