Acts 9:16:

“I will show him [Paul] how much he must suffer for my name.”

Jesus tells his disciple Ananias that he will show Paul how much he must suffer for the name of Jesus.

This word “must” we find here means that it would be necessary, that there is need of it, that it would even be beneficial, right, and proper in order to attain a specific outcome that the Lord desires.

God has a specific outcome he desires to come from our lives and he has plotted out the course of events required to bring about those purposes. Sometimes that course takes us along a path of suffering and tragedy.

What this implies is that there is meaning and purpose in the suffering of believers. That’s the mentality we need to adopt. We don’t have to understand those purposes; we just need to recognize that there is a plan and that God is still in control.

Tragedies occur for a wide variety of reason, however ultimately all genuine tragedies occur as a direct or an indirect result of sin.

Now, don’t jump ahead of me here. I didn’t say that all tragedy is the direct result of that person’s sin. I said it is either directly or indirectly a result of sin.
Jesus healed the paralytic who was waiting at the Bethesda pool for the waters to be stirred. In the narrative, Jesus implies that this man had been stricken with some sort of paralysis for 38 years because of sin in his life.

He told him to stop sinning or something worse might happen to him.

That is not a perspective that we are comfortable with. It implies that there are spiritual reasons behind everything that happens to us in life, whether seemingly beneficial or not. After all, having sin in my heart can’t naturally cause paralysis. Something supernatural, something spiritual must be happening behind the scenes for this to occur.

From a Biblical perspective, since sin and paralysis are not naturally linked in a cause and effect manner it is important for us to recognize that spiritual principles are at work. If in fact spiritual principles are at work than we must conclude that God has a purpose for the suffering, and meaning in the tragedy.

Some of those purposes involve his desire to see men repent. Some of those purposes involve discipline and correction for disobedience aimed at spiritual growth. Some of those purposes involve justice for sin.

From an eternal spiritual perspective, unrepentant sin, sin not covered by faith in the blood of Christ will always bring about eternal tragedy through separation from God.


Takeaway Points:

We must believe that tragedies we experience as believers follow a course of action designed by the Lord to obtain a specific outcome.

All tragedy ultimately is the result of sin, either directly or indirectly.

There may or may not be a direct correlation between those who suffer tragedies and the sin that brought it about but the fact remains that tragedy springs out of sin.

The consequences for sin are separate from the spiritual punishment for sin.

From an eternal spiritual perspective, unrepentant sin, sin not covered by faith in the blood of Christ will always bring about eternal tragedy through separation from God.

Sin affects everyone you come into contact with. This is true because as believers we are members of one body.

My sins affect those around me in ways I can’t possibly comprehend. Spiritual principles are put into effect when I sin and some of those principles bring tragedy into the lives around me.

When you and I sin, God’s viewpoint is that we are despising the word of the Lord.


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