Come Close to Me: Drawing Near to God Through Suffering

The Torah tells us that our foremothers, Sara, Rivka, and Rachel were barren. (Actually, it appears from the verse that Leah was initially unable to conceive as well, until Hashem “ … opened her womb”. See Rashi, Genesis 29:31.) It is no coincidence that they all had this challenge in common. The Midrash tells us:

…Why were the foremothers barren? … Hashem desired their prayers. Hashem said, “They are wealthy, they are beautiful - if I give them children, they won’t pray to me!” (Tanchuma Toldos 9)

When things are going well, we often forget about Hashem. However, when there are bumps along the road, we call out to God for help.

Though Mr. Gold was Sabbath observant all his life, he never really felt “close” to God. He went through all the motions, doing mitzvos and avoiding sin, but the real connection was just never there.

Then, one day, Mr. Gold’s mother fell ill. Mr. Gold dutifully took care of his mother to the best of his ability. At some point, when her condition took a turn for the worse, Mr. Gold began to feel helpless.
Not knowing what else to do, he began to talk to Hashem. Slowly, his prayers became more meaningful as he pleaded with God to spare his mother’s life.
Through seeing his mother’s situation, Mr. Gold realized that life is short. No one knows when his time will come. A person must make the most of his time while he can. Mr. Gold began to attend the Rabbi’s classes and to study Torah regularly.
Certainly, Mr. Gold would never have chosen this difficulty. However, as a result of his challenge, he developed a relationship with God that he had never felt before in his life.

Suffering has the potential to bring us closer to Hashem. It reminds us to daven (pray) to Hashem. It also reminds us that Hashem alone is in charge; only He can affect our situation.
Though pain is never pleasant, it often has the byproduct of strengthening our relationship with God, which is the greatest pleasure in the world!


This is a continuation in the series on “Why Bad Things Happen To Good (and All) People”.
See also the earlier articles in this series:
Why Bad Things Happen to Good People - Why not?
The Secret to Dealing With Perceived Injustice in This World
5 Reasons That Good People Suffer (Part 2 of The Secret to Dealing with Perceived Injustice in This World)
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