All of us, at times, find ourselves living through difficult moments — moments of suffering, of tears, of confusion. Moments in which a thousand questions swirl through our minds. One of the first questions we may ask ourselves is: Does God not see that I am suffering?

Psalm 94:9 says: "He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see?"

While in Psalm 139:16, it is said: "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them."

God sees that you are suffering, He sees your fear, your distress. He sees your tears, your sleepless nights, He sees the things that take peace away from your heart. You might say to me: if God sees that I am suffering but does nothing, it's because He doesn't have the power and authority to do anything.

In Psalm 115:3, it is said: "But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases."

Psalm 29:10 says: "The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood, and the LORD sits as King forever."

When the flood came and the whole world was covered with water, when all life on the face of the Earth was wiped out, God was still in control, God had the power and the authority. Things had not escaped God's notice; they had not caught Him by surprise. On the contrary, as the Bible clearly tells us, God is always in control and always does everything He wants, everything that pleases Him and everything He has planned. You might say to me: but if God sees that I am suffering and has the power and authority to intervene, to do something, but chooses not to, it's because God does not love me.

In Isaiah 43:4, it is said: "Since you were precious in My sight, you have been honored, and I have loved you; therefore I will give men for you, and people for your life."

And in Ephesians 2:4-7, it is said: "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

Here we see clearly that God loves us. Not only does God love us in word, but God loves us in deed, going so far as to give His only Son for us. We have value in God's eyes. We are important to God, but sometimes God allows us to live through difficult moments. At times God allows us to go through unpleasant situations. Let's now look at the reasons why God does this.

The first reason why God allows difficult moments in our lives is because they are a consequence of our sins, of our choices.

In Proverbs 13:6 it is said: "Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, but wickedness overthrows the sinner."

Obviously, if we choose to disobey God, to sin, we can only expect there to be consequences. And it's true that if we repent, if we abandon our sins, God forgives us. But it is not equally true that God will erase the consequences of our sin. In fact, most of the time the Lord allows us to face the consequences of our choices. If I have been drinking for twenty years, if I have been getting drunk for twenty years and now I have cirrhosis of the liver, and I repent and stop drinking, God forgives me for wasting those twenty years — He will not send me to hell for it — but that doesn't mean He will heal my cirrhosis. That doesn't mean God will erase the effects of my sin. If I have hurt people and have been arrested, and now I am in prison, it is true that if I repent, if I return to God, if I take responsibility for my actions, God forgives me. But that won't get me out of jail. The people I hurt will most likely still have negative feelings toward me. God's forgiveness is not the same as the cancellation of sin's consequences.

The second reason is that it is a correction from God.

In Revelation 3:19 it is said: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent."

And in 1 Corinthians 11:32 it is said: "But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world."

No one likes to be corrected. No one wants to pay the consequences of their own mistakes, their own errors. In fact, we often simply want our mistakes to be erased, to be forgotten. But it doesn't work that way, because if my mistake is erased and forgotten, I run the risk of repeating it again and again, continuing to live in sin. But God doesn't want us to come to judgment carrying a heavy load of sins; instead, in His goodness, He corrects us here on Earth — precisely so as not to have to condemn us along with the world, because while it is true that God is good, God is also a just God.

The third reason why God allows difficult periods in our lives is to transform us. As it is said in Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." God allows difficult moments because it is difficulty itself that shapes our character. It is hard times that form strong people. It is precisely in suffering that we seek a deeper intimacy with God, that we abandon certain wrong and self-destructive behaviors. And God will allow times of discouragement and suffering in our lives, but not with the intent to harm us, not with the intent to do us damage, but with the intent to bring us to be more like Jesus, to be mentally stronger, more mature, to have a broader knowledge of God.

The fourth reason is for testing. And this brings to mind Job. Job had not sinned against God. The Bible tells us he was a blameless man who feared God. The Lord had no reason to correct Job. Job did not need to face the consequences of sin. And yet we see that Job is put to the test and loses his wealth, loses his children, and even ends up losing his health. All of this only because the devil had asked permission to test him. And God will allow us to be tested, will allow us to be tempted, will allow us to face difficult times, precisely to demonstrate our faithfulness to God, to demonstrate that we do not serve God merely for blessing, but that we serve God because we are faithful to Him. And there is one verse I want to encourage you with.

In 1 Corinthians 10:13 it is said: "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

It is true that the Lord will allow us to be tempted, will allow us to live through moments of testing, but it is equally true that He will also give us the strength to face those moments of testing. He will be at our side in moments of trial, He will guide us and prepare a way that will allow us not to sin against Him and not to make compromises.

The fifth reason why God allows moments of difficulty in our lives is for His glory. We can read this in John 9:1-7: "Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? ' Jesus answered, 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. ' When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam' (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing."

At times God will allow situations of misfortune in our lives, will allow difficulties, will allow illnesses, financial problems, family problems, precisely because it is in those difficult moments, in those moments of discouragement, that God will show His glory, will show His power, will show His love, taking care of us in a way we could never have imagined, could never have pictured. And it is precisely in this that the goodness of God and the glory of God are revealed, and it will be a strong testimony to others and also a strong encouragement.

The sixth and final reason why God allows difficult moments in our lives is that they are simply a consequence of life itself.

In 2 Corinthians 4:16 it is said: "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day."

Whether we like it or not, the truth is that we are not called to live on this Earth for eternity. We have not been given an eternal body, a body of glory. But as we begin to age, we realize that this body, as the apostle Paul also says, is wasting away. We grow old, we lose our strength, we lose our abilities, illnesses begin to appear, perhaps infirmities as well. And God allows this precisely because we will not remain here on Earth for eternity.

Let's look at what we can do when we go through these difficult moments. The first thing we can do is to be indifferent — difficult moments are happening, but I don't take a stand, I simply let myself be carried along by them. This is somewhat like what Pharaoh did. While Pharaoh watched Egypt struck by the plagues, he was indifferent. The Bible tells us that he hardened his heart, that he ignored the word of God. He was living through difficult moments, and so was all of Egypt along with him. And yet he remained indifferent, unresponsive.

Another thing we can do is take the initiative ourselves — looking at and weighing the choices we have, the possibilities available to us, and, without consulting God, without waiting for His answer, acting however seems best to us. Saul, too, had taken the initiative. When Samuel arrived late and the people were starting to go back home, Saul said: Samuel is late, he isn't coming. The people are abandoning me. So even though I am not the priest, I will take a stand and I will offer the sacrifice to the Lord. And we know that all of this cost Saul dearly. It cost him his throne, it cost him his position, the plan God had for his life, and later it even cost him his life.

Another thing we can do is trust God. And here I don't simply mean: I trust God, so I do nothing — because that wouldn't be very different from being indifferent. Rather, it means: I respond to what God has called me to do, having faith that He will provide for me, and having faith that in these difficult moments He is at my side and will work things out for the best. And it will be then that you will see the hand of God working miracles in your life; it will be then that you will see the glory of God.