As a child of God, there are many reasons. These reasons differ greatly from the reasons that a lost person suffers. Let’s look at one of the reasons a believer suffers:
It is possible, for an obedient believer to suffer and God allows it, if that suffering will bring about a blessing to that believer that they might not yet be worthy of receiving.
Its true. I have experienced it in an ongoing way and we see it all through the word of God. I suspect it in the lives of people I either know or know of.
We see this in principal when king David was leaving the city with his company in order to let his son Absolom do what he was going to do…try to seize the kingdom from his father.
David is riding out of town broken hearted and a broken man, when there came a man running alongside him cursing David, trying to inflict great harm to a man who was already in torment. Abishai, one of David’s mighty men, also his nephew, whose name means “desirous of a gift”, who was riding alongside him, and the only one who was, asked David if he could “lift off his head”? David said something amazing. He said, no. Let him do this. Perhaps God wants to recompense me somehow. And He did. That’s exactly why it happened.
God wanted to bring huge blessing into David’s life but at that point David was not worthy of the gift God so longed to give to David, but couldn’t because His justice would not permit it. But there is a way. Here it is: If a beloved child of God is the object of evil from someone, or something (could be their own persistent slowness to surrender to God their whole hearts) God will recompense that evil done to His beloved by blessing abundantly. So the evil done to His child and the suffering it causes, permits God to lavish undeserved blessing upon them. This is the reason for the suffering.
God has a gift that He is not permitted by His holiness to give. However, He can give it justly to a child who is being persecuted or to whom evil is being inflicted as a result of their following God. Or even to one who is stuck and slow to obey but God knows they will obey.
Is it in Hebrews that we are asked, is it not just that God recompense the evil done to a righteous man? We see it in Revelation. Then He says it is just! And I will do it! We see through the entire word that He does defend, and blessings follow in His wake, to the one who needed defense.
Look at your suffering. Are you waiting on healing? If it is Gods will that you be healed, is there sin in your life that you won’t let go of? God has wonderful blessings for you and inheritance for you that you won’t let Him give because you won’t obey. But He still longs for you to have it. If your rebellion is so strong and you won’t obey here, maybe He is allowing illness and broken lives to make you worthy for some huge blessing either now or in Heaven. He has established this president. Obey Him in the tiny things, that is, in every single thing, and maybe He can consider you worthy of the gift He wants to give? And maybe without the evil inflicted upon you?
I looked up the name of the one who was riding alongside David. I knew it was one of the mighty men, just didn’t remember his name. So I discovered it was Abishai, his nephew. And when I looked the verse up I saw who he was and the meaning of his name right there in the Bible study notes…desirous of a gift. How absolutely confoundingly overwhelming Gods word is!
This blesses Him!!