Genesis 3:14-19  King James Version (KJV)

14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

     Eariler today I was talking to a friend who was a former customer many many years ago.  She had suffered from anxiety for some time finally to discover her thyroid level was way too high.  She made the statement of how she had suffered needlessly all this time.  I pointed out that although we don’t always understand the reason, there is a reason for our suffering.

     God didn’t have to allow Satan to tempt us, didn’t have to create a plan for our salvation, didn’t have to allow us to have free will, but without free will, real love wouldn’t be possible.

     We suffer, and Jesus most of all, for the sake of love.