“…Burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life” -2 Corinthians 1:8
Many people think suffering is unbiblical. We tend to think that spiritual maturity somehow makes us immune from pain and suffering. The more spiritually mature we are, the less emotional pain we experience when we suffer.
I can picture the Apostle Paul having us sit down to talk with us. Few people were considered more spiritually mature than Paul. Paul did not glide through suffering on some spiritual cloud of invulnerability or invincibility. In the Bible, we read of Paul’s candid descriptions of his personal experiences tell of his suffering.
Paul felt his suffering was far beyond his ability to endure. He responded to his suffering by despairing life itself. His external suffering was so traumatic that he felt he received a sentence of death. He repeatedly pleaded with God to take away his suffering.
In case Paul is not enough of an example of the emotional turmoil in the midst of suffering, Jesus endured soul suffering in Gethsemane. Matthew 26:37 and John 13:37 tells us He was sorrowful and troubled, overwhelmed to the point of death. So much so that He sweat drops of blood.
Jesus told us pain and suffering would be part of our lives. But He doesn’t simply say we will have trials and sorrow and then leave us to figure it out. He promises peace and reminds us that our tough times aren’t without purpose.
While it’s true sometimes our youth times are caused by our own bad choices. God can still work all things together for those who believe in Him.
Paul was a man who underwent beatings, shipwrecks, and multiple imprisonments, but he recognized something that is essential for us to remember as believers -our pain is not meaningless but has a purpose. Not in some situations but in all things.
Our suffering never concludes without God’s power working through it supernaturally.
Nothing can prepare us for the disappointment in life, especially when we feel God has let us down. Through every season of suffering God is there to help us through the pain and helps us grow through every trial to mature us and become stronger with Him.
Bring your pain to God don’t run from Him. When we run from Him, all we are left with is our limited ability to cope with what we are walking through. God invites us to draw near to Him so we can experience His peace, healing, and closeness.
God never instructs us to suppress our pain but shows us where to direct it. When we bring our pain to God we are able to recognize that there is a purpose and time for everything. The One who loves us unconditionally will reveal His divine purpose through it.
When we fill our lives with God and surround ourselves with people who speak hope and encouragement into our lives our experiences become healthier.
But, when we fill our minds with wrong thoughts “God is maf at me, God is not good, worse things are going to happen.” we will continue to struggle to experience the peace of God that He promises.
Something powerful happens when we actively choose to worship through our suffering. We are not denying reality, we are simply redirecting our focus from worrying to to worship.
Worship changes our perspective to where our confidence and hope reside. Worship redirects our thinking, and puts the results in God’s hands.
I believe this is why Paul and Silas could praise God when they were chained in prison. God used their imprisonment for the spread of the gospel which ultimately resulted in the New Testament church on the continent of Europe.
Our biggest sorrows cam result in our greatest joy.
When I think about Jesus’s greatest sorrow -suffering the shame, punishment, and death for our sins, the result becomes a great joy. The redemption of humanity and the opportunity for a relationship with the living God.
Jesus willingly suffered the greatest pain because He knew it would end in the greatest joy. He said in Matthew 28:20 “Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age, Amen.”
“I am leaving you with a gift -peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give” -John 14:27
From Pity to Praise 