Every time I go to the hospital for a day of tests I can’t help but reflect on the age old problem of suffering. (I won’t get Thursday’s test results for a few weeks.) Many have stumbled at the thought of a loving God who permits incredible suffering on this earth. Yet there is a loving God… and there is much suffering. Disease, famine, flood, and war bring extraordinary hardship to multitudes while hidden suffering in broken hearts and tormented minds bring no less pain.
A simplistic prosperity doctrine can leave one feeling guilty if things aren’t rosy, but the Holy Spirit is wise to give much instruction to believers about embracing suffering. As in the time the New Testament was written, many today suffer for simply wearing the name of Christ. The words of Peter are plain, “Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering as though something something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you… If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”
Can all who walk in Christ embrace such a mentality about all kinds of suffering? Most of us do not live in a land where persecution is common, yet all Christians have the same enemy. Throughout history, God has allowed difficulty (even the attacks of the evil one) to bring His children closer to Him. No one in his right mind wants to drink a bitter cup, yet we all want to grow in our trust in the One who sees and understands all things. “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.”
Matt Redman wrote a song of praise containing the mindset that pleases the Father: “Blessed be Your Name, when the sun’s shining down on me… when the world’s ‘all as it should be’, blessed be Your Name. Blessed be Your Name, on the road marked with suffering… though there’s pain in the offering, blessed be Your Name.”
Jesus told us we each would have a cross to bear. Jesus told us we would have trouble in this world. Jesus dreaded His cup and prayed it could pass, yet He trusted His Father and with “the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame.” Paul understood that when he suffered, he participated in what was “lacking in Christ’s afflictions.” Perhaps that’s why he longed to know “the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings.”
I don’t grasp this mystery, but we all know hardship can produce good as we trust the Lord. So let us encourage one another in faith. In humility, let us pray for one another and bear one another’s burdens. Let us keep our eyes on Jesus,”the Author and Perfecter of our faith.” And let us follow His example.
“To this end you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ When they hurled insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” I Peter 2:21-23