You will call, I will answer

“I hear a lot of people talk about suffering in two ways. Suffering is the discipline of a loving Father — or suffering exists solely so that God can be glorified as He removes it. Both imply some kind of blame on the part of the one who is suffering. If suffering is discipline, then I must have done something wrong to deserve discipline. If suffering exists so that God can remove it, then why has He not removed it? I must not be praying in the right way.

“I do not think that my suffering is God’s discipline. It’s not that I am under the illusion that I deserve better than life has given me. I do not believe that. I have never believed that. But I don’t believe the discipline story is consistent with a God who is eager to bless.”