Connecting With Suffering

“And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not
only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering
produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope
does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by
the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (Romans 5:2-5)

In the Western church, by God’s grace, we have avoided
much of the persecution that the rest of the world has encountered.  However, in
the last century alone, there were more martyrs for the faith than in all the
centuries combined.  Every day over 400 Christians die for the faith.  In fact,
in our Western church, we should not be surprised if persecution for our faith
becomes more and more prevalent.  Jesus promised that as we approached His
second coming, persecution would increase. (Matthew 24:9)

Suffering in this world, great or small and in one form
or another, is inevitable.  It is not something like jury duty that you have to
hope will not happen to you.  You will not avoid it simply by “play your cards
right” or just “walking in the Spirit.”  Nor is it some detour to get through
quickly so you can get back to the real work of ministry.

Suffering in the Christian life is essential.  It is a
tool for transforming us into the kind of people God designed us to be.

Since God is the source of all goodness, His glory is the
source of all joy.  What God does for His own sake benefits
us.  Therefore whatever glorifies Him is good for us.  And that includes the
suffering He allows or brings (biblically, either or both terms can apply) into
our lives.

God refines us in our suffering and graciously explains
why, “See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in
the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this.”
(Isaiah 48:10-11b)  And for emphasis, God repeats this reason.

If you don’t understand that the universe is about God
and His glory, and that whatever exalts God’s glory also works for your
ultimate good, then you will misunderstand this passage and countless
others.  Some consider God arrogant or cruel to test us for His
sake.  But the testing He does for His sake accumulates to our eternal
benefit.

In her book, “When God Weeps” Joni Eareckson Tada writes,
“Before my paralysis, my hands reached for a lot of wrong things, and my feet
took me into some bad places.  After my paralysis, tempting choices were scaled
down considerably.  My particular affliction is divinely hand-tailored
expressly for me.  Nobody has to suffer ‘transverse spinal lesion at the
fourth-fifth cervical’ exactly as I did to be conformed to his image.”

“…In this world you
will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John
16:33b)

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change in your own
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can find peace with God.