Why Do God's Children Suffer?

Pastor David: You know, there was this time, not so long ago, where it seemed like I was getting call after call after call of Christians, people who I knew love God, worship God, but they were suffering, you know, loss of a job or this or that or the other, different things in different lives. But the common thread was they were all suffering, and they were all in this particular situation, believers, strong believers in many cases, and spirit-filled Christians. So I took it to the Lord, and I was asking God, why are so many of your children suffering?

And He showed me something I will never forget. You know, how God can say one word and create a universe. He can paint a picture that takes centuries to describe with one word. He's so awesome, so incredible.

Well, in this particular case, I had a real heavy heart for my brothers and sisters in Christ, and God knew it. And when I asked Him in prayer why so many of his kids were suffering, He showed me, and I was awake. So I've heard people call it - you know, there are visions, and there are dreams, and a lot of people talk about an open vision. In other words, you're awake and maybe even talking. Your eyes are probably open. Not necessarily, but in a lot of cases, and you see something, and you know it's from God. Well, it was one of those situations.

And the way He answered my prayer was that I saw His hand, gigantic hand, pulling down this pouch. I don't know if it was made of leather, but it kind of looked like leather. It looked like a giant leather pouch, and this giant hand, and I say it was giant because there were a lot of people standing up in this pouch.

Countless, a lot of people. So the hand was huge. The pouch was huge. And I saw this hand pulling the pouch downward, straight down. And all of these people, their hands were reaching up, and they're all looking up. But here was the interesting part. The four corners of the pouch had what looked like giant rubber bands on them. I didn't see what they were connected to. They went, you know, way up, like they were connected to something high in the sky. But this hand was pulling this pouch down. All these people were in it.

And then He spoke to me, and He said, sometimes I have to pull my children down to make them look up. And that was it. I didn't see the hand let go of it, of the pouch. It would have shot the people straight up in the air. But it caused me to think of so many things.

I mean, and you go through scripture, and you start looking. But that was His answer to me. And I had a heavy heart. And I was like, wow. And then He showed me that, and I'm like, oh, my goodness. You make the complex things in life so simple. It was like He was forcing His children. You're going to look up because you have to look up. You get your eyes off of your circumstances and situation.

You got to look up. And if He let go of that pouch, I assume that would be the equivalence of the Rapture we read about in First Thessalonians. So it was interesting, but it reminded me of a scripture outside of the Rapture. It reminded me of Luke 21:28.

Luke 21:28, in the King James says, "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."

What does that mean?

It means get your eyes back on God. If you are looking at circumstances and situations, what does the enemy love to do? Satan loves to distract, and manipulate, and deceive all the way through the Word.

We know those are his common character traits. He lies and deceives, always seeking who he can kill, steal, and destroy. As we hear and read in the Word. So what does Jesus want us to do?

Well, John the Baptist was probably the best messenger that said, look up, look up, look up. He told every believer, look up. Get your eyes off of your circumstances. Get your eyes back on God. Focus on God. Look at God.

Don't look at this situation or circumstance. Look up. Get your eyes back on God. Because when you start looking at God, you start getting your heart back in line with God.

You start asking for forgiveness because He's a Holy God. You start loving on God because He's loving on you. You want the things of God when you're looking at Him, and He wants to bless you as His children, because He is love and everything He does is to our benefit.

He even said, all things work to good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. So get your eyes back on God is what He's wanting you to do.

You can be down and out if you're a Christian at some point in your life, sometimes many points in your life, you will be pulled down because the world does that. The world hates God. The ways of the world are against God.

So you have to expect that you're going to get in those situations where you need to, as David said in Psalms, he had to reassure himself in the Lord. He had to pull up, you know, his own bootstraps, if you will, and start looking up and encouraged himself in the Lord, is what he said. Encourage, encourage, encourage yourself in the Lord. In other words, reminding yourself, yeah, I know God loves me.

I don't care what the world says. I don't care what Satan says. I don't care what anyone says. In my heart, the truth of truths. I know God loves me, and I'm going to get my eyes back on Him. Even if they weren't off of Him. He wants you to focus on Him because something's about to happen.

Maybe He's protecting you from something. Maybe He's delivering you out of a situation. Maybe He's helping you avoid a situation, but get your eyes back on God.

So I'll never forget that God's hand pulling down a bunch of us in that pouch, and there were rubber bands on each corner. I look forward to the day when we're all looking up, and He lets go of that pouch, and we get to go home in the twinkling of an eye.

But God bless you. Be blessed. I hope this ministers to you in Jesus name.

Have a blessed day and a blessed week.