Suffering is not ALL bad

You WILL benefit from your suffering

Many of us do not want to be associated with suffering of any kind. When we hear the word, we immediately think of undergoing pain and hardship that will potentially destroy us. However, suffering is NOT all bad, and in many cases, God uses suffering to bring us up to his standard. Suffering can be self-induced. There are times we suffer and it is not the fault of others but ours; especially when we disobey God. Additionally, there is externally induced suffering that we may face simply because of things we cannot exactly control. People may hate you so they make your life difficult, by hurling insults and creating situations to bring us harm.

FIVE reasons we should be more appreciative of suffering:

- Suffering produces perseverance: Suffering in itself is not beneficial. Some who only dwell on their suffering never gain its benefits or achieve a higher perspective. But those who focus on what God can do through suffering will be strengthened. They can tap into God's resources, allowing him to make something positive out of the negative. Suffering can yield perseverance, character, and hope when we allow God to work in us. Rom. 5:3 says "…. suffering produces perseverance."

-Suffering is one of God’s tools for advancing His kingdom: (Phil. 1:12-14) says “ Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly." It is through our stories and experiences that others will come to believe in God. Can you think of an event you went through or suffering you endured that is still mind-blowing to this day?

- Suffering produces purification: God uses suffering in countless different ways to increase our holiness and obedience. Even Jesus learned obedience through suffering (Heb.5:8). Other godly traits that can be gained from suffering are character (Ro.5:3-4), hope (Ro.5:3-4), and humility (2 Cor.12:7). Suffering increases our sense of dependence on God and protects us from becoming puffed up with self-reliance, which is our greatest enemy. Our suffering is training from our Father in heaven. When it is chastisement for sin it teaches us to forsake sin. When it is not related to a particular sin, it trains us in other ways. Either way, it is training that results in “a harvest of righteousness” (Heb.12:7,11).

- Suffering results in increased power from God: In 2 Corinthians (12:7-10) Paul made it clear that to keep him from becoming conceited because of the surpassingly great revelations, there was given him a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment him. Three times he pleaded with the Lord to take it away from him. But the Lord said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” When we realize that our suffering opens up greater possibilities for God to demonstrate His power in our lives, we will delight in our sufferings. Lack of suffering results in self-reliance which reduces the level of divine power at work in our lives.

-Suffering exposes unbelief and our faith levels: Two verses of scripture that proves this; Luke (8:13) “They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.” and 1 Peter 1:(6-7) “now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith … may be proved genuine.” All suffering is a test. Each trial exposes the genuineness or lack of genuineness of our faith. When a trial pushes a person away from God, that exposes the fact that faith, in that area, is not real. When suffering drives a person toward God, that exposes the fact that his faith is real. The prime example of this is Job. God sent intense and relentless suffering into Job’s life for the purpose of demonstrating that Job’s faith was indeed real.

Our response during suffering is what matters most. It is not really the type of suffering we undergo. Having this knowledge in the back of our minds will help us always to remember that ‘this too shall pass’, ‘this is not to kill us’, ‘this is to make us stronger’. After all, Rom. 8:28 says “and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us”- Rom. 8:18

Trust God… trust the process… endure the suffering

By L. Fearon