Pointless Suffering... With a Purpose? Part One

   Hey y'all. =) I haven't been gone, still typing away. But this post has been several days in the making- a little here, a little there. Thus it seems a bit delayed.

   I have a question- Is it possible for there to be a good reason for bad things that happen? Are bad things in life simply consequences of sin? Pointless and painful, like mosquitos and poison ivy? I usually wind up debating this topic with one of my good friends, and we always agree to disagree lol. So if you're reading this, I'm not rubbing it in your face, I'm just writing what has been on my mind, and what I believe the Bible says. I still respect your opinion.

   I DO believe that God has a purpose for everything that happens, and He does direct bad circumstances for our benefit. Here are a few pieces of Scripture that have come across my path over the last few weeks, and keep leading me back to this subject.

Jonah 4:1-4
   But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the LORD, and said, “Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!”
   Then the LORD said, “Is it right for you to be angry?

Hosea 1:2
    When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea:
   "Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land has committed great harlotry by departing from the LORD."

   My first point with these passages is that God raises bad circumstances... As an Object Lesson for others. Depressing thought, huh? To think that you have a life in the pits so that someone else will learn from your problems.

   Jonah and Hosea were both prophets. They were very different prophets. Hosea was commanded to do something miserable, and he obeyed the Lord. Jonah was commanded to do something typical, and he threw in the towel and ran the other direction.

   Jonah is such a mystery... the more I study his story, the more of a wuss he seems to be. He was entirely selfish, he did not have faith or contentment in what the Lord was doing. He did not even want to serve the Lord, but God gave him no choice. From this verse, he appears to have a very modern, warped view of God's will. He said God was abundant in lovingkindness -- surely He didn't really mean to overthrow Ninevah? And even if He did, Ninevah sure deserved it. Jonah wasn't going to help them, it simply wasn't fair.

   Why in the world did God use such a selfish, ignorant, shallow man for a prophet? The very message that Jonah preached was lame and less than half-hearted, and yet God converted the entire city of Ninevah. God didn't need Jonah. Jonah didn't think he needed God. So why was God so invasive? He could have had His pick of any other obedient prophet. He could have even made Jonah's heart more willing.

   Clearly the only other option is that God used Jonah's miserable existence and misbehavior to teach those who have read his story. Jonah certainly didn't learn one bit of good. That leaves it up to us. And there's a whole boat-load (pun intended) of things to learn from what Jonah did wrong, which I will leave for you to study yourself.

   Conversely, we have the obedience of poor Hosea. He paid an ultimate price when the Lord used his life as an object lesson. Can you imagine that, giving up your very happiness for the Lord? After all, you only have one life. You dream of doing great things for the Lord, and of raising a beautiful family, then God slams you with a nightmare.

   Hosea suffered unspeakable pain, and disdain from all. But that was only part of the grand story God wove. It didn't end with the fact that Hosea married an unfaithful harlot, God resolved the story joyously. And the story of Gomer, his wife, is the most vivid and convicting portrayal of our relationship with God. Hosea's pointless suffering wasn't because of his sin, it was a teaching tool God used on a much grander scale than Hosea could have imagined.

   Neither of these men have seen how their stories are being read and taught, even thousands of years later. They died knowing only what God had revealed to them. Perhaps God has given you a trial with no apparent benefit to yourself, and you pray in agony because there is no hope or end in sight. Dear friend, I believe that God really and truly has a purpose. Countless are the stories of someone's life being impacted by the testimony of another. You may never know the number of all the lives your experience will touch. You may be strengthening others with courage and hope and faith. Don't give up the good fight, for God will be strengthening you step by step.