Suffering (Romans 5: 3-5)
“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.”
We see it in the eyes of some of the people we minister to: anguish, dismay. They are tired at the onset of another day, another hour, another minute, quietly baring the tedious burden of dismal prospects. They feel isolated and alone, but they do not complain. Though they are in our midst, all around us, they suffer in personal exile having been convinced by the adversary that they are worthless, that life is meaningless. Had we not been paying attention we might have missed this. But we are paying attention, and we see them, their souls and spirits crying out in pain, and our hearts go out to them.
It would be intolerable had there not been a God who cared so much, loved so deeply, and empathized so thoroughly that he would go the entire distance to heal our wounds. He, too, suffered, taking on our humanity and experience so that he could assuredly make a way. It is he who we meet in the trials of these quiet moments. He connects us to something infinitely greater, a purpose bigger than us as mere mortals.
To see this, we need faith. We must feed our spirits on the nourishing words found in the bible. Here, we discover a story of meaning and purpose; of God’s redeeming plan of reconciliation, and for wholeness. As it turns out, we have drifted from the source of life, and we need nothing less than God’s power and compassion to bring us back. To think that there is a force so good is mind boggling. It didn’t have to be that way: but it is. God is great, and his whole creation reflects this glory. Everything that we really need is provided, right now, in this vary moment.
I said that there is purpose, and God through the bible’s authors affirm this unabashedly. Paul delineates the movement from suffering to perseverance, to character, to hope (Romans 5: 3-5). Peter insists that our trials are only there to test and form genuine faith, which ultimately brings praise (1 Peter 1: 6-7). James claims that the result of our tribulations brings maturity, a condition of lacking nothing (James 1: 3-4). We are not stagnant, to wither in unmalleable distress; pain isn’t permanent. In fact, it is the vary fulcrum of promise and hope. Rest assured, it is going somewhere good! Ultimately, it leads to perfect community, an eternal sense of wellbeing in God’s perfect presence. But what about now? We want to experience God’s goodness, here, in the land of the living (Psalm 27: 13). To this, the promise is that, if we allow, if we apply ourselves to God’s principle of love, we will discover peace and a holy contentment beyond our wildest imagination.
The cornerstone of this rests in the fact that salvation is free. It is a gift from the greatest of gift givers. It is not contingent on our successes, or even us somehow getting it right. Christ’s life, suffering, and death procured for us heaven once and for all! Believe that God loves you, that he has made a way through faith. Then take it a step further, responding to Jesus’ teaching regarding the way and the truth and the life, and put your entire weight on the promise that his revelation was intended that we might live life to the full (John 10: 10).
In suffering, we desire something more. We are brought to the vary point of application. It is up to us to see it through. Yes, heaven is free, but a sound spirit takes effort. We have life today, an existence meant for something satisfying and good. And we find that, as we work from perseverance to character to hope, something beneficial transpires: God is glorified by our witness. Remind people of this, that purpose doesn’t need to be found or made up. It lives and breathes in the bible, that for which our souls long, in God’s eternal plan of enrichment and blessings. Suffering is merely a step. Pain is temporary. And we will be better people because of it. Then we will be empathetic, a comfort to others as a result of us having been comforted. And love will reign supreme.