Why We Have Sorrow and Suffering

September 11, 2001—such a beautiful day for such horror. Most people did not understand (and still don’t) that God allowed this breach in the protection of our nation to try to wake us up to the evil invading our nation because we, as a whole, have turned away from God.

  The churches were filled; people turned to God in prayer; those who had gone astray from God’s laws came back to the straight and narrow path. Everywhere you heard “God bless America.”

  But the face of evil fades. And people return to their daily lives. For most, God recedes into the distance and they forget that death is only a breath away.

  Unfortunately, when times are good, people tend to forget about God. Instead of turning to God in thanksgiving for their blessings, they think that all the good in their lives is the result of their own doing or just good luck. Many people see no need to worship, praise and thank God when their lives are going well. It’s only when bad things happen, either personally or communally, that the churches are filled.

  So the only way God can get our attention is to remove some of His blessing by allowing (not causing) evil to have free reign in the form of illness, accidents, injury, death, bad weather or disasters.

  It’s not that God wants to punish us. He just loves us so much (as a good parent loves his child) that he doesn’t want us to ruin our lives or go to Hell when we die. He wants us to live as happy and fulfilled lives as possible and then spend eternity with Him in Heaven. Jesus said:

 The thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy, I came that they might have life and have it to the full. (John 10:10)

And 1 Timothy 2: 4 says:

 for He wants all men to be saved and come to know the truth.

  So can we avoid sorrow and suffering? Unfortunately, not all; we’re not in Heaven yet. And we’re not perfect, so we need discipline to grow and mature. We also sometimes have to suffer the consequences of the behavior of others.

  But I believe that God protects those who love and follow Him from as much sorrow and suffering as possible in this fallen world. And if sorrow and suffering come, He will be with us through His Holy Spirit to comfort and strengthen us.

Note: For those who may be interested in reading a book with factual evidence that the attacks of 9-11 were allowed by God as a warning to the United States, I would suggest reading The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn. Or you can visit his website www.TheHarbingerWebsite.com.