Spurgeon's Complaint To God

The great Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, of nineteenth century London, suffered from several infirmities that caused him pain, such as his recurring gout. But, though he sometimes wrote of it, he never overly complained. He did struggle in prayer with God about "why is this happening Lord?" and "Lord, why do you not heal me of this? If my child suffered in such pain and I could heal him, I surely would." "How is this working together for my good?" Well, he is not alone for others, including myself, have also wrestled with God in prayer. Have you? 

Here is what Spurgeon wrote about one of his times of wrestling with God in prayer (emphasis mine):

"A few months later he described in a sermon one experience during this period of affliction: 

“When I was racked some months ago with pain, to an extreme degree, so that I could no longer bear it without crying out, I asked all to go from the room, and leave me alone; and then I had nothing I could say to God but this, ‘Thou art my Father, and I am thy child; and thou, as a Father, art tender and full of mercy. I could not bear to see my child suffer as thou makest me suffer, and if I saw him tormented as I am now, I would do what I could to help him, and put my arms under him to sustain him. Wilt thou hide thy face from me, my Father? Wilt thou still lay on a heavy hand, and not give me a smile from thy countenance?’ . . . so I pleaded, and I ventured to say, when I was quiet, and they came back who watched me: ‘I shall never have such pain again from this moment, for God has heard my prayer.’ I bless God that ease came and the racking pain never returned.” 

He regularly referred to this incident, although it is impossible to determine whether his gout was never as excruciating as it was during that episode." (as cited here)

Such times are these bring us into the same situation in which Job found himself, though often of less degree of suffering as he. He wondered why God was allowing such bad things to happen to him. That is when "the Satan" whispers to us "see, God does not care about you." But, if our faith is rooted and grounded in Christ, we will also say as Job "though he slay me yet will I trust him." (Job 13: 15) He continues to trust God even though he does not do things that we think he should do for us. It calls for both faith and patience, the kind we see in Job. We do not always know the reason why. But, we will "understand it better by and by" when we reach the land of perfect day.