thoughts on suffering

Good morning ,

Suffering isn’t a maybe in our Christian life. We live in a fallen world where there will be suffering. Suffering can look different for everyone. You may suffer from an illness or a job loss. You may suffer from a broken childhood or a broken relationship as an adult. You may suffer financial hardship for reasons outside your control. You may suffer from persecution for your faith. The list goes on…

I have been crying out to God to ask when my suffering over my child will end. I have received no timeline. So I turn to the Bible once more to read God’s words. 

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our suffering, knowing that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” -Romans 5: 3-4. 

Let’s define these words according to the Strongs Concordance.

Suffering (tribulations): pressure (literally or figuratively), afflicted(tion), anguish, burdened, persecution, tribulation, trouble

Endurance (patience): cheerful or hopeful endurance, constancy, patient continuance (waiting)

Character (experience): test, by implication, trustiness, proof, trial

Hope: expectation or confidence, faith

Let me be really honest, and I’m sure you can agree, I hate suffering. I want to know how I can get out of suffering as fast as possible. What can I control to make the suffering stop?

When I think about times of suffering, I think about this verse to remind myself that I will suffer in this life. There is no escaping it, but there is hope at the end of it. 

My sufferings have led me to endure hard times, trust God’s goodness, become more like Christ, and strengthen my faith. 

I think about what if I hadn’t suffered. Would my confidence in God be where it is today? The truth is no. It’s the suffering that transforms us. 

In the middle of suffering, we must stay the course. Pursue the Lord. Pursue holiness. Pursue godly wisdom. At the beginning of Romans 5:3, scripture says to rejoice in our sufferings. I want to encourage you to rejoice in the work of the Lord no matter what the circumstance.