In Our Suffering

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.”—James 5:13

Suffering is a result of the fall. We all suffer, inevitably. Suffering is a reminder that this world is fallen and it’s not our home. Many suffer because of their faith, but that is not the only kind of suffering there is. Whether it’s through national disasters such as the earthquake in Haiti or the tsunami in Thailand, people suffer. Whether it’s the result of choices made by sinful men and women involved with the Holocaust, the Rwandan Genocide, or the War in Darfur, people suffer. Personal evils such as rape, abortion, violence and murder cause people to suffer. Some have suffered watching loved ones die, while others are dealing with these fallen and failing tents we call bodies through countless sicknesses and injustices such as starvation, exploitation, AIDS and various kinds of cancer. In addition, many suffer quietly in loneliness, grief or the pain of watching sin destroy a loved one. We suffer, and until Christ comes or we go to heaven, we will continue to suffer. The question is not: will we suffer? But when? And when we do suffer, how do we respond?

James understood our dilemma and answered it succinctly: pray. When we suffer, pray. Why? Because pain is a reminder that this world is not our home. We pray that we might have the strength to bear up in the midst of our suffering. We pray to unload the burdens that we are carrying. We pray that we might be lifted above our circumstances to receive God’s perspective. We pray and continue to pray that we might be made more like Christ (Philippians 3:10). We pray that God would intervene. We pray that He might see our suffering and take notice. We pray that God will show Himself to be God in our lives and in our specific situations. We don’t pray simply to pray, but to call out to God who sees us in the midst of our trials, who knows us intimately, who hurts with us as we struggle. And we take by faith that He is going to help us in our time of need. We don’t know how, but we know He will. So we pray and we keep praying. We pray until Jesus takes it away or takes us home. And we know that as we do, we are being conformed to His image (Romans 8:29).

As we suffer, may we pray with the Apostle Paul,  

“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”—2 Corinthians 1:3-4. 

Amen.