The Prophets’ Great Suffering — and What It Has to Do With Me

When faced with my own emotional pain, the Baha’i writings and several other holy books have helped me to learn that even the prophets and messengers of God grappled with deep questions about suffering.

They struggled with the nature of suffering and its purpose, even though they were at a spiritual station far above ours, they too felt the very human pain associated with every life.

RELATED: Baha’u’llah’s Suffering and the Birth of a New Belief

In the midst of pain and great tests and trials, for example, Baha’u’llah poured out his heart to God: “Hast Thou decreed for me, O my God, any joy after this tribulation, or any relief to succeed this affliction, or any ease to follow this trouble?” 

At some points in his life, Baha’u’llah even begged God to hasten the hour of his death: “Hasten, by Thy grace and bounty, my passing, O my Lord.”

It has helped me to understand that even the messengers of God, who had access to God’s love on a continual basis, also sometimes got tired and cried out in despair, as this 1949 letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith, explained: “We must not only be patient with others, infinitely patient!, but also with our own poor selves, remembering that even the Prophets of God sometimes got tired and cried out in despair!”

In times of tests and turmoil, this prayer from Baha’u’llah gives me some hope that my own pain might not persist:

All praise be to Thee, O my God! Thou beholdest my helplessness and poverty, and bearest witness unto my woes and trials. How long wilt Thou abandon me among Thy servants? Suffer me to ascend into Thy presence. The power of Thy might beareth me witness! Such are the tribulations with which I am encompassed that I am powerless to recount them before Thy face. Thou, alone, verily, hast through Thy knowledge reckoned them. I beseech Thee, O Thou Who art my Companion in my lowliness, to rain down upon Thy loved ones from the clouds of Thy mercy that which will cause them to be satisfied with Thy pleasure, and will enable them to turn unto Thee and to be detached from all else except Thee. Ordain, then, for them every good conceived by Thee and predestined in Thy Book. Thou art, verily, the All-Powerful …

So, I’ve wondered, how can I trust in a big God — one who sees the secrets of my heart and will eventually reward me and welcome me home? This quote seems to answer my question: “He that giveth up himself wholly to God, God shall, assuredly, be with him; and he that placeth his complete trust in God, God shall, verily, protect him from whatsoever may harm him …”

I’ve realized that God is already rewarding me every minute of every day.  The proof is in quotes like this, written by Baha’u’llah: “A dewdrop out of this ocean would, if shed upon all that are in the heavens and on the earth, suffice to enrich them with the bounty of God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.”

Every time I pray, even if God only gives me a dewdrop of an answer, my life is enriched by His bounty. I don’t have to wait — the bounties are here. I just have to look for them, recognize them, and give thanks. Then I wonder:

How Can I Have the Security of Knowing that God Is Watching Out for Me?

Learning to believe in God’s love isn’t easy, I’ve discovered. We can’t love God if we don’t love ourselves. When we’re in the prison of the material world, we’re suffering from a breakdown in relationships, leading to separation and estrangement between us and God. In my experience, God often gets our attention by calling to us from the holy writings and saying: “O Beloved of God!”

When I meditated on being beloved by God, I found myself asking these questions:

• If I am beloved by God, what more do I need to achieve, prove, or acquire?  

• If I am beloved by God, who else do I need to impress? What other ladder do I need to climb?  

• If I am beloved by God, what am I going to add to my resume that will top that?  

In his mystical book The Hidden Words, Baha’u’llah tells us that God created us in His image because He loves us:

Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty.  

Baha’u’llah also assured us that God will always be with us if we desire His friendship: “We shall always be with you; if We inhale the perfume of your fellowship, Our heart will assuredly rejoice, for naught else can satisfy Us.”  

RELATED: Human Suffering: Avoidable or Not?

So, how can I offer prayer with real faith that it will be answered? Sometimes, I’ve learned God’s answer is no, just as a loving parent doesn’t always give children what they want. At those times, I need to trust that God always knows what’s in my best interest. Abdul-Baha elaborated:

… we ask for things which the divine wisdom does not desire for us, and there is no answer to our prayer. His wisdom does not sanction what we wish. We pray, “O God! Make me wealthy!” If this prayer were universally answered, human affairs would be at a standstill. There would be none left to work in the streets, none to till the soil, none to build, none to run the trains. Therefore, it is evident that it would not be well for us if all prayers were answered. The affairs of the world would be interfered with, energies crippled and progress hindered. But whatever we ask for which is in accord with divine wisdom, God will answer. Assuredly!  

If healing is right for the patient, it will certainly be granted; but for some ailing persons, healing would only be the cause of other ills. And therefore wisdom doth not permit an affirmative answer to the prayer.

Suffering has a purpose! That gives me hope. Someone once asked Abdul-Baha, “Does the soul progress more through sorrow or through the joy in this world?” Abdu’l-Baha answered:

The mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by suffering. The more the ground is ploughed the better the seed will grow, the better the harvest will be. Just as the plough furrows the earth deeply, purifying it of weeds and thistles, so suffering and tribulation free man from the petty affairs of this worldly life until he arrives at a state of complete detachment. His attitude in this world will be that of divine happiness. Man is, so to speak, unripe: the heat of the fire of suffering will mature him. Look back to the times past and you will find that the greatest men have suffered most.

Reflecting on how big and mighty God really is gives me great comfort and reassurance that I can safely lay all my affairs in His hands at all times and under all conditions, and I am grateful!