You’re Suffering—A Different Look
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” James 1:2
Suffer Well
Suffering is a grace, so why does “suffering grace” sound like such an oxymoron?
Recently, I heard someone tell a group of women that God does not call us to suffer, but this simply is not true. Do I need to dive into the latter life of Paul? Do I need to give a rundown of the life of Job? Suffering is experienced by the men and women of God all throughout Scripture – suffering that is not the direct result of his or her own sin, that is.
Verses 8 and 9 of Isaiah 55 tell us that God’s ways and God’s thoughts are higher than ours. His justice and fairness are so much higher than ours. His mercy and grace cannot be grasped. Every single breath that He allows us to take is a grace. Him allowing us to live and experience His common grace is more than we deserve. Understanding our place in relation to God and in relation to His sovereign plan is foundational to forming our belief about suffering and its necessary place in our lives, so let us start there.
Romans 9:21 says, “Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?” Paul is challenging the entire foundation of their thinking. Similarly, our presuppositions also cause us to think that we are owed something from the beginning, that we are entitled to a certain standard of treatment. Immediately before this question, in verse 20, Paul asks, “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?” He quotes Isaiah 29:16 and 45:9 by asking, “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” To understand the role of suffering in our lives and its purpose in our sanctification, we must first challenge our presuppositions and bias.
The Creator may create His creation however He wills. He does not need our permission or approval. Yes, He provides us with many graces and, all of creation, with common graces, but if we deserved any of it, it would not be grace. Yes, He loves us and provides these graces in accordance with His love, but our measure of love is perverted by our presuppositions. Additionally, these graces and His love do not negate the fact that He does not have to consult us before acting.
Understanding Suffering
Suffering is not an injustice against us. Suffering is a grace that allows us to learn more, grow more, and become more like Him. When we view suffering as a trial, in light of James 1:2, we realize that suffering is not meant for us to feel defeated, depressed, and denied of some right. Suffering is meant for a higher purpose, to produce steadfastness.
If that is not enough, Paul stated earlier in Romans 5:3-5, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” In this instance, we see that not only does suffering produce perseverance, but suffering has a purpose on a much larger, long-term scale, to produce character and hope, to demonstrate God’s love pouring out on us, to remind us of the presence and the role of the Holy Spirit in our suffering and, ultimately, our sanctification.
Let’s look at Paul’s take on his suffering, i.e. his thorn in the flesh:
“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
It appears that Paul was on one of those spiritual highs. He had just seen surpassingly great revelations. Despite this, he still experienced his thorn, whatever it was. This is crucial to our full understanding of this passage. It did not matter that Paul was in fellowship with God. Whether he had been reading Scripture so many times per day or talking to God at designated times, Paul still experienced suffering. Suffering is not always a direct result from our sin or lack of fellowship with God. We do not need to immediately worry that we have displeased God or that we have lost or lack salvation because we are suffering. Paul even specifies that this suffering, for him, was “to keep [Him] from becoming conceited.”
From there, we see that Paul continues to talk to God through the suffering. He pleads with God to remove his thorn. It is normal for us to desire not to suffer. Even with Paul’s understanding that the suffering was for a purpose, he still did not desire to endure it.
But God, right? Even in the suffering, even in Paul’s fleshly desire, even in his pleading… God responds. “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” This is clear. Suffering grace is evidenced in the resulting testimony of your suffering. Look at Paul’s life. How could Paul continue to serve and minister in the middle of physical suffering and imprisonment? He could only do this through Christ, and Christ was better glorified through this suffering. Imagine the significance of Paul’s testimony because of His suffering.
“The ground is much more fertile in the valley.” It’s not Scripture, but it is a saying I have heard from many that proves to be true both literally and metaphorically. Are we not much quicker to seek His help when we are in need than we are to praise His name when times are good? Lessons are better taught, learned, and deeply instilled in tough times. Looking back at my own life, the moments of my most significant growth and sanctification were amid my own sufferings, while enduring my own personal thorns in the flesh. Imagine the weight of my own testimony because of my suffering.
I know that sometimes we experience suffering because of our sin, in that we have done something wrong that has placed us into a less-than-desirable circumstance. While I do acknowledge this kind of suffering and that God can and will use it for His glory, this is not the suffering I am referring to.
Consider the exact opposite situation. Remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. King Nebuchadnezzar issued his decree that all, at the sound of music, should fall down and worship his image of gold. The king codified both the order and the sentencing when he issued this decree – bow down and worship or be thrown into a blazing furnace (Daniel 3:5-6). The three young men knew their fate if they disobeyed the king’s order. They knew there would be suffering in the form of a blazing furnace. In this instance, the men faced (potential) suffering because they made the right choice.
I say potential because, of course, God did save them from suffering. Not even a hair of their heads was singed, and there was no smell of fire on them (Daniel 3:27); however, Daniel 3:17-18 solidifies how our mindset should be when faced with suffering:
“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Think about it. How much differently would we endure all types of suffering, of trials, of even temptations, if we approached it with this mindset? “Hey, my God is bigger than the pain I am about to endure. He is definitely going to get me through it, but even if that deliverance does not happen how others think it will, He is still bigger. He is still good. I will still happily endure the suffering, even if it leads to the demise of this temporary body.” What if we put ourselves into situations knowing that it could bring personal suffering in whatever form, be it as small as having to stray from our routine or be uncomfortable, in order to proclaim His glory and establish a witness before others? What if we proclaimed joy in the midst of our trials rather than weariness? Be still for a moment and seriously imagine the gravity of our testimonies if we endured with joy rather than complaints, if we stated with confidence that God is able to stop the suffering, but if He does not stop it, it does not negate His sovereignty.
A Final Consideration
Let us look back to the very beginning.
How do we view the fall of man set forth in Genesis 3? We probably do not consider this to be another grace, but allow me to challenge your perspective one more time. Adam and Eve knew no evil, so I like to cut them a little slack for eating the fruit. How could they have truly understood what God said? How could they really know the eternal impact that would result from their decision? Did they even understand what the difference between good and evil is or what death was like?
What about you?
Do you understand how others feel when they tell you about something they have been through, without having gone through it yourself, even when they use the most descriptive of language to describe it? Only to an extent, right? Only as they describe it. But, after you have experienced it yourself, it weighs much heavier. For example, after having my son, I gained a new sympathy for mothers that I did not truly understand before. I thought that I knew what it would be like, but I did not know.
When Adam and Eve took their bites, their eyes were opened. They now understood both good and evil. Although this is not necessarily suffering, this can still explain why God would allow sin, suffering, or other bad things to occur. How could we fully understand the goodness, sweetness, and love of God without experiencing the opposite? Having experienced suffering in the ways that God has allowed me to has made me love God more.
I only understand the enormity and the beauty of the mountaintop when I have been to the valley.
Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” In the middle of our suffering, He is the same. We can praise God in any and every circumstance, and we should. When we are in the middle of the storm, we can fix our eyes on Him, remembering that our suffering is for a purpose – remembering the persisting goodness of God.
