“Pastor, I don’t know what sin I committed that is causing the suffering in my life. Please help me ask God to forgive me?”

Why do I have to be the one to ask the Lord to forgive you? Confession is a personal thing. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. If you really believe that your suffering is a product of a sin you committed, just ask Him to forgive you.

But the fact that you’re not sure what sin you committed causes me to worry. You believe a sin must be the cause of your suffering, yet you don’t know the sin that is causing the suffering. This feels like the operation of inaccurate teachings which is now sponsored by a spirit of stronghold. I mean, the fact that you don’t know what sin you committed already means that you probably didn’t commit any sin, and that the suffering in your life may be because of something else.

Whoever taught you that problems only come to people because of sin hasn’t read the whole Bible. I know that believers tend to suffer more challenges when they invite the enemy into their lives through disobedience, but challenges come to everybody, not just to people who sinned. Let me show you a few scriptural instances:

SCRIPTURE 1:

John 9:
1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Imagine the mindset of his disciples, they must have been taught that certain challenges are a product of sin in the person’s life – and that’s why they didn’t hesitate to ask Jesus to reveal who sinned between the man and his parents. They were so sure that someone must have sinned for a man to carry such an ailment from birth. To their amazement, Jesus gave a response that would begin a new wave among those who believe. He said “Neither the man nor his parents sinned, his challenge is only an avenue for the glory of God to be made manifest in him (paraphrased).

Think about it, how else would the world know that you have God if you don’t manifest Him in your life? And how will you manifest Him if you don’t have challenges to overcome with His power? 2 Corinthians 4:17 will now make sense to you. It says, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”. The challenges we go through as we walk with God are the very things that reveal the glory of God in our life. So instead of worrying over those challenges, put yourself under pressure till you begin to produce results.

Sin doesn’t have to be the reason for your challenges, your desire to walk in obedience to God’s Word alone can attract challenges into your life.

SCRIPTURE 2:

John 11:
1 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

We all know the story of how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. As revealed in the previous scripture, it was common knowledge that anyone who got sick unto death must have been involved in sin. Anything that dies in your body was certainly because of sin. So when Jesus heard the news of Lazarus being sick, he told them that the sickness was not unto death. In other words, it wasn’t caused by sin, rather it’s another medium through which the Son of God might be glorified. Even though Lazarus eventually died, Jesus went ahead to bring him back to life.

There are loads of scriptures in the bible that reveals that challenges are absolutely normal, both for unbelievers and believers in Christ. When you do face challenges, let 1 Corinthians 10:13 encourage you. It says, “No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it”. God has made a way of escape in that challenge you are going through, you just need to find it.

I hope this has brought enlightenment to someone.

Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!

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