In response to "windchimeflo", yes I agree.  You made 2 good points.  Job is the classic example of suffering (other than Jesus) but even the diciples suffered as well as thousands of others throughout the Bible.  Are we no different?  When I see how much they suffered, I know I am among the blessed as well and it gives me courage to endure my trials. 

 

 

 

 

 

Abramham was told to leave his fathers house, he had lived with his father for all his life, he was 75 years old. Why? To better the Kingdom of God. He suffered all those years thinking he would never have a child, he did not have one until he was 85 years old and then that was with his wifes handmaid. Sara gave birth when Abramham was 100. Sara and Abramham were only 10 years apart from each other. 90 years old giving birth? She had her suffering to. lol To better the Kingdom, I will make you the father of all nations. He never saw it.

David suffered, with loss of his friends and with the loss of his sons. 3 sons I believe. The baby with Bathsheba, and the two older. One killed the other for raping their sister, for he could not forgive him and then he started a rise up aganist his own father David and was killed. Saul his beloved friends father goes after him and trys to kill him for years. David wants to build a temple to God and God says no but in the end God tells David his son with bathsheba Solomn will build that temple. David never saw it.

Steven was stoned to death but in the background I believe it was Saul who later became Paul that was the one holding his clothes. Steven never saw aul become a Christain.

Job is just classic lossing everything except his wife and she is so mad she says just curse God and die. Can anyone feel her pain?????Her anger????I can. She lost 7 children in one day. All her kids, all she worked for all her life just wiped out. Everything gone. She see's her last living loved one suffing terrible, sores all over his body, his grief from lossing his children and all his animals she just felt it better to tell him to die. Anger over trauma. Classic.

Mary watching all Jesus's friends abandon him. Mary going with the her cousin Elizibeth John the Baptist's mother watching her pain as they say her you want your son and then throwing his head out toward her. The horror of that alone could drive someone crazy. Then Mary watching her son make that walk. It must have been as painful for her as it was for him but she stayed!!!!!She didn't run away from her boy. She took in every painful moment and stood at the foot of his cross, loving him, praying for him. Begging for his life.I used to meditate on how Mary felt, tryed to imagine the pain, then my son was killed on Valentines day of 2000 and I knew the pain and it was worse than I ever could have imagined but I am also thankful to the Lord my God that I did not have to watch it and walk the walk Mary walked.

Suffing is allowed I think because it brings Christains closer to God. These Churchs that tell people if you live the right way then you won't have suffering are wrong. The Bible is full of suffering, even Jesus felt abanded in his terrible suffering by God when he said My God My God WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME????????????????

(((HUGS)))

pandg20