Suffering

Psalms 118

There are quite a few chapters in Psamls in which David talks about suffering in one way or another. In the chapter above, David mentions enemies surrounding him and swarming him like bees. His trials were very real and desperate to him. Many of us go through struggles and tries either for our faith or just because life happens. It becomes harder for us, because of these trials, to focus on God or the things of God and we lose sight of what we’re supposed to do or be. However, the bible speaks to us about suffering frequently. It tells us in different locations how we should view our suffering and what we should do. There are two points that I want to consider in this post that I’ve gleaned from what I’ve read.

Point 1: suffering is not in vain

Jesus and the Apostles teach that suffering is not in vain. They acknowledge that life may not be easy whether it’s because of our faith in God or not. James tells us below about what struggles can do for us.

James 1:2-4 New International Version (NIV)

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

He doesn’t tell us to just deal with our struggles, but he tells us to consider it pure joy when we are faced with trials. That idea may be foreign to us or seem outrages because we don’t think to rejoice when we are going through some sort of pain, but the struggle helps us in a way that can be compared to the saying “it puts hair on your chest.” The testing of our faith produces traits in us that will help us glorify God and serve the body of Christ. It produces maturity that we use to face our lives in order to deal with future trials. In Romans, Paul writes a similar thought.

Romans 5:3-5 New International Version (NIV)

3 Not only so, but we[a] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Paul mentions a few other traits created by enduring through suffering than is mention in the passage used earlier from James – character , and hope. Hope is a huge deal. We see hope as an emotion that could just mean wishing for something or wishful thinking. One of the definitions in Webster’s dictionary of hope is “ to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment.” Another one of the definitions listed is “ desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.” The Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible defines hope as “confident expectancy...not wishful thinking, but a firm assurance about things that are unseen and still in the future.” The keyword in this definition is “expectancy.” Struggles produce a firm faith that we have in Jesus that allows us to trust that, if we please him, he will reward us.

2 Corinthians 4:16-17 New International Version (NIV)

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

Paul encourages the church in Corinth to not lose heart even though we may be going through trials because we are being renewed every day. And that our trials are assuring an eternal glory that will be far greater than the struggles we go through.

Point 2: God delivers

God promises to reward us because of our perseverance or help us persevere through the struggle. In Psalms 118, David says over and over again the Lord heard him and delivered him. There are many other locations where this thought is given.

Psalm 34:18-20 New International Version (NIV)

18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 The righteous person may have many troubles,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones,
    not one of them will be broken.

The biggest take away about this passage for me is that it says that God is “close” to the brokenhearted. I’ve been brokenhearted many times and to think that God is close to me at that point in my life is very encouraging. Further, the righteous may be delivered from troubles because God hears them in their disparity. It may take a while, however. God delivered the Israelites many times but sometimes it took years and years. God delivered them on his own schedule based on his will.

1 Peter 5:10 New International Version (NIV)

10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Peter says that God will help after we have “suffered a little while.” I think this is important because I needed to see that my struggles and trials will only happen for a little while. Even if it happens for my entire life, it is a little while in comparison to the gift of eternal life. He says that God himself will restore us and make us “strong, firm and steadfast.” Our struggles will not just put hair on our chest. God will put hair on our chest. He will help us get stronger and stay stronger as a result of our endurance through our hard times.