Suffering - Our Response to Suffering and the Beauty of Suffering

The Beauty of Suffering:

In all sincerity, No one enjoys suffering. Suffering brings pain. By our neural configuration, pain hurts. Nowadays, some women may choose to avoid pain by paying other women into delivering their very own baby. Such women (who delivers another's baby) are called surrogate mothers.

Note: Surrogate mothers are hired perhaps because a woman finds it difficult to conceive or a pregnant woman with child is unwilling to undergo the pains of labor.

Please read on Consequences of Adam and Eve's Disobedience here

I have heard about mercy killing by doctors, a process called euthanasia to stop the pain of suffering people by intentionally ending their life. According to Christianity, this act isn't right because the process of killing someone has not justification, even in the context of freeing those intentionally killed from their sufferings and pains. To make matters worse, some may take their very own life by committing suicide as a result of some sufferings which they had passed through.

People cheat other people because they don't want to suffer. Just recently, I lost my mobile phone in a bus. Whoever took the phone removed my sim card and sold the phone, perhaps because he or she needed money; and didn't want to suffer the pain of hunger.

Please read on the Leadership Qualities of Joseph that has transformed Lives here

All around us, we see sufferings and the pains associated with it. We feel for these people and even try to get them out of the pains sometimes. It would therefore stand to reason that "suffering in itself is generally bad".

Well, the truth is, not all sufferings are bad. In fact, some sufferings are very good for us. All we need do is to identify and embrace them, while also asking God's direction on them.

Why does Suffering and Pain exist?

According to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP);

Pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage.

Pain is a sign that something unpleasant is about to happen, is happening or had happened. It creates a memory to avoid facing another future (similar) danger. For instance, think of 'a baby and a fire'. The baby touched the fire previously and got hurt. Now when he encounters the fire, he won’t touch it.

As we grow, we experience different forms of suffering, some of which will define our destiny. Consider this instance of a legendary footballer below:

• Christiano Ronaldo is a footballer who had achieved greatness because he spent extra hours on trainings, fitness and hard-work. We can see the efforts of his work on the pitch. If he had gone about drinking, trying to avoid the stress and suffering of trainings, he may not have become what he is.
• Also, students suffer sleepless nights to get good grades.

Without suffering and pains, we would not properly understand the true meanings of love, joy, faith, hope, contentment, perseverance and victory. All of these things happen because of suffering.

Please read on the Morals learnt from the Parable of the Prodigal Son

Consider these bible passages below:

• Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin.

  1st Peter 4:1

• Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

  Matthew 10: 38

• Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

  Roman 5:3-4

Note: Kings adorn themselves with gold. The truth is, gold passes through fire. In the same way, if we are to be called kings we must go through a similar process and that's suffering.

Please read the Interesting Facts about Gold here

One reality about life is the fact that at the moment, we live on earth and not yet in heaven. Suffering abound on earth and everyone have got an experience of it. The sooner we accept the reality of suffering and pain on earth, the better our lives will be.

Below are some of the few ways we may suffer

• Unjustly sacked from our job
• Sickness
• Death of a family member
• Breakup of a serious relationship
• Accidents
• Betrayal
• Racial Discrimination
• Loss of Money
• False accusations and embarrassment
• Poverty
• Unjustly imprisoned
• Rejection
• Violation of our Fundamental Human Rights

Please read on Your Fundamental Human Rights here.

Note: A lot of people suffer innocently. These people should never lose hope because there's always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Please read on sufferings from various Harmful Traditional Practices.

Our Response to Suffering

Whether we like it or not, suffering is inevitable. The most important question is:

How do we respond to suffering?

Do you see opportunity in sufferings? Do you realize the fact that the beauty of suffering can transform your world for the best if properly managed?

We should learn to embrace the good suffering; rather than resisting it. In fact, some people are willing to undergo suffering for the good cause; and these should be your motivation.

Personally, I've seen people who run from one church to another because they suffer.

Going to church is excellent, but it's better to remain in one church and grow one's faith there.

The summary of this article points to the fact that there are some sufferings which we must embrace. If we take some deep look into this kind of sufferings, we will discover the beauty present within them.

Our world will change for the better the moment we start accepting suffering; while also assisting (practically) and praying for those who suffer.

The beauty of Jesus' suffering is the many that will be saved by his blood.

Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb.

I don't believe I have special talents, I have persistence. After the first failure, second failure, third failure, I kept trying.

Carlo Rubbia, Nobel price winning physicist

Great success is built on failure, frustration, even catastrophy.

Sumner Redstone

Think about the suffering a woman in labour would pass through but after that comes the bigger joy of seeing her baby.

You can read on various Motivational Quotes here