Why do good people suffer?

2 Corinthians 1
 3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
 5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

A friend of mine who is not in church asked me the other day, "Why does God let good people suffer?" It is a question asked a million times over by the human mind. In essence, it asks if God is truly as good and loving as Scripture proclaims. Why would a Father allow His children whom He loves (even the disobedient ones) to go through pain and agony? The answer, I believe is found in this simple principle: You never know how good God is until you need His Mercy and Grace.

Without a need, there is no seeking of a solution. Without a desperate circumstance, there is no savior required. Just like God allowed the children of Israel to fall into the hands of their neighbors time and time again, only to deliver them through a judge. They had to go through the bondage of Egypt in order to be willing to follow Moses. Abraham had to offer up Isaac before he could know that God was both Jireh (provider) and M'kadesh (Righteousness).

For the past couple of years, our family has gone through many difficult times. Money was short, food was scarce, clothes got tattered. We felt alone, isolated, forgotten, at times confused. We went through betrayal, disappointment, false accusations. We made mistakes, paid dearly for them, and were made to endure some very serious hardships. All the while, Jesus was faithful. Never did we actually go without. Never did we lose the things that are most valuable: our health, our family or our faith.

As we are now seeing God's Hand bringing us to the borders of our promised land once again, we are now more like the generation that followed Joshua than the one that followed Moses. We have more faith in God's ability to keep and secure us. We are ready to fight and possess the land. But in order for us to truly be able to walk in our destiny, we had to be tried and purified by the fire of difficult circumstances.

So it is in each of our lives. Sickness, poverty, slander, whatever.....it all comes for s purpose. When the comforter comes and delivers us out of our mud pit, we are able to walk in the manifestation of His Mercy, not just the revelation of its availability. Maybe a better way to put it is this: it is practice and not just theory.

So in the midst of your trials and tribulations, just remember that God will bring you out of your suffering, but you will know how to encourage others with your testimony afterwards! This is the reason for suffering: So God can show us His goodness through His deliverance!