As I began to write on this topic I realized there's much I'd like to say. Therefore, I'll be diving it into two parts. This part will provide an understanding of why we suffer as Christians. The next part, which will hopefully come in the next couple of weeks, will focus on how to deal with suffering on a very practical level, and how to make sure you grow through your suffering.
Why do we suffer?
Let me just start off by saying that if you thought Christians were exempt from suffering, and that Christ was going to give you prosperity and 'your best life now', then you've been sold a lie. We do bear the fruits of the spirit, including joy and peace, but these are often shown most clearly in the midst of terrible circumstances. To put it plainly, history is full of stories of Christians singing joyfully while being burned at the stake or suffering some other terrible end. In reality, we should expect to experience more suffering than others in this life. To follow Jesus is to “deny yourself and take up your cross” and to “lose your life” (Matt. 16:24-25). So, don't fret when you see faithful Christians suffering while the selfish and unrighteous are prospering (read Psalm 73).
OK, so suffering is expected, but why do we suffer in the first place? There are several reasons. I'd like to break them down into categories and deal with each individually.
Chastening – our own fault
This is the most straightforward reason for suffering. If you're a Christian, a true child of God, you should know that he will not let his children stray too far. Hebrews 12 makes it clear that every child of God will endure chastening at some point, because we all need correction. Either you're doing something you shouldn't do or you're neglecting something that you should be doing. Because of this, God is using a heavy hand to attempt to correct you, often through circumstances.
As a general recommendation, I think it's good practice to do some self-examination whenever a trial presents itself. Even if you don't think it's chastening, it's worth it to be sure. Those times when extraordinary circumstances come against you, or you're wondering “why am I sick?”, or things just seem to be going poorly – it might be God trying to get your attention. Whenever you have those feelings, take a few moments to examine your life. Are you flirting with sin? Have you shamed Christ with your testimony? Have you failed to take a stand by confronting error or preaching the gospel? Pray for God to help you see your failures.
If you examine yourself and find some kind of sin issue, that's likely (but not always) the issue. This is why I discussed chastening first – because our sin should be the first thing we deal with. Failure to respond to chastening and deal with sin can cause continued sickness and even death, as seen in 1 Cor. 11:27-34.
So you find yourself in the midst of suffering due to chastening, what do you do? It's pretty simple. The purpose of chastening is to get you to turn from unrighteousness to righteousness (Heb. 12:11). Repent of whatever sin has ensnared you. There may still be lasting consequences, but the quicker you come to your senses and repent, the better off you'll be.
Suffering for Christ's sake
Persecution is the easiest kind of suffering to endure. This is not to say that it is any less painful, but knowing that the Lord is greatly pleased with us allows us to walk through the fire with a smile. Scripture heaps blessing on those who suffer for Christ's sake (Matt. 5:10-12).
If I may go off on a brief tangent here, In Scripture we see that persecution is expected to be fairly common (Peter 4:12), but it's pretty rare here in America. Why? Isn't there a spiritual war going on? Aren't we salt and light in a dark world? For the most part, no. Churches and Christians have spent most of their energy being cool and looking like the world, instead standing in opposition to the world and preaching the gospel. Most of this is just fake Christianity, but I know there are genuine Christians that get caught up in it too. If you've never faced hardship for your faith, you should ask yourself why.
Serious persecution doesn't really happen in America. I've had a few people get upset and nearly punch me, but that's about it. If you're living a faithful Christian life, which includes sharing the gospel with the lost, you'll have people “say all manner of evil against you falsely”. You'll lose friends, not only friends who are lost, but also “Christians” who are convicted by someone who takes Scripture seriously. In fact, I can guarantee that most of your hardships will come from the “Christian” crowd. They want an easy, feel-good, rock n roll kind of religion. If you come along talking about sin, holiness, repentance, and genuine discipleship, they'll do anything they can to marginalize you. Don't be discouraged when this happens. Stay true to Scripture and recognize that the fake Christianity that you're fighting is Satan's greatest stronghold in America.
Suffering without a clear purpose
What about the times when you're not suffering because of chastening, nor from persecution? Maybe you've endured serious illness, or poverty, or the death of a loved one. These are the times when you want to know “why?”. I'm not going to lie, there's no magic answer to this. It comes down to trusting God and understanding that he is working out a “big picture” that we can't even begin to imagine.
Romans 8:18-28 says much on this topic. First off, we recognize that the whole creation groans in pain, waiting for redemption. This means that until God puts us in new bodies on the new Earth, it's just a fact of life that we're going to be experiencing pain and suffering as a result of living in a sin-cursed world. All we can do is wait and hope, allowing the pain to cause us to look forward to Christ's return. Yet, we are not left completely clueless. Rom. 8:28 says all things work together for our good. How so?
First, recognize that there may be a lot more going on than you realize. God may be using your condition to impact others in ways that you'll only know much later, if ever. Something kind of like this happens in John 9. At the beginning of the chapter, the disciples ask why a certain man was born blind, assuming it was a punishment for sin (v.2). Jesus corrected them, saying that it was not because of sin, but so that Jesus could perform the miracle of healing him (v.3). This man suffered his whole life from blindness, forcing him to beg. It must have seemed so pointless to him. Then, as a result of his healing, we see a demonstration of God's power, and this man becomes a bold witness, even standing up to the Pharisees (v. 30-34). None of this would have happened unless he was blind to begin with. There are other Biblical examples of this principle (such as the raising of Lazarus), but I think this is the most clear. So, again, even though we might not see any immediate purpose, you can trust God to work things out. What if, through your suffering, someone comes to salvation? Would that not be worth it?
Second, suffering is often used to develop your character and your faith. This idea is found throughout the Bible (Isa. 48:10, Prov. 17:3, Rom. 5:3, James 1:2-12) Think about it, even the captain of our salvation was made perfect through sufferings (Heb. 2:10). This is not just talking about the cross. Isaiah 53:3 says Jesus was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief”. We see this played out in the gospels. Jesus was a wandering preacher with no place to call his home. He was constantly hated and misunderstood. The people that he deeply loved and wanted to save hated him and tried to kill him on several occasions. Eventually he was betrayed by one of his closest friends, and his other friends scattered. This was the life of God's Son. So, it should come as no shock that God would use trials to perfect us as well.
Conclusion
I hope this helps to bring a little more perspective to those who are suffering various trials. Always remember to first do a self-examination when a trial comes along to see if it is chastening. If it's not, comfort yourself in Scripture and remember that God is using this trial to accomplish something, even if you don't know what that is. I can't stress enough the importance of being in the Scriptures daily, especially during a trial. Next time, I'll go through some practical ways to stay patient through suffering and to make sure you're growing as much as you can through it.
Why do we suffer?
Let me just start off by saying that if you thought Christians were exempt from suffering, and that Christ was going to give you prosperity and 'your best life now', then you've been sold a lie. We do bear the fruits of the spirit, including joy and peace, but these are often shown most clearly in the midst of terrible circumstances. To put it plainly, history is full of stories of Christians singing joyfully while being burned at the stake or suffering some other terrible end. In reality, we should expect to experience more suffering than others in this life. To follow Jesus is to “deny yourself and take up your cross” and to “lose your life” (Matt. 16:24-25). So, don't fret when you see faithful Christians suffering while the selfish and unrighteous are prospering (read Psalm 73).
OK, so suffering is expected, but why do we suffer in the first place? There are several reasons. I'd like to break them down into categories and deal with each individually.
Chastening – our own fault
This is the most straightforward reason for suffering. If you're a Christian, a true child of God, you should know that he will not let his children stray too far. Hebrews 12 makes it clear that every child of God will endure chastening at some point, because we all need correction. Either you're doing something you shouldn't do or you're neglecting something that you should be doing. Because of this, God is using a heavy hand to attempt to correct you, often through circumstances.
As a general recommendation, I think it's good practice to do some self-examination whenever a trial presents itself. Even if you don't think it's chastening, it's worth it to be sure. Those times when extraordinary circumstances come against you, or you're wondering “why am I sick?”, or things just seem to be going poorly – it might be God trying to get your attention. Whenever you have those feelings, take a few moments to examine your life. Are you flirting with sin? Have you shamed Christ with your testimony? Have you failed to take a stand by confronting error or preaching the gospel? Pray for God to help you see your failures.
If you examine yourself and find some kind of sin issue, that's likely (but not always) the issue. This is why I discussed chastening first – because our sin should be the first thing we deal with. Failure to respond to chastening and deal with sin can cause continued sickness and even death, as seen in 1 Cor. 11:27-34.
So you find yourself in the midst of suffering due to chastening, what do you do? It's pretty simple. The purpose of chastening is to get you to turn from unrighteousness to righteousness (Heb. 12:11). Repent of whatever sin has ensnared you. There may still be lasting consequences, but the quicker you come to your senses and repent, the better off you'll be.
Suffering for Christ's sake
Persecution is the easiest kind of suffering to endure. This is not to say that it is any less painful, but knowing that the Lord is greatly pleased with us allows us to walk through the fire with a smile. Scripture heaps blessing on those who suffer for Christ's sake (Matt. 5:10-12).
If I may go off on a brief tangent here, In Scripture we see that persecution is expected to be fairly common (Peter 4:12), but it's pretty rare here in America. Why? Isn't there a spiritual war going on? Aren't we salt and light in a dark world? For the most part, no. Churches and Christians have spent most of their energy being cool and looking like the world, instead standing in opposition to the world and preaching the gospel. Most of this is just fake Christianity, but I know there are genuine Christians that get caught up in it too. If you've never faced hardship for your faith, you should ask yourself why.
Serious persecution doesn't really happen in America. I've had a few people get upset and nearly punch me, but that's about it. If you're living a faithful Christian life, which includes sharing the gospel with the lost, you'll have people “say all manner of evil against you falsely”. You'll lose friends, not only friends who are lost, but also “Christians” who are convicted by someone who takes Scripture seriously. In fact, I can guarantee that most of your hardships will come from the “Christian” crowd. They want an easy, feel-good, rock n roll kind of religion. If you come along talking about sin, holiness, repentance, and genuine discipleship, they'll do anything they can to marginalize you. Don't be discouraged when this happens. Stay true to Scripture and recognize that the fake Christianity that you're fighting is Satan's greatest stronghold in America.
Suffering without a clear purpose
What about the times when you're not suffering because of chastening, nor from persecution? Maybe you've endured serious illness, or poverty, or the death of a loved one. These are the times when you want to know “why?”. I'm not going to lie, there's no magic answer to this. It comes down to trusting God and understanding that he is working out a “big picture” that we can't even begin to imagine.
Romans 8:18-28 says much on this topic. First off, we recognize that the whole creation groans in pain, waiting for redemption. This means that until God puts us in new bodies on the new Earth, it's just a fact of life that we're going to be experiencing pain and suffering as a result of living in a sin-cursed world. All we can do is wait and hope, allowing the pain to cause us to look forward to Christ's return. Yet, we are not left completely clueless. Rom. 8:28 says all things work together for our good. How so?
First, recognize that there may be a lot more going on than you realize. God may be using your condition to impact others in ways that you'll only know much later, if ever. Something kind of like this happens in John 9. At the beginning of the chapter, the disciples ask why a certain man was born blind, assuming it was a punishment for sin (v.2). Jesus corrected them, saying that it was not because of sin, but so that Jesus could perform the miracle of healing him (v.3). This man suffered his whole life from blindness, forcing him to beg. It must have seemed so pointless to him. Then, as a result of his healing, we see a demonstration of God's power, and this man becomes a bold witness, even standing up to the Pharisees (v. 30-34). None of this would have happened unless he was blind to begin with. There are other Biblical examples of this principle (such as the raising of Lazarus), but I think this is the most clear. So, again, even though we might not see any immediate purpose, you can trust God to work things out. What if, through your suffering, someone comes to salvation? Would that not be worth it?
Second, suffering is often used to develop your character and your faith. This idea is found throughout the Bible (Isa. 48:10, Prov. 17:3, Rom. 5:3, James 1:2-12) Think about it, even the captain of our salvation was made perfect through sufferings (Heb. 2:10). This is not just talking about the cross. Isaiah 53:3 says Jesus was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief”. We see this played out in the gospels. Jesus was a wandering preacher with no place to call his home. He was constantly hated and misunderstood. The people that he deeply loved and wanted to save hated him and tried to kill him on several occasions. Eventually he was betrayed by one of his closest friends, and his other friends scattered. This was the life of God's Son. So, it should come as no shock that God would use trials to perfect us as well.
Conclusion
I hope this helps to bring a little more perspective to those who are suffering various trials. Always remember to first do a self-examination when a trial comes along to see if it is chastening. If it's not, comfort yourself in Scripture and remember that God is using this trial to accomplish something, even if you don't know what that is. I can't stress enough the importance of being in the Scriptures daily, especially during a trial. Next time, I'll go through some practical ways to stay patient through suffering and to make sure you're growing as much as you can through it.
