Sin and rebellion began in heaven in the heart of an ambitious, scheming angel leader who became known as the devil. Through his efforts to deceive, they infected the earth—both people and nature.

Not long after Creation, the first humans chose to disobey God under the devil’s temptations. Sin is choosing to focus on
ourselves and what we want. This leads us to break God’s law of love, which focuses on serving God and others. Ultimately,
sin leads to suffering since it brings us under the devil’s hate-filled influence.

Between this and our own mistakes and bad choices, it’s no wonder that life is very hard for Earth’s inhabitants. Innocent people may suffer because of the general state of our world now. God is not to blame for it. But there are some other questions to answer.

Having free choice is what makes us moral beings in God’s image. Love is a choice! God has given us the possibility of choosing to love and obey Him or choosing not to. He will never force us to choose Him, and He will not overrule our choices, either.

The woman in the first verse was bent over and could not straighten up because of “an infirmity.” Jesus healed her on the Sabbath day and was grieved that the religious leaders saw that as a sin. The devil is the one seeking to harm us, not God. Our sins may have painful consequences, but God gave His Son to take the punishment for them.

During His life and death, Jesus bore more suffering than we ever will. He understands from experience what we’re going through when hard times strike us. The Father suffered too. He felt everything Jesus felt and endured the suffering of giving His Son to take the punishment for our sins. The Father and Son also carry us through our personal trials and suffering—sometimes by sending others to help us. We are never alone in our struggles.

The “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22–23) is the fruit of righteousness. It includes love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patient endurance), gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith, and self-control. Often, we learn these things more deeply in hard times, and later we realize how the trials benefited us.

No matter how bad things are, there’s always something we can thank God for. Doing this reminds us of His love and lifts our spirits. Some people even thank God for the trial itself because of the good God can bring out of it.

It’s a double blessing to share comfort with others when we’re in hard times. It passes on the help we’ve received from God, and it takes our minds off our situation and onto the needs of others. Joni found this too.

It’s very comforting to remember that one day, it will all be over!