Many years ago I visited a lady who was very ill. As a new pastor I didn't know what to say to someone who suffered so. I'd known her for years, and the woman before me bore little resemblance to the fun loving woman I remembered.
She wanted to know what she'd done to deserve such pain and suffering. I don't recall much of what I said that day, but I've been asked the same question many times over the years.
The woman who spoke the words of our verse was so poor that she was making the last meal she could for herself and her son. After that they would starve to death. Her situation was already pitiful, but it soon became worse when the “man of God” showed up and asked her to make him a meal. For a short while after his arrival, she discovered that her pantry produced food for all three of them.
Suddenly the woman’s son fell deathly ill and died. The mother then said to the prophet, “Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” (NIV)
She thought the reason for her son’s death was due to sin in her life. This is a common (but usually wrong) assumption on the part of people who suffer.
To get a deeper understanding of suffering, we must go back to Genesis 3 and read how Adam and Eve’s defiance of the law of God resulted in the whole world being “cursed”. (Genesis 3:14-19) Disease, decay, and degeneration were now built into the created world. Everyone born into this chaotic world will suffer because of Adam’s sin.
From Romans 5:12-21 we learn that Jesus, (the “second Adam”), came to take away the curse and restore the creation to its original state (Romans 8:18-23).
Very godly people (such as Job) suffer, not necessarily because of a specific sin. God made it very clear that Job was a godly man (Job 1:8; 2:3), so there was no direct connection between a certain evil in Job’s life and his suffering.
If you've believed that your suffering must be related to something in your life that's especially offensive to God, your reasoning may be wrong. In Luke 13:1-5, Jesus makes it clear that we can't draw conclusions about a person's behaviour with how much suffering they experience.
If you're in a tragic circumstance today, you're invited to come near to God and seek strength, comfort, and peace of heart. Jesus’ loving invitation is always appropriate to repeat, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 (NIV).
