Why do Christians suffer?
Lack of Knowledge
The main reason why Christians suffer things not intended for them to suffer is lack of knowledge. Jesus Christ went to the cross to deliver us from sickness, poverty and spiritual death. But tradition and religion have hoodwinked us into believing anything except the Word of God. Hosea 4:6 ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge’ ‘My people’ — not the world, but God’s people. Isaiah 5:13 ‘Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge’ Notice again, it is ‘My people’ — God’s people. Prov. 11:9 ... . but through knowledge shall the just be delivered,’

A story I once heard illustrates this very well.
A man bought a ticket for a boat voyage from America to England. It was quite a long journey, and the man realised after he had purchased his ticket, that he didn’t have enough money left for his meals during the trip; so he took what money he had and bought bread and cheese to eat while on board ship. When the cruise was underway, the man would pass by the dining room every mealtime and he would look through the window at the people eating and enjoying their meals. He would gaze inside and say to himself, “If I just had enough money to pay for one of those meals. I’m so tired of this bread and cheese.” And he would long for one of those ten course meals.

At the end of the journey as he was preparing to go ashore, the captain was waiting to speak to each of the passengers. As the man walked past, the captain stopped him and said, “I hope you enjoyed the journey.” The man replied that he had enjoyed it very much. “But,” enquired the captain, “there is one thing I don’t understand. Why didn’t you ever come into the dining room and eat with the rest of the people?” The man looked at the captain and said, “Ah, Captain, if you only knew how much I wanted to, but! couldn’t afford it.” The captain said, “Didn’t you know that your meals were included in the price of the ticket?”

The man didn’t know what belonged to him.
That is what the Body of Christ is like today. The main reason Christians suffer from sickness and poverty is that they lack knowledge of God’s Word in those areas. As we gain knowledge we will also gain health and prosperity. Prosperity is the ability to meet any given need at any given time through the power of God. Jesus Christ went to the cross to deliver us from sin, sickness, and spiritual death. We must know what things are guaranteed us through the Word of God. Part of our ticket when we were born again is to be free from all forms of sickness and poverty.

Not acting on the Word of God

Another reason why Christians suffer needlessly is because they do not act on the Word of God. Matthew 7:24-27 ‘Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.’

God did not send the floods — they came. The devil will send everything he can along your way. Jesus is saying if you hear His sayings and do them, when the floods come (notice He said when they come, not if they come) you will be victorious. But He also said that if you hear His sayings, and do not do them (notice you can still hear His sayings) when the floods come you will fall. The choice is yours. You can hear the Word of God and. not act on it and you will fall.

Many people when they do fall, blame God. The Bible doesn’t say that. The Word of God says that when the floods come, it is how you react in the situation that determines whether you stand or fall. James 1:22 ‘But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.’
If we want the Word of God to benefit us in our lives, we must act on what we hear. When my Granny was nearly 90, she went in to the hospital for a check up. The X-rays showed that she had water on the lung. The specialist wanted to admit her into hospital immediately. Granny looked the doctor straight in the eye, and said, “The only place I’m going is home.” Then she proceeded to tell him how Jesus Christ had died for her sins, and that she was healed by the stripes of Jesus. And Granny went home totally healed, praise God.

Don’t misunderstand me. Doctors are from God, and they are fighting the same enemy as we are. Many times I will pray for a person who is seriously ill, that the doctors will have wisdom in dealing with their case and that their hands will be guided by the Holy Spirit. It depends on the level of faith of the people involved. If a person can believe God for total healing praise God for it. But, if that is not his level of faith, God will work through doctors.

We must see that God through His Word promises us long life and good health. We can make a choice. My Granny made that choice. Instead of saying that she was old and dying and she might as well go into the hospital and lie there and see her last days, bless God, she said, “Oh, no, I choose life”. My Granny finally went to be with Jesus when she was ready to go. That’s just what Abraham did, that is how he went to be with the Lord, and Abraham’s blessings are mine, So the same choice is mine, and yours.

Opposing the Truth
The third reason why Christians suffer is because they oppose the truth. It is very important to have a teachable spirit. When God reveals a truth to you in His Word, even if it doesn’t agree with what tradition and religion have taught, be open to what God is saying. Don’t have the attitude that says, “I don’t care what the Bible says, I have been doing it this way for the last 30 years.” That type of attitude is opposing the truth. II Kings 5:9-14 ‘So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall came again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.’

When Naaman first heard the instruction from Elisha, his attitude was in opposition to the truth. He heard what the prophet said, but it wasn’t what he thought it should be, so he was prepared to leave without receiving from God. He didn’t want to line up with God’s Word. He didn’t want to line up with what God told him to do through the word of the prophet. Often, that is how we are. We don’t want to line up with God’s Word. We want it our way. God wants you to do it His way and His way is always the best way. God said through the prophet that Naaman was to wash in the Jordan seven times. If he had washed only once, or even six times, he would not have been healed. But when he dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, he was healed. I don’t know why the prophet told him that he needed to dip seven times, all I know is that when he did his skin was made like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. Had he opposed the truth, he would never have been healed. Naaman washed seven times, and he was healed.

That is how simple it is. God’s Word says it, we believe it, and that settles it.