Why does God allow suffering?

so i prayed for God to answer one of the questions because i didn't know which one to do and he answered it yesterday when i went to visit Taylor U. in chapel, reverend Dwight Knight partly answered why suffering happens:
-pain is God's indicator that something is wrong. without pain, a toothe ache could eventually kill you. Likewise, when there's pain, God is telling the world that something is wrong! It's not always Satan. Yes Satan tries to distort the purpose of the pain and tries to steal our joy while we are in pain. If he's stolen your joy in any circumstance, he's gotten you to lost your trust in God. That's why Paul suffered so much yet was such a godly, joyful, persevering man. He realized that his joy was not in this world but in heaven and that he no longer feared death- pain is god's megaphone to a deaf world.- in pain there is refinement. he came baptizing with the Spirit and with fire. The fire part, i believe (and correct me if i'm wrong), is the pain. Pain is for refinement. Something's wrong. Figure it out and fix it. Let God.C.S. Lewis said that God whispers to us in our pleasure and screams to us in our pain.
looking up that quote, i read this article. it's quite purposeful:
God Whispers in Our Pleasures and Sings Over UsC.S. Lewis said, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." (The Problem of Pain, 1940). inside me, I did not yet understand how painful life could be. I understood a child's pain, but had yet to discover a woman's pain, or a mother's pain. All of those pains laid before me as I totally trusted Jesus without question.
Many of us would never have recognized our need for God had it not been for the pain we were experiencing. It was that way for me. Even though I had accepted Jesus as my Savior as a child, and asked Him to come and liveThen, as inevitably happens, the noise of the world began to drown out the voice of God's Spirit. It grew harder and harder to hear The Spirit's voice. At first I recognized the difficulty, but without coming back to Him, each succeeding time His voice grew dimmer and dimmer.
Then, because God is a God of unlimited grace, He allowed painful circumstances to enter my life. In essence, He said, "OK, have it your way." But He did not leave me! I picture Him standing back, arms folded, brow furrowed, eyes fixed on His precious daughter to see what a mess she could make.Each time I ran to the Arms of God, He sat me on His Lap, hugged me with His Arms, and rejoiced over me with songs (Zephaniah 3:17).
The Lord your God is with you,He is might to save.He will take great delight in you,He will quiet you with His love,He will rejoice over you with singing.
There is nothing like hearing - with your spiritual ear - God rejoicing over you with singing! No emotion known to man can compare with it. I'm so thankful for the megaphone of God, followed by His singing over me. I know exactly how the prodigal son felt, and it feels good!"

Out of their poverty overflowed a rich generosity. let us excel in the gift of giving.

Hey so this is an article i read in yahoo news and was surprised at the facts in here. please feel free to give it a quick read and read what's after it.... there's hope:)"RELIGIOUS LIFE WON'T BE THE SAME AFTER DOWNTURN by RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer Rachel Zoll, Ap Religion Writer – MonSep28, 7:11pmETNEW YORK – Organized religion was already in trouble before the fall of 2008. Denominations were stagnating or shrinking, and congregations across faith groups were fretting about their finances.The Great Recession made things worse.It's further drained the financial resources of many congregations, seminaries and religious day schools. Some congregations have disappeared and schools have been closed. In areas hit hardest by the recession, worshippers have moved away to find jobs, leaving those who remain to minister to communities struggling with rising home foreclosures, unemployment and uncertainty.Religion has a long history of drawing hope out of suffering, but there's little good news emerging from the recession. Long after the economy improves, the changes made today will have a profound effect on how people practice their faith, where they turn for help in times of stress and how they pass their beliefs to their children."In 2010, I think we're going to see 10 or 15 percent of congregations saying they're in serious financial trouble," says David Roozen, a lead researcher for the Faith Communities Today multi-faith survey, which measures congregational health annually. "With around 320,000 or 350,000 congregations, that's a hell of a lot of them."The sense of community that holds together religious groups is broken when large numbers of people move to find work or if a ministry is forced to close."I'm really still in the mourning process," says Eve Fein, former head of the now-shuttered Morasha Jewish Day School in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.The school, a center of religious life for students and their parents, had been relying on a sale of some of its property to stay afloat but land values dropped, forcing Morasha to shut down in June."I don't think any of us who were in it have really recovered," Fein says. "The school was 23 years old. I raised my kids there."The news isn't uniformly bad. Communities in some areas are still moving ahead with plans for new congregations, schools and ministries, religious leaders say.And many congregations say they found a renewed sense of purpose helping their suffering neighbors. Houses of worship became centers of support for the unemployed. Some congregants increased donations. At RockHarbor church in Costa Mesa, Calif., members responded so generously to word of a budget deficit that the church ended the fiscal year with a surplus."We're all a little dumbfounded," says Bryan Wilkins, the church business director. "We were hearing lots of stories about people being laid off, struggling financially and losing homes. It's truly amazing."In the Great Depression, one of the bigger impacts was the loss of Jewish religious schools, which are key to continuing the faith from one generation to the next. Jonathan Sarna, a Brandeis University historian and author of "American Judaism," says enrollment in Jewish schools plummeted in some cities and many young Jews of that period didn't have a chance to study their religion.Today, some parents, regardless of faith, can no longer afford the thousands of dollars in tuition it costs to send a child to a religious day school. Church officials fear these parents won't re-endroll their kids if family finances improve because it might be disruptive once they've settled into a new school.Enrollment in one group of 120 Jewish community day schools is down by about 7 percent this academic year, according to Marc Kramer, executive director of RAVSAK, a network of the schools. A few schools lost as many as 30 percent of their students. Many of the hundreds of other Jewish day schools, which are affiliated with Reform, Conservative and Orthodox movements, are also in a financial crunch.Kramer says 2009-10 will be a "make or break" year for Jewish education, partly because of the additional damage to endowments and donors from Bernard Madoff's colossal fraud.Overall, U.S. Jewish groups are estimated to have lost about one-quarter of their wealth."It's going to be painful," Kramer says. "There will be some losses." The Association for Christian Schools International, which represents about 3,800 private schools, says enrollment is down nationally by nearly 5 percent. About 200 Christian schools closed or merged in the last academic year, 50 more than the year before. At least 80 members of the Association of Theological Schools, which represents graduate schools in North America, have seen their endowments drop by 20 percent or more. The National Catholic Education Association is still measuring the toll on its schools, but expects grim news from the hardest hit states, after years of declining enrollment. "Some schools that were on the brink — this whole recession has just intensified that," says Karen Ristau, president of the association. Clergy in different communities say worship attendance has increased with people seeking comfort through difficult times, although no one is predicting a nationwide religious revival. Americans for years have been moving away from belonging to a denomination and toward a general spirituality that may or may not involve regular churchgoing. The 2008 American Religious Identification Survey found more people who call themselves "nondenominational Christians" and rising numbers who say they have no religion at all. Before the stock market tanked last fall, only 19 percent of U.S. congregations described their finances as excellent, down from 31 percent in 2000, according to the 2008 Faith Communities Today poll. Because of these trends, mainline Protestants were among the most vulnerable to the downturn. Their denominations had been losing members for decades and had been dividing over how they should interpret what the Bible says on gay relationships and other issues. National churches had been relying on endowments to help with operating costs, along with the generosity of an aging membership that had been giving in amounts large enough to mostly make up for departed brethren. The meltdown destroyed that financial buffer. The Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church and other mainline denominations were forced to cut jobs and their national budgets. The damage was felt across Methodist life. As of the summer, more than half of the church's 62 U.S. regional districts, or annual conferences, reported they had budget deficits. Some sold property and buildings to continue their ministries. Two national Methodist boards cut more than 90 jobs. Fifty bishops took a voluntary pay cut. Annual conferences in hard-hit regions, such as Florida and Ohio, lost thousands of members as people moved to find work elsewhere. "Many of these groups have such large endowments that they're not going away," Roozen says. "But I think there's no question that they're going to be smaller both as organizations and in membership." Roman Catholic dioceses for years had been struggling with maintaining their aging churches, paying salaries and health insurance and funding settlements over clergy sex abuse. With the hit to investment income and a drop in donations, they are now freezing salaries, cutting ministries and staff. The Archdiocese of Detroit, at the heart of the meltdown, had a $14 million shortfall in a $42 million budget in the fiscal year that ended in June 2008. Conservative Protestant groups, known for their entrepreneurial spirit and evangelizing, were not immune. The 16.2 million-member Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant group in the country, has had budget cuts in its North American Mission Board, at least three of its six seminaries and in its publishing and research arm. Religious leaders say the next year or so will be key in determining which organizations survive the downturn intact. Even if the recession ends soon, religious fundraisers say the angst donors feel will not lift immediately, prolonging the difficulties for congregations, schools and ministries."Pasted from <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090928/ap_on_bi_ge/us_rel_meltdown_religion> 1 Timothy 6:17-19"17Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."2 Corinthians 8:1-4"1And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints."Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. Their poverty welled up to generosity. The more impverished they became the more they gave. Where our treasure is there our heart will be also. In the time of recession, let out churches not get scared. We will take this as a reminder that our joy is not in this earth. Nothing on earth can satisfy our desires so our joy remains in heaven. Solomon already tried it: he had everything he could ever want yet, he found that "Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income." "The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep." John D. Rockefeller said, "I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness." W.H. Vanderbilt: "the care of $200 million is enough to kill anyone. There is no pleasure in it." So why are we at a loss of funds in the church? Why are child support organizations losing sponsors? Out of our poverty, let it overflow in rich generosity towards others. We've got nothing on earth to lose- its all already God's and we've already got our treasure. Let us give.I pray to continually find joy in trading my earthly treasure for heavenly treasure. In our poverty, let us give recklessly as we are commanded to, trusting it will be repaid to un one day tenfold. Our hope is not in a church building but in the death and resurrection and kingdom to come. So if our building campaign funds run out or pastors start volunteering, let us rejoice in the hope that the hungry are being fed and the poor are becoming richer and that we are growing ever closer to the goal of equality. Our abundance or poverty will overflow to provide their needs. Let our giving beyond our ability be a testimony that God can provide in any circumstance. Daily bread.

Psalm 49
"5 There is no need to fear when times of trouble come, when enemies are surrounding me.
6 They trust in their wealth and boast of great riches.
7 Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paing a ransom to God.
8 Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough
9 to live forever and never see the grave.
10 Those who are wise must finally die, just like the foolish and senseless, leaving all their wealth behind.
11 The grave is their eternal home, where they will stay forever. They may name their estates after themselves, but they leave their wealth to others.
12 They will not last long despite their riches- they will die like the animals.
13 This is the fate of fools, though they will be remembered as being so wise.
14 Like sheep, they are lead to the grave, where death will be their shepherd. In the morning the godly will rule over them. Their bodies will rot in the grave, far from their grand estates.
15 But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of death.
16 So don't be dismayed when the wicked grow rich, and their homes become ever more splendid.
17 For when they die, they carry nothing with them. Their wealth will not follow them to the grave.
18 In this life they consider themselves fortunate, and the world loudly applauds their success.
19 But they will die like all others before them and never again see the light of day.
20 People who boast in their wealth don't understand that they will die like the animals."

Isaiah 59-60

Isaiah 58
True Fasting 1 "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?' "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD ?
6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness [a] will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Isaiah 59
Sin, Confession and Redemption 1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments and speak lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider's web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are evil thoughts; ruin and destruction mark their ways.
8 The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks in them will know peace.
9 So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
10 Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like men without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead.
11 We all growl like bears; we moan mournfully like doves. We look for justice, but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away.
12 For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities:
13 rebellion and treachery against the LORD, turning our backs on our God, fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
14 So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
18 According to what they have done, so will he repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes; he will repay the islands their due.
19 From the west, men will fear the name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory. For he will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the LORD drives along. [b]
20 "The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins," declares the LORD.
21 "As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever," says the LORD.
Isaiah 60
The Glory of Zion 1 "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
4 "Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm.
5 Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come.
6 Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD.
7 All Kedar's flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I will adorn my glorious temple.
8 "Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests?
9 Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, [c] bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.
10 "Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion.
11 Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations— their kings led in triumphal procession.
12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined.
13 "The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the pine, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn the place of my sanctuary; and I will glorify the place of my feet.
14 The sons of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15 "Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations.
16 You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts. Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler.
18 No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
19 The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.
21 Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.
22 The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly."
Isaiah 61
The Year of the LORD's Favor 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, [d]
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
5 Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.
8 "For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed."
10 I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.