{"id":5069,"date":"2026-05-10T05:46:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T12:46:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/?p=5069"},"modified":"2026-05-07T14:52:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T21:52:17","slug":"why-suffering-exists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mikehillebrecht.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/10\/why-suffering-exists\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Suffering Exists"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The veil has many hooks to deal with.<\/p><\/div>\n

M5:Week 3: Grace Sustaining Through Trials<\/h1>\n

Day 1: Why Suffering Exists<\/h2>\n

Today’s Veil to Pierce<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You have been taught that suffering is either punishment or a test.
\nThat teaching is the veil of illusion we have called Maya at its most painful.<\/p>\n

The false self turns every ache into evidence \u2014 evidence that you are still far from God, that you are being disciplined, or that something is fundamentally wrong with you. It whispers that if you were truly awake, you would not hurt. This veil creates the illusion that suffering proves separation. In our shared contemplations, this distortion echoes the disciples in the storm crying, \u201cTeacher, do you not care that we are perishing?\u201d (Mark 4:38) \u2014 the same question the false self still asks when pain arrives.<\/p>\n

Grace does not argue with the pain.
\nIt simply refuses to let the pain tell the whole story.<\/p>\n

Grace’s Revelatory Power<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Grace reveals that suffering exists because we live in a world still dreaming the dream of separation. It is not punishment. It is not proof of abandonment. It is the natural friction that occurs when eternal Life moves through temporary forms. The cross did not eliminate suffering \u2014 it exposed its true nature: the ego\u2019s final, violent attempt to protect its illusion. Grace meets suffering not by removing it but by refusing to let it define you. As in the resurrection, grace shows that nothing \u2014 not even death \u2014 can separate you from the Love that has already claimed you.<\/p>\n

This power is steady and compassionate: it does not rush to fix the pain or spiritualize it away. It simply stands with you inside it and keeps whispering the truth the false self cannot bear: \u201cYou are not alone. You have never been alone. The Life that rose on Easter morning is still rising in you \u2014 right now, in this ache.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contemplative Depth<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Take one current suffering \u2014 physical, emotional, relational, or existential \u2014 and hold it without trying to explain it away. Feel the veil tighten: the story that says \u201cthis means something is wrong with me\u201d or \u201cGod has forgotten me.\u201d Then let grace do what it does best: nothing dramatic. Just a gentle turn of attention.<\/p>\n

You do not need to transcend the pain to find God.
\nYou only need to notice that the same Life that rolled away the stone is already breathing in the middle of the pain.<\/p>\n

The suffering is not a test.
\nIt is an invitation to stop believing the story that pain proves separation.<\/p>\n

Applying the Insight<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When suffering arises, pause before the old story takes over.
\nAsk yourself one quiet question:
\n\u201cAm I feeling this from fear, or from the Life already given?\u201d<\/p>\n

Then breathe.
\nThe answer usually changes everything.<\/p>\n

Daily Reflection Prompt<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Choose one current suffering. Sit with it for five minutes without trying to fix or explain it. Notice where the veil tightens. Then ask: What if the eternal pattern of Passover is already moving in this too? Write what arises.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

M5:Week 3: Grace Sustaining Through Trials Day 1: Why Suffering Exists Today’s Veil to Pierce You have been taught that suffering is either punishment or a test. That teaching is the veil of illusion we have called Maya at its … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amazonpipp_noncename":"","amazon-product-isactive":"","amazon-product-single-asin":"","amazon-product-content-location":"1","amazon-product-content-hook-override":"2","amazon-product-excerpt-hook-override":"3","amazon-product-singular-only":"","amazon-product-amazon-desc":"","amazon-product-show-gallery":"","amazon-product-show-features":"","amazon-product-newwindow":"3","amazon-product-show-list-price":"","amazon-product-show-used-price":"","amazon-product-show-saved-amt":"","amazon-product-timestamp":"","amazon-product-new-title":"","amazon-product-use-cartURL":"","amazon_featured_post_meta_key":"","_amazon_featured_alt":"","amazon-product-template":"default","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[26,4,6,5],"class_list":["post-5069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2026-postings","tag-ai-assist","tag-grace","tag-mike-hillebrecht","tag-teaching"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t