Author Vince Vitale says it’s OK to be frustrated when things are difficult; even Jesus got frustrated while He was on this earth. Our suffering should draw us closer to Him, even when we don’t have all the answers.
Vitale says that, just as a dog thinks it’s cruel for you to take him to the vet and poke needles in him, we may think it’s cruel when God allows bad things in our life. What the dog doesn’t realize (just as we don’t realize with God) is that the owner is causing him short-term pain for long-term good.
“If you’re dealing with suffering in a severe way, such that all you can muster up to express toward God is frustration or negative emotions, that is not a sign of a lack of faith,” Vitale says. “If expressing frustration or even forsakenness toward God is a lack of faith, then Jesus had a lack of faith, and He didn’t. The wonderful thing about the Christian faith is there is an invitation to integrate our suffering into our relationship with God and not to let it push us away from Him.”
To watch the entire sermon on suffering, click here.
