Suffering Well

“…and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this.” 

—1 Thessalonians 3:2-3

God has destined that we should suffer for His name. Jesus suffered. Paul suffered. The apostles suffered. And we too will suffer. Incredibly, there is a rumor going around that we are not supposed to suffer. It alleges that suffering is wrong—a result of some failure—an intrusion into the blessed reality of walking with Christ. Those who hold it insist that if there’s suffering then something is terribly wrong in your life and you are not doing your Christian life right.

The Bible is clear, there will be times of suffering. It’s inevitable. The important thing is learning how to suffer well and cultivate the presence of Christ in the midst of our suffering so that Christ might be seen in us. In order for this to happen we need to do three things: remember Jesus’ suffering, rely on the Spirit to help us in our time of suffering, and rejoice in the reward to come after we’ve suffered.

Remembering Jesus’ suffering clears away the fog of fairy tale Christianity. Jesus suffered leaving us an example to follow, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps.”—1 Peter 2:21. God the Son was “made perfect through suffering” (Hebrews 2:10)—not that He sinned and needed to be cleansed. No. He brought salvation to perfection by becoming the perfect substitute for us. He “suffered when tempted” (Hebrews 2:18) as we do, but He didn’t sin. He “learned obedience through what He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8), and never sinned. He perfectly identified with sinful humanity thus enabling Him to pay the perfect price required for our sin while purchasing our redemption.

Jesus suffered in a greater way than we can imagine, and He did it to show us the depth of His love for us and leave a pattern for us to follow. We suffer to show that we are His disciples and consider Him to be greater than any earthly comfort. We show through our suffering that this world is condemned and unworthy of our affections. Jesus is King, this world has been judged, and we are citizens of a heavenly kingdom that we longingly wait to be revealed.

Secondly, we are to rely on the Spirit of God. How do we do this? Through prayer. As James wrote, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray”—James 5:13. While in prayer something remarkable happens—God the Spirit intercedes for us,  

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”—Romans 8:26.

Relying on the Spirit continually gives us a clear perspective. The Spirit directs our attention heavenward by reminding us that this world is not our home and God has a purpose for our suffering—to make us holy and show Himself to others through our lives.

And last of all, we rejoice in the reward that awaits us just as Jesus did. He endured the cross because He knew what awaited Him—joy. Which is why the author of Hebrews told us to be, “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God”—Hebrews 12:2. Why did Jesus endure the cross? Because He knew it would result in His joy.

What about you? Are you suffering well? Can the Savior be seen in your suffering? Are you considering the joy that is before you? Is heaven your home or is your heart here? Are you looking at your suffering as a hindrance or an opportunity for holiness?

May the Lord our God strengthen us to suffer well and may the priceless treasure of Christ been seen in the painful trials and tribulations we experience so that God may receive glory and we may receive joy. Amen.