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When Suffering Becomes Real

 

"God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering." -Saint Augustine 


"For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ." -2 Cor 1:5


I don't think that any of us particularly enjoy suffering. In fact, we spend most of our time trying to avoid even the least bit of it. I was reminded of this during the beginning of this Covid-19 pandemic when I saw the massive crowds rushing to the grocery store purchasing what seemed like an excessive amount of food and toilet paper. I understand that these shopping patterns were mainly driven by fear, but it made my point nonetheless. As humans we cringe at even the thought of the slightest discomfort. Even natural forces such as wind and water do this. The theory is rightly termed the path of least resistance. And this is the path that we often take, sometimes even unknowingly to us. However following Jesus will at times require us to go through suffering. The life of the Christian is not solely comprised of mountain-top experiences. In fact many times the road to that mountain requires a slow and painful walk through a dark and lonely valley. And it is our Lord's perfect will that we both enjoy rest in green and fruitful forests as well as endure dark and dry valleys. Though suffering is inevitable for the Christian, it is important to remember that our precious Lord Jesus has a purpose and perfect plan in and through our afflictions. When we consciously choose to remember this, then our suffering becomes less burdensome and we can grow to a point where like the apostle Paul said in Romans 5:3 "but we also glory in our sufferings" knowing that even they bring us one step closer to the Lord. 


God, why is this happening to me?...

One of the first things we must realize about suffering is that it is not in vain. There is a purpose to our suffering. I have come to realize that whenever I encounter suffering in my own life, my knee-jerk reaction is anger towards God mixed with complaining about my circumstances. I immediately begin to question the goodness of God or the genuineness of His promises. It's amazing to me how much we think we trust, honor, and love God until the day comes when that trust and love is tested. This is one of the main purposes of suffering in our lives: to reveal what is in our hearts and innermost being! Suffering is the great revelator of the condition of our soul. When we go through life on primrose paths, we are naturally inclined to be well-behaved. This behavior is superficial. We may appear and indeed act "godly" but this may not be a true reflection of our innermost being. The change that God wants to produce in us is first internal with external evidence. But before change occurs, we must realize our need for it. Job is a great example of this principle. Job's life was pretty much perfect in all respects. He was quite wealthy, well respected in the community, and had a large family. You might say he was living the "American Dream". As the book starts, Job is described as a man who was "blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1:1). But as we read further and he experiences extreme chaos and suffering, another story emerges. After the loss of his children, livelihood, servants, and even his very health, we see Job taking on a different tone beginning in chapter 3 where he curses the day of his birth. In Job we see how even the godliest of saints can "fall short" during seasons of affliction. No one is perfect and just as Job's trials revealed inner attitudes that God wanted to correct so it is with us. As God reveals these things to us, the process is often painful as we come to terms with our own failures and shortcomings. But please remember that all this revelation works the healing and change that God desires in us. 


Purification through fire alone.

Have you ever seen the purification process that precious metals such as gold go through? I once saw a video on YouTube on the ancient process of gold purification. A goldsmith takes the raw metal puts it into a fireproof pot then places it into a fiery oven. The goldsmith will then wait for the piece of gold to melt into a puddle knowing  that when gold takes on liquid form due to intense heat, any impurity ingrained into the metal will come to the surface. As the impurities come to the surface, the goldsmith will take the gold out the oven, remove any visible impurities, and then depending on how pure he wants the gold to be, he will either leave the metal out of the furnace and begin to mold it or repeat the process several times until he reaches the desired purity level. What I find most interesting about this process is that before placing the gold into the furnace none of its impurities were visible. Only intense heat brought the dirt and junk into the surface level so that it could be removed. Sanctification of our soul is the second great purpose of suffering. This is the process of purification that God spoke to the prophet Isaiah about. Isaiah 48:10 says, "See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction" (Is 48:10). The way that God removes impurities from our lives is oftentimes by placing us into difficult circumstances. These hard seasons are in the Bible referred to as a fiery furnace. The three Hebrew children spoken of in the book of Daniel also faced a fiery furnace. When the three men refused to worship the image that Nebuchadnezzar had created, they were unjustly thrown into a fiery furnace with the purpose of killing them for disobedience. Daniel 3:23 says, "and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace." When these men went into the furnace they were bound yet notice a few verses after in verse 25 what the king exclaims about them, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” So many times we are quick to complain about our circumstances being harsh and unfair yet it is these same trials and afflictions that God, in His mercy and wisdom, uses to remove bondages off of our lives! Notice that the chains of slavery around these men's bodies did not fall off until they were in the furnace. Likewise there are certain bad habits, attitudes, and mindsets in our lives that will only be changed or cut off through suffering. 


Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander...

The Hillsong music group has produced some of the best worship songs over the last few decades. But one of their most popular to date is titled Oceans. I love this song because it speaks about trusting God and allowing Him to take us deeper in His presence. I believe that one of the tell tale signs of a healthy Christian life is hunger for God's presence. This hunger does not actually come from us (that is, our flesh) but is in fact birthed by the Holy Spirit in us. God wants us to intensely desire Him. After all the primary reason that God sent His Son to die for us was so that we might be in relationship with Him. But how can we go deeper with God? Now we come to the third and final reason for suffering: God uses suffering to bring us closer to Him. The apostle Paul was a man well acquainted with suffering. In 2 Cor 11, he describes the multitude of trials he's had to face for preaching the Gospel. Yet the apostle says something remarkable in Phil 3:10 as to the purpose of suffering in his life. He writes, "I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death". Paul realized that it was the same sufferings that his flesh wished to avoid, that God used to bring Paul closer to Him and in being closer to Jesus the inevitable result was becoming more Christ-like. So God, being the loving father that He is, will allow us to go through temporary suffering to produce lasting Christ-likeness in us that can only come through time spent with Him. 


Take Heart, Dear Soldier

Dear Reader, we serve a loving and gentle Father who loves us more than words could express. It is never God's will for us to go through suffering simply for the sake of it. But rest assured, you tried and tested believer, your suffering is NOT in vain. It is your Heavenly Father's will that this season of temporary suffering produce in you a far greater reward. Every single Bible character that experienced deep suffering was also rightly compensated after that season ended (ie. Job, Joseph, Jesus, etc.) So do not lose heart! If you are in a season of suffering, then rest assured that God is preparing you for a season of blessing and rest. Take courage and keep going. You are precious to the Lord. "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you" (1 Peter 5:10). 





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