Why Do We Suffer? Grief, Testing, and the God Who Turns Evil to Good

Thanking God for the Good

There is one chapter in the Torah that reveals to us what the worshiper who comes to Jerusalem to worship the Lord must say in front of the priest who serves the Lord in his day. The circumstance is the Feast of Shavuot, and the occasion is the bringing of the firstfruits. In his hands are the firstfruits of his labor, the best of the best of his fields and orchards, and after giving God the best of the best, the worshiper is invited to thank God for the good things that God has given him.

This phrase is worded in a special way. The worshiper is not invited to thank God for everything that has happened in his life during the past year. He is invited to thank God for all the good things that happened in his life. The not-so-good things that happen in our lives have many sources and causes. The good things that happen to us and to our households are all from God and His goodness.

There is a question that I am sure many will ask: "What are the other sources in our lives that cause us some hardships and grief?" I will answer this question in a short way, because this is not a theological thesis.

The Sources of Our Hardships and Grief

• Our own stupidity and mistakes

  This is probably one of the main sources of grief and sometimes suffering in our own lives. There is no one else that we can blame other than our mistakes and stupidity. If we drive too fast around a curve, and the physics of the centrifugal forces throw us off the road, and we have a bad accident — it is not the devil, it is not a demon, it is our own stupidity and lack of foresight and wisdom that has caused the accident.

• Sin

  Sin in our lives can have painful consequences that can cause pain and grief, and even illness.

• Nature

  The very nature of all flesh is to age and decay.

• God at times wants to educate us and equip us for a higher challenge,

  and like a boot camp, He takes us through a series of obstacle courses in order to build our abilities, train our minds, and prepare us, through suffering, for a greater task and success in life.

This last one is one of the most difficult for us to understand, and at times we think that our whole world is collapsing and we can't take it even one more day. The sun comes up the next day, and we understand that, despite the great hardships and difficulties, in the end it is like what the apostle Paul said in Romans chapter 8:

Paul is basing this statement on several passages in the Psalms and in the prophets. The main passage is from Psalm 145:

The key phrase is in Psalm 145:17,

In other words, if you separate one of God's actions — in the Bible, or in history, or in your own life — you might think that He is unrighteous, but if you look at the big picture you will see that He is righteous and all His ways are righteous.

Lack of Prosperity Is Not a Sign of Sin

I must state a clear disclaimer: I believe in God's blessings and I believe in living a good life. I don't believe in misery or suffering to be virtues that men ought to aspire for, but I also don't believe that a believer, a disciple of Yeshua, will always be rich and happy and prosperous in this world.

Lack of prosperity is not a sign of sin and punishment. It can be boot camp for the men of God, like Elijah the prophet, to train for bigger tasks and missions from God.

Suffering as a Test

The Lord gives us a kind of hidden revelation of why He does some things with us, and for us, and to us. It is true that at times, even when we are so-called "being good" and "trying our best" and "doing things right from pure motives of really trying to obey and do right from all our heart" — suddenly "boom," we get something horrible and difficult and threatening our very existence.

The Lord reveals to us that the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, with all the difficulties of hunger and thirst and attacks of the enemy, were a test. As simple as that. A test to see if we would remain faithful and keep our faith in God, and keep His commandments.

The words here actually make me a little upset. My first reaction was, "Who does He think He is? Who gave Him the permission to make us hunger? Who wants to be humbled? For sure it is not me!" Then, with a flash of freezing ice-cold sweat across my forehead, I realized the importance of the lesson: that man does not live by bread alone. Bread here is not only pita bread with falafel, not even a good juicy beef steak; bread here is money and assets and bank accounts and savings, and every false security that we want to lean on.

To learn this important lesson, God sent our forefathers forty years through the university of hard knocks. Many have entered and gone through this university of hard knocks for many years, and even have the impression that they have graduated summa cum laude, but in reality few have learned the lesson that "man does not live by bread alone." Those who did learn this lesson have become humble and passionate lovers of God and humanity. They have given up their selfish desires and work for the good of many, and not just the few in their family.

We only learn through trials and tests. Through our trials and tribulations we learn if we really have faith in the Creator of our universe and are able to keep our faith and hold on to life now and eternally. Yes, you and I may encounter hard times. Abraham faced a famine in Canaan, struggles to overcome family scandals, wars, traumatic family issues — but Abraham still kept going, because that is how you learn who you truly are and what kind of faith you really have with the almighty God.

All Things Work Together for Good — the Story of Joseph

When the apostle Paul wrote in Romans chapter 8 that

he really meant that "all things" — the good, the bad, and the ugly — work together for the good of those who love the Lord. Of course, remember, my dear brothers, "all things don't always work together for the good of those who don't really love the Lord."

The quintessential proof of this principle is the story of Joseph. If you cut into any part of this story and separate it and analyze it, you probably will come up with the opinion that this is a terrible tragedy of a family that is falling apart. But if you back up and look at the whole narrative, you see that each scene in the plot is like a freight train where each car is hooked to the next, and even though each car is full of sadness and horrible events, the train itself is headed toward a happy ending.

Joseph went from riches to poverty; from being loved by his father to being hated by his brothers; from poverty and jail in the Egyptian prison — for a false accusation, while being totally innocent — to becoming second to the great Pharaoh. I am sure that when Joseph was in the well and his future was so unsure, his condition was not so cheerful. I am sure that when he was sold to Potiphar as a slave, he couldn't see much hope of fulfilling the dreams that God gave him in his youth.

What was the power that enabled Joseph to excel in every situation and float above the dim reality of his present situation? Here are the points that I believe Joseph took into account:

Stop — look around for an opportunity to excel. Seek always to become needed and useful even under the most difficult circumstances, like being put in prison, falsely accused. When you don't feel blessed, look for ways to serve and bless others and make them happy.

Joseph never complains. He accepts the situation, and no matter where he is placed, his service is noticed and he is upgraded and raised to high positions in every circumstance. This attitude I attribute to the faith that Joseph had received through his dreams. He believed that he would be great — and this faith in God's promises was the force that kept Joseph sane, and allowed him to focus on his work and to display excellence through his service. Joseph understood the principle that Paul so wonderfully states:

And Joseph himself stated the same truth to his brothers:

"You Meant Evil Against Me" — and the Psychology of Guilt

Let's look at the context of this powerful statement by Joseph:

Here is someone who understands how the Lord works, and how the Lord uses human failure to accomplish His plan and purpose. Joseph understood that if the brothers had not been so bad to him, and if they had killed him instead of selling him, and if he had not been sold to Potiphar, and if Potiphar's wife had not been attracted to Joseph, he would not be in the Egyptian prison, and he would not have had an opportunity to meet the two ministers of Pharaoh, and would not interpret their dreams, and he would not be invited by Pharaoh to interpret his dream — and on and on and on, until now.

I am asking each and every one of you to take this statement and ask yourself the following question: "Do I have in my life horrible events that caused me suffering and grief and bad feelings, that in the end turned for my good and for my success?"

If your answer to yourself is "yes," then the days of your affliction, and the evil done to you by others, caused you to work hard, and in the end those days of suffering equipped you for success and happiness. If your answer is "no," my prediction is that those days of suffering and sorrow are still waiting for you, and you will have to brace yourself to experience them — and then you must remember these words of Joseph to his brothers, and encourage yourself that those bad days might equip you and train you and present for you the opportunities to be successful and joyful.

Joseph was able to look at his life, at his sufferings as a slave and as a prisoner who was not guilty of any crime, as the work of God and as his preparation for becoming the savior of his brothers and of Israel:

The Power of a Clear Conscience

In the Egyptian jail, under a false accusation, Joseph knew three things that gave him the power not only to overcome the sorrow, but to flourish and find joy. Joseph knew and remembered the promises that God made him in the dreams of his youth. And Joseph knew that he had not sinned against his father and his brothers — his conscience was clear. This is a very important factor in Joseph's success.

The knowledge that we are clear from sinful attitudes, and that our motivation is honest and without vengeance toward those who have harmed us, is a great force for success. We know more than anyone else whether we are guilty or innocent. Even if the whole world is against you, but you know that you are right and that you have not sinned, but are saying and doing what is right by God — you will find strength to take the blows of life and turn them into power. The power that I call in Hebrew "davka" power — the power to go against the stream, like the salmon swimming up the river to lay its eggs. Because the salmon knows that this is its destiny, the very reason for its existence, there it finds the strength to face the hardship of life and keep going to reach the God-given goal for its life.

Good Comes Out of Pain

Our insecurities and doubts come from the fact that we don't understand that some things don't happen without pain, and without suffering. The best example of this principle is a woman who is giving birth. There is no birth without at least some pain and suffering.

Every time that we want to change and improve something in our own lives and in our world, it involves stress, pain, suffering, sometimes mocking and ridicule, and other times physical abuse — even the beatings that the apostle Paul experienced more than once, as he says:

I personally have experienced three times attempts on my life. The first time was on Mount Zion, coming out of the Yeshiva in the mid-1970s. The second was when, at 3:00 a.m., two Molotov cocktails penetrated our big bay window in the living room; one of the bottles exploded and burned our new leather sofa, and I was able to put the fire out because we had fire extinguishers at home. The third time was when someone, at 5:00 a.m., removed the lug nuts and cotter pin of the right front wheel of my car; fortunately the wheel broke when I was only a few yards from a red light.

In my case, every time the opposition intended horrible evil, the Lord turned it around and created great opportunities for sharing the Good News. In the case of the two Molotov cocktails, it happened at 3:00 a.m., and by 6:00 a.m. all the Israeli television and news networks were in my apartment interviewing me, and they broadcast the news every hour on the hour throughout the whole day. Yes, even the most horrible things that happen to us can create opportunities for great things to happen for the Kingdom of God. The principle is that events take place and create a situation that could be very unpleasant and sometimes painful, but the aftermath of these kinds of events can be a wonderful streak of blessing.

God Is in Control — Even in Calamity and Plague

The Word of God is no stranger to plagues, pandemics, and calamity. In the dozens of cases of plague in the Bible, the originator in every case is the Lord Himself and no one else. There is no dualism in the Bible; there is one God. It ought to be noted that there is no mention of Satan or anyone else responsible for the biblical plagues except the Lord God of Israel, who is Lord of lords and King of kings.

He sends plagues as either a punishment or an educational instrument, to guide His children to repentance and to the fear of the Lord — and in every case the plagues end with the repentance and return of the people to the Lord. No matter how terrible a plague is, God is in control, and He is sending it for a reason.

With all the "harshness" of the Lord, His love for His creation was so great that He sent Yeshua to be a sacrifice for our atonement. And He has prepared for us a place of eternity where there will be no tears or plagues, cancer or suffering.

Closing: The Interest and the Principal

Now I am so happy to know that the Lord was faithful to make all things work for my personal good, and for the good of the people of God, and for the kingdom of the Lord. How much I wish I had come to the same conclusion as Joseph did, earlier in my life. But in the end of it all, every hardship and suffering brings us closer to the calling and purpose for which we are called by the Lord.

So take the statement of Joseph, and the words of the apostle Paul, and hold them close: "you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good," and "all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord." Separate one of God's actions and you might think Him unrighteous; but look at the whole picture, and you will see that the Lord is righteous in all His ways. Just make sure that you and your family truly love the Lord — and you will see that while the interest is collected in this life, the principal is collected in eternity.