How to Bring Jesus to Our Suffering?
Making Sense Out of Suffering
Why Suffering?
Of all things that perplex us, suffering is the most perplexing. It is painful and mysterious — a combination that can break the strongest and the wisest amongst us. Though the pain may end or at least lessen, questions tend to persist — questions that we cannot answer and questions that can shake the foundations of our perspectives, relationships, and faith.
Our suffering will either break or strengthen us — depending on how we deal with it.
The most pertinent question, in this regard, is, “Why do I suffer, or What is the reason for my suffering?”
You are not the first one to grapple with this question and neither the last. It is a kind of impossible question to answer. But regardless of its impossibility, we all seem to entertain it. If somehow we can find a good reason for our woes, we think, they will become more tolerable.
As Christians, the reason that generally comes to our mind is, “I am guilty of some sin, and hence I suffer.” There is no other good reason that comes to mind. In fact, there can be no good reason for suffering. Obviously, we can’t imagine, “God is very pleased with me, and hence I suffer.” Even Job couldn’t imagine it, though that was the case.
Hence, apart from pain and trouble, our suffering is often mixed with a good amount of guilt (for some known or unknown sin). Though there is some truth in the observation that relates sin to suffering, it is far from being the complete picture.
Job’s friends accused him of some hidden sin, and Jesus’ disciples predicted some unknown sin, either committed by the parents or by the one who was born blind, to be the cause of his suffering. Interestingly, both parties were incorrect.
So there is more than what appears on the surface.
This, however, does not resolve the question of suffering. It remains unresolved, as it has always been.
Job struggled with this question. He cursed the day of his birth, pleaded with God to destroy him rather than live in intolerable pain, and asked God to show him where he had erred. But, he did not get any answer to his questions. Psalms of David are full of questions, cries, and supplications against his oppressors. God generally answered his prayers, but not his questions. After seeing the unexplainable suffering of the righteous and the evil, the Preacher decided that life itself is vanity — vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
Wiser and more righteous men than us did not receive any straightforward answer. The Bible does not provide any straightforward answer to why you are suffering.
But does it mean there is no effective way to deal with the question of suffering? Can we let our suffering break us and shake the foundations of our faith?
Of course not!
Making Sense of Suffering
Instead of directly answering the question of suffering, an approach that is bound to fail, let us try to resolve the mystery by looking at a specific kind of suffering. And then, we will see if we can extend the principle to our mysterious and meaningless suffering.
So let’s consider the suffering that, according to Jesus, can be a cause for rejoicing -
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. (Matthew 5:11–12)
If you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. (1 Peter 3:14)
Though the pain of such suffering is not less, the knowledge that we suffer for Christ and righteousness removes vexatious perplexities from our minds. The guilt, which generally accompanies our suffering, is also absent. But, that is not all.
A worthy cause, though a great consolation, is not the only positive thing.
When we suffer for Christ, we have an assurance that God’s grace is with us. Though we walk in the valley of the shadow of death, the presence of God and His grace removes our fears, perplexities, and guilt. And though we are weak when we thus suffer, God’s grace is sufficient to carry us through, and His strength is perfected in us.
So the peculiar elements that strengthen us when we suffer for Christ are -
- Absence of guilt
- Assurance of God’s presence
- Christ’s grace and strength
Let us see if we can bring these elements to our painful, mundane, and meaningless sufferings.
Bringing Jesus to Our Suffering
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (Romans 8:35)
Only sin and unbelief can separate us from Jesus, not suffering. So, when we are suffering, we are not separated from Jesus.
So if this much is established that Jesus is with us in the midst of our suffering, is it possible to make our suffering not about ourselves but about Him?
Yes, there are several ways to do it.
Getting rid of guilt
Guilt, though it does not cause physical pain, is able to cause great mental agony. It can destroy any confidence that we have towards God, and the devil is ready to crush us if he can make us believe that we are guilty. So it is necessary that we do not begin to accuse ourselves falsely every time we suffer. We have a tendency to do it, but we need to keep it in check.
On the other hand, if suffering brings to our mind some sin that we have committed — we can bring Jesus to the midst of suffering by confessing and repenting of the sin. Not doing so is only going to separate us farther from God’s presence.
Though King David suffered much for his sin of adultery and murder, he made sure that God was with him by thoroughly repenting of his horrible sin. And once Jesus is with us, and our conscience is cleansed of guilt, by His grace, we can bear the suffering without being crushed by it.
The way we suffer
None of us choose our suffering, but when we have to face them, there is no way but to face them. However, the way we face them is a choice we can make.
We can choose to murmur and complain against God because it is God who sends (or allows) suffering on our way. Or we can choose to be faithful to God as long as we suffer and trust Him to bring us out of all our troubles.
We must remember that all things (including our meaningless suffering) work together for our good, if we love God.
So we can bring ourselves closer to God in faithfulness and trust. And when we do so will have the assurance that Jesus is with us in the midst of our suffering, and His strength and grace will certainly help us to go through it.
The way Jesus delivers us
Jesus said that we would have afflictions in the world, but He certainly did not mean that all our suffering would be protracted and lifelong. That doesn’t have to be the case.
So none of us should accept suffering passively. Doing so will only increase its pain and duration.
Instead, we must trust and seek God to deliver us. And like Job and David, He will deliver us also from all our suffering. We can be sure that the greater the trouble, the greater will be the deliverance.
Conclusion
I will reiterate that it is impossible to know the reasons for all our suffering, but, with Christ, it is possible to make some sense of them. Our meaningless sufferings have the potential to purify our faith, draw us closer to God, and provide an opportunity for God to work great works in our lives. It would not be an exaggeration to say —
Most of our sufferings gain their meaning and reason in our response to them.
Finally, all our suffering can be for God’s glory by the way we suffer and by the way Jesus delivers us.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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