Category: Suffering

Posted on

The Beauty of Suffering

Dear sister,

I wish you were there so we could have sat together, but this day I sat alone, on the edge of my bed with my head in my hands, crying…again. It was years ago, but I didn’t understand why God had placed me in that difficult situation. It was a set of circumstances that seemed impossible, and joy and thanks even harder. I felt bitterness beginning to set in, and at some points in that journey, I didn’t really care. I know you also have suffered deeply in this fallen world…and perhaps asked ‘why me, God?’ You are not alone. The Bible tells us we will face trials and tribulations in this world, and not to be surprised because of this (1 Peter 4:12). But often a sense of injustice rises up in us….’what did I do to deserve this, you might ask?’ Oh sister, do not give in to that lie. You are not being punished. (And what we truly deserve is far worse than any trial.) There are redemptive reasons for suffering. Stay with me, and find hope in God’s Word.

As hard as it may be to hear right now, all suffering is ultimately for the glory of God. I struggle with this one, as perhaps you might too, but I believe it is the best place for us to start. How can a bloody war, a sexually abused woman, an angry boss, and a wayward husband bring glory to God, you wonder? In many ways they don’t. Sin separates us from God; it never glorifies Him. The key point, however, is what God does to redeem and restore all things, and use them for great purposes in His kingdom. You may not have travelled long enough in your journey with a current struggle to see any way that God could use your pain for good, but we must cling to God’s Word, and believe that He can do this (Romans 8:28). May I remind you also, dear sister, of Lazarus’ story? ”When Jesus heard it [that Lazarus was very sick], He said, “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Dear sister, may I remind you that suffering gives us the unique chance to comfort others? Read with me in 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” Please do not give up in your discouragement, my sister, God wants to use your pain and trials to comfort others in the family of God. Pray that He will do so, and keep your heart open to this possibility. Do not give in to bitterness, as I was tempted to do, in my deep pain. I know you have the faith to hang on, and even more, you have a great God that will see you through.

Oh sister, take heart, as I will end with the most beautiful redemptive purpose of all: suffering will deepen your intimacy with and faith in Christ. Our Father loves us so deeply, and longs for us to be intimately united in faith to our Bridegroom, His beloved Son Christ Jesus. Lean into this trial you face, do not run from it, and allow the Lord to whisper His promises over your weary heart and soul. Ask for His grace, for it is all-sufficient grace! Remember please, what our brother, Paul said concerning the fellowship found in suffering with Christ…(Romans 8:17 and Philippians 3:10)

My prayer for you, for me, is that we would embrace each trial as a gift of grace from the Lord. “Everything is needful that He sends; nothing can be needful that He withholds.” (John Newton)

In Christian love, your sister–Ruth

Posted on

It’s Just Not Fair

My Dearest Sister,

​”Life isn’t fair.”

​I can’t tell you how many times I heard that phrase said to me when I was growing up. From parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, teachers, you name it. Any time I complained because another kid seemed to have it better than me, any time I got angry because I had to do some boring chore that no one else possibly had to do, and any time I uttered the words “It’s not fair!”, that phrase seemed to be the appropriate response. And as hard of a pill as that is for an eight-year-old to swallow, it’s true. Life really is not fair sometimes. The worst part is, it can be more unfair to some than it is to others. Sure, we will all have suffering and pain, Jesus promised us that (John 16:33). But we each suffer in different ways at different times in our lives. Sometimes we suffer in ways we deserve; We call those consequences. Other times though, we suffer in ways that are so wrongful and unjust that we can’t help but ask the question “Lord… Why?”

​The topic of suffering has weighed heavy on my heart this past week. You see, last week an Army wife friend of mine lost her dear husband, a hero and defender of our nation’s freedom. His helicopter was shot down on his first deployment to Afghanistan, just a few short months after graduating flight school. Today, she will stand alongside their family and friends and bury her beloved; today, she will have to say goodbye. And then somehow she will have to continue on in this life. She is now the widow of a fallen soldier and a single mother of two young boys. Her sons will have to grow up without ever really knowing their earthly father; never waving goodbye to him on their first day of school, never playing catch with him in the yard, never being taught by him how to shave; the youngest, who is only eight months old, will never even get to smile up at him with pride as he takes his first steps or says his first words. Though his memory will live on in those who loved him, he has gone to be with Jesus, even if it does seem too soon. It is at times like these that I can only ask, “Lord, why?” Why would God allow so much suffering to come upon this sweet and faithful little family? It just isn’t fair.

​I have heard many people say that if God really loved us, He wouldn’t allow suffering and pain to come upon innocent and undeserving people. Maybe you have encountered someone in your life that thinks this way. This concept of wrongful suffering is such a stumbling block to them that they want nothing to do with God whatsoever, believing Him to be this big bully in the sky who just stands by and lets bad things happen to us, who just watches us stumble and fall. Oh, sister, how misled they are! The truth about suffering is that it is just yet another symptom of the disease of sin in this fallen world. Ever since Adam and Eve were banished from the garden, sorrow and hardships have been a regular part of life. All over the world people suffer wrongfully, on a daily basis: Women are beaten. Girls are sold as sex slaves. Children starve. Young husbands and fathers die. This suffering is not always deserved or fair and some will experience more than others, but it is there because of man’s sin, not for a lack of God’s love.

​Quite the opposite in fact, for His love provides a treatment for suffering. The Bible says that the Lord tends to the brokenhearted and sorrowful (Psalm 34:18), healing deep wounds that no one else can even touch. Our Mighty Father gives power to the weak, to those who cannot stand in their own strength (Isaiah 40:29). He comforts us in our tribulation so that we may in turn comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). We may not always understand why some endure such wrongful suffering in their life, but the love of Christ that has been freely given to us surpasses all of our understanding (Ephesians 3:19). He is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, and oh, how He loves us and wants to make us whole! All we have to do is reach out our arms and let Him lift us up out of our sorrow.

​Just as God’s comfort is the treatment for suffering here on earth, Christ’s return is the complete cure. In Revelation 21:4, God promises of a time where suffering will be a thing of the past: “’And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’ Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’” Yes dear friend, we will suffer in this world, that much is true; but praise the Lord it is only temporary! There is coming a day when this bitterness will pass away and all things will be new in Christ. My friend will see her husband again, not in this wretched world where suffering abounds, but in a place where we will worship the Risen King in all His glory. No more heartache. No more pain. God himself will wipe away our tears as He welcomes us into His new kingdom. Take heart my sister, for this is our promise and our hope in Him, both now and forevermore!

​Your hopeful sister in Christ,
Lauren
​

Posted on

Suffering?

My dear sister,

We would never admit it.  We would never admit that sometimes as believers we think we should not suffer.  We think since the Lord, in His mercy, has chosen to open our eyes to the truth of the gospel, the rest of life should be easy, or at least endurable.  God would never allow “bad things” to happen to His chosen children.  And yet suffering comes.

Suffering comes when we least expect it and in ways we are not prepared…otherwise it is not suffering: the loss of a loved one after a battle with an illness or a “random” accident; losing a job because you confessed Christ; or being put in prison for the sake of the gospel in a land where the church hides underground.  I find in my life, it is never the major suffering that really catches me off guard, it is the tiny pebbles that grind my heart to cry to the Lord and ask why!  Why can’t the Lord see that I have had enough, endured enough, trusted enough, and I need the pain to stop!  Even death seems like a respite at some point.

Sister we are not alone in our thinking.  David cries throughout the Psalms with a screaming heart to the Lord to end his suffering, to save his child, and to stop the death screams of his kingdom.  Paul prays to the Lord to end his own thorn in the flesh.  And Jesus sweats blood as He prays in the garden that His Father would take the cup of suffering away from Him.  Why Lord?  Why do your people bear this pain?

The pain comes from the curse of Adam.  When sin entered the world, we no longer were able to experience life apart from pain (Romans 8:20-23a). Yet despite the fact that the world is accursed, we know God is in control of all suffering (Is. 45:7; Amos 3:6; Lam 3:37-38; Eph 1:11; Pro 16:9; 19:21; Matt 10:29; Pro 21:1).  In fact, God promised a Deliverer to break the curse forever and to give the hope of eternal life with no suffering!  Along with this expectant hope, we are also promised that the Lord is with us IN the suffering as well.  He does not leave us to bear the pain alone.  Psalm 23 speaks of how the Lord is with us in the shadow of death and Romans 8:38-39 says that nothing can separate or remove us from the love of God.  What a comfort to know that as believers in Christ, the God of the universe is not surprised by our suffering, He knows our suffering and understands it, is with us through our suffering, and gives us hope of a life without suffering!  Praise Him!

So why do we get suffering at all?  Why not just have us know about it without experiencing it?  Oh sister, how can we know the comfort of Christ without going through suffering?  How can we understand the sweetness of the cross without going there ourselves?  How can we become more like Christ unless we suffer (2 Cor. 4:16-18)?  How can we truly know God in Christ without suffering (Phil. 3:10)?  Can we really trust that the Lord is who He says He is without suffering?  Don’t we create our dearest friends by enduring a trial with them?  Don’t we find out what our heart truly desires when we suffer?  Do we want comfort?  Do we want family?  Do we want our way?  Do we want our schedule?  Do we want control?

Suffering is never easy.  Suffering makes us holy.  Suffering acquaints us with our Lord and drives us to Him.  And that is just where we need to be.

Your sister,

Colleen