God does not wave a magic wand over our troubles. Christians are not exempt from the suffering of the world in general. The plagues of history also hit Christians; we can sicken and die like the rest. Some have taught a false god that will never let the righteous suffer; that myth has caused many to reject the god who will not wave his magic wand. The God revealed in Jesus is the God who enters suffering, death and the tomb and brings us out on the other side in a new form, transformed! He suffered to show us how to suffer; He died to show us how to die. He taught us that death does not have the last word. He gives us something better than magic; He gives us grace to overcome.
“And they have defeated *him (*satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.” Revelation 12:11 (NLT)
