Threads of Suffering
Our suffering is never in vain.
“Out of my pain, I see others’ pain. And because I’ve tasted freedom, I crave others’ freedom. Out of our pain, we heal. Out of our bondage, we’re set free.”
We are pretty arrogant people by nature, in that we aren’t typically sensitive to the world falling apart around us. That’s the way we're built. We often don’t feel like we need anybody or anything until something comes crashing down. In those moments, something about us becomes more tender. We recognize our need for God and other people to take the suffering away.
As a young college student, I walked through a lot of difficulties. And then, I didn't. I remember noticing that I didn't crave God the way I had when I was walking through difficult times. I didn't notice other people's pain as much when I wasn't in pain. Now, that's not to say we can’t crave God or notice others’ pain in the good times of life.
We should all seek to live unselfish lives that mourn with those who mourn and move towards people who are hurting. We need God and other people, and yet, we hate being needy. However, that storyline of being needy is not so bad. It’s the way we were designed to best function.
In our weakness, we are strong.
It’s a gift that we need God and other people.
It is not a detour in our story. It is actually the story.
We're all going to fall off and cause harm to ourselves, whether it’s through sin, our decisions, selfishness, broken relationships, or conflict.
We're going to come across moments that we can't avoid because there are weaknesses in our lives that we just can't miss. This is the story of life, not some cosmic joke. We live in a fallen world and in fallen bodies that we still struggle with, even if we're saved. We're still struggling against our flesh and against the prince of the world who hates us and is trying to derail us.
So, what does that mean, and what is the good in that?
The suffering and difficult parts we wish we could skip over are what make our story. That is the part that God is going to use. Compost makes the most fertile soil, and the same is true for our lives.
Things grow out of what feels like the messiest parts of our lives.
If you have a messy life, you've probably discredited your life as something that’s not usable by God. But the Bible is filled with people living absolutely difficult lives. Most of the figures of the Old Testament, such as Abraham, David, and Noah, made huge mistakes and faced a lot of difficulty in their lives.
See, God is not afraid to take us into the desert.
In fact, He wasn't afraid to go into the desert. Jesus chose to go into the desert at the beginning of His ministry. There's something about the desert that refines our lives. It causes our lives to be more purified and holier.
You’ll realize when you get to heaven that the suffering parts of our lives were worth it. We want the dark parts of our lives to mean something. We want it all to matter, and it does.
The very things we're afraid of, the darkest parts, and the things we think have disqualified us are supposed to serve other people and facilitate the good we're going to bring into the world.
It’s easy to doubt that the darkest parts of your story could have any positive impact, especially when you’re in the thick of it. If you are in the middle of that dark period, do not even ask yourself these questions. Allow yourself to heal. Sometimes we move too quickly to make our suffering mean something. But when we are in the middle of suffering, God just wants us to be on His lap.
God wants to heal us. He is not asking you to go evangelize the world with your difficulty while you're bleeding out on the table. He wants you to get to a place where it’s no longer terrifying to bring those darkest parts of your story to other people. It will always be scary, but you’ll know the difference.
When you're in the middle of it, it feels so difficult to talk about. But there will come a time when that wound heals and leaves a scar. Then it won’t hurt anymore. You may get a little embarrassed about that scar and feel less compelled to show it to everybody just yet, but you’re going to.
Romans 5: 2-5 NIV – “We boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we[b] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
I think about heaven a lot, and that helps with suffering and disappointment. We've been walking through a significant disappointment that has affected almost every part of our life, and it's been okay. One of the reasons it's been okay is because when we got to this difficulty, we could appreciate the fact that we and the kids are all alive. So, we’re okay.
Thinking of heaven in these dark times gives you a new perspective. You realize that you’re okay, even if the worst thing happens because of the hope of heaven. The world needs to know, now more than ever, that everything will be alright one day.
Four Reasons God Allow Suffering
Jesus is best known through suffering.
We grow up and get stronger.
It makes us hurt and long for heaven. The more we want heaven, the more dangerous we get on Earth. And the more heaven gets real to us, the less this life has to work out just right.
Our lives leave a mark.
I often trust the people who have walked through the valley, come back out of it, and saw the goodness of God. Suffering finds me regularly, and I'm glad most days because I want to be someone who believes in and trusts God. I'm not sure I would be that person otherwise.
We pray to and worship a God who’s the greatest superhero of all time. He died and rose from the grave. This is the story we are part of. And because of God's story, our story makes sense, and it matters. Our story means something.
If you're still looking at your moments and can't make sense of them yet, I want you not to just look at the heart. Ask yourself, why was it hard? You may have lost a loved one, and your reasons for the hardships arising from that will differ from those of another person.
I want you to understand that part of the reason your hardship was hard is relatable to other people. This is how we use our suffering to help others find themselves in our stories. When we don’t let our suffering consume us, we can give hope to others who may be in the same situation. That is exactly what the world needs right now. It's something that the world is craving, and we get to give that.
MADE FOR THIS PODCAST
If you liked this content, you’ll love this season of the Made For This Podcast where we’ve been going through Jennie’s book Restless. Available anywhere books are sold!
