No Pain, No Gain

What is the point of Trials and Tribulation? Why is there misery and hardship in this world? Why all the pain and suffering?

All of us have at one point or the other experienced pain; let it be a burn, broken bone, migraine, or wound. Sure it is nothing compared to what some people go through in this world like tsunami or earthquake survivors, people living in slums, or living with HIV; but its pain nonetheless.

So what is the point?
Just a little shove to wake us up from our perpetual slumber. To bring back to us the fact that we are not here in this world forever. That one day we will leave and where we go from here depends on what we are doing while we ARE here.
Misery in the world is a reminder that there are bigger problems out there than our personal petty issues. It is to remind us that we do not exist in a vacuum, away from everyone else. We cannot, as conscientious human beings, afford to live isolated, nursing our own wounds while watching everyone else around us suffer.

The purpose of all this suffering is to remind us that we are not alone. The One who sent us here is watching over us and wants to see how we will react to what He is sending our way. Are we going to whine and cry, or be grateful that at least our broken bone is not as big of a pain as someone losing their entire family to a typhoon?

A person who has never experienced pain, can not possibly be expected to comfort the one who has; thus they miss out on the very essence of humanity: empathy. The more we suffer from pain, the more we can empathize to the suffering of others. So while a human is suffering or going through trials, he or she is in fact gaining a higher humanitarian ground.

Not only that, the more we go through trials, the more we remember our Creator. The more we remember Him, the more we get closer to Him. And what is better than having God Almighty as your close companion? Remember: The affairs of a believer are wondrous. When he is in bliss, he thanks God and that is better for him; and when he is in pain, he is patient and that is better for him (Prophet Muhammad SAW)

So next time someone asks you about the suffering in the world...make sure you tell them that it is to gain us the higher ground in the eyes of God, as well as to make us better human beings.