The Bible has a lot to say about suffering. It's nothing new. Suffering is one of those fundamental and central themes of human existence. The first human beings created, Adam and Eve, suffered. Even God Himself, through Jesus Christ, suffered. And every single human being in between until now have suffered, almost everyone greatly and often. The soul often doesn't know what to do with suffering. It's such a riddle in life. There are many reasons why we suffer, but let me layout a few and then offer some ways we can deal with them. Be forewarned, they are painfully simplistic. But sometimes even a simplistic view can bring some comfort and I pray that it will to you.

Let me just say upfront, there are many tragic and unimaginable suffering that takes place and I in no way am offering easy answers or easy solutions. I simply offer a few possible reasons why we suffer, and a few steps you can potentially take to resolve them if they are indeed resolvable, at least some things to help overcome depression while you're going through the stuggle.

Reason Why We Suffer #1: According to the Bible, sometimes we suffer because of our own disobedience. In fact, suffering came into the world for that very reason. Adam and Eve lived in a paradise that knew no suffering or pain. When they fell, suffering entered the world to punish us, to chastise and discipline us, and to express to us the consequences of rebelling against God.

This reason continued in the life of God's chosen people, the Israelites. The fell into disobedience, rebellion, idolatry and all kinds of abominable sins. God, in His grace, sent prophet after prophet to rebuke and correct them, often to no avail. Finally, judgement came in the form of foreign invaders who killed many Israelites and took the rest captive. In these two cases, suffering came as a result of direct disobedience to God.

Reason Why We Suffer #2: According to the Bible, we suffer because of obedience. Hebrews tells us that Jesus Himself learned obedience through suffering. I can't quite wrap my mind around that one yet, but it at least tells us that the righteous suffer because they are being righteous.

Besides Jesus, we see many, many examples of this throughout the Bible and history. Every single person that was martyrd for Jesus' sake suffered because of obedience. They had a choice of renouncing God and keeping their lives, or they could profess Jesus and die or be tortured. Many faithful believers chose the latter and suffered for it.

If you are a follower of Jesus, it is guaranteed that God will ask you to suffer for His sake. You might lose a job, a spouse, a relationship, a friendship or your family. You might also wonder how God could make you suffer when you've obeyed Him. You'll often ask, "God, I obeyed You, why aren't you blessing me?" You may even wonder if you've somehow sinned and are being punished for it.

If you're suffering because of your obedience, take heart. Look at it as a fragrant offering and sacrifice that you've made to God. Sometimes, people can only know the value of something because of what people are willing to give up for it. You're obedience and what it cost you is a testimony of how valuable you believe God is. Take heart, He sees your suffering and it's a fragrant offering to His throne room.

Reason Why We Suffer #3: Has nothing to do with whether we are obeying or not. This happened to Job. Job was going along, being a good godly man, worshipping God and following Him. Then one day, Satan comes along and accuses Job of following God only because God has blessed him. To prove him wrong, God allows Job to suffer. In the end, both God and Job are vindicated. But again, Job had nothing to do with why he suffered.

Now for some ways to deal with it:

How To Fight Depression #1: Seek God's Presence. In 2 Samuel 21, when there was a famine in the land for 3 years, King David finally decided to seek the presence of the LORD. It took him 3 years. In first year he probably just thought, "oh, it's an off year. It'll surely get better the next year." Then the second year, he probably thought the same thing, but of course, with a little more concern. Then, I guess, by the third year he thought he should ask God. It took him a while, but at least he did it.

When he finally did, God gave him an answer. It was a very specific answer. Basically, there was a curse on Israel because of something King Saul, David's evil predecessor did. The Israelites at one point had swore not to harm a race called the Gibeonites. Well, King Saul ended up killing some of them and it left a curse upon all Israel. So David simply went to them and asked them how he could make up for it. The Gibeonites demanded the heads of seven of Saul's descendants, and there you go. Curse removed.

Sometimes, when we're suffering, it may be for a specific reason that can be easily solved like in David's case. So what shall we do? Do what David did. Seek His Presence regarding the matter. It's interesting to me that when Solomon spoke of going near the temple in Ecclesiastes 5, he explained that we should go to listen. Or when Habakkuk tells of God's temple, he says the earth should be silent before him. When we go to God's Presence, we should go to listen, especially in times of suffering.

How To Overcome Depression #2: Ask what God might be doing in that suffering. God is all powerful. If He wanted, He could stop the suffering in an instant. But "why doesn't He?" is often the question. The answer MIGHT be, that He wants to work something out in our souls or our character. Maybe it's one of the fruits of the Spirit he wants to cultivate in us. Maybe he's pruning us of some unfruitful branches. Or maybe He is simply wanting us to take a new step of faith in trusting Him.

Here are some good questions to ask of yourself in your suffering. Is it bringing about any character flaws that would probably not come up in more comfortable times? What view of God is this suffering challenging? What is your soul currenly saying about God in this situation?

How To Overcome Depression #3: This maybe a harsh one to take, but it's true and it might help because of what I'll say in the next step. But the truth is, we all deserve much more suffering than we ever get. Truthfully, we deserve to die an instant death at birth and be sent to an eternal flame (and I'm not talking about a song from the Bengals!). We are sinful at birth, in rebellion toward God, and in His infinite holiness, we aren't fit to live. But by His grace, we are alive, and by His grace we get to suffer as little suffering as we get, and by His grace, our suffering is ultimately for good and not payback for our sins. So we can fight depression that may come on us with the grace of God.

How To Overcome Depression #4: Jesus suffered. It's a simple idea with profound implications. Our God, who knew no sin, who had the freedom of choice, chose to come as a human being and suffer and die for us so that we don't have to suffer eternal damnation. Not only that, the God who suffered for us also suffered with us. He understands our suffering and he sympathizes, and empathizes. Wow, give me another religion where the god does that for his people.

How To Overcome Depression #5: Have joy in your salvation. Consider what Habakkuk says in the face of imminent invasion by the cruel Babylonians:

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.

Where did he find his joy? How did Habakkuk overcome depression in this dismal situation? In the God of his salvation. Wait a minute? Isn't he about to get conquered by the Babylonians and hasn't God already said He won't keep it from happening? Habakkuk understood something about the salvation of God that had nothing to do with his physical circumstances.

We have been saved from eternal damnation. And through our suffering we are being saved from our carnal flesh through sanctification. And ultimately, we will be saved unto eternal life in the new Kingdom with our God.

Check out some of the other articles that I've written:

How To Find God's Will For Your Life

How To Find God's Will In Christian Dating And Marriage

Hope For HIV/AIDS Patients