The Purpose of Suffering

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.” -Rom. 8:18

I have heard this passage quoted to people often in times of pain and suffering. I understand why. It is meant to comfort and anchor us to our future hope. This passage is a reminder that the troubles of today are just for today and God has promised a better tomorrow.

Christians grapple with the tension of living as exiles in a foreign land. This world is not our home. While all of these things are true, in my experience, quoting this verse can come off as cold and callus. It makes people feel as though they should just get over it because better days are coming.

We suffer in all sorts of ways in this life. There is emotional, mental, and physical suffering. We lose jobs and loved ones. We struggle to overcome adverse circumstances. We have marital and relational strife. Many of us suffer, trying to overcome the sin we wrestle with. For some people, it feels like the suffering never ends, and life’s just a series of never-ending losses.

Paul writes to us as a person intimately familiar with suffering. In Acts 9, God tells Ananias that Paul will suffer much for his name. He was not lying. In 2 Corinthians 11:23–28, Paul gives of a tour de force of what he has been through. He recounts being beaten, shipwrecked, stoned, he experienced deep hunger and thirst, being cold and naked, and then puts a neat little bow on it by saying, “…besides the other things that come upon me daily”.

How is it that, at the end of all of this, he can say his present sufferings are nothing? Is he just superhuman? Some sort of spiritual Captain America immune to the feelings that plague the rest of us?

Anchor of Our Hope

Paul tells the Corinthian church to follow him as he follows Christ (1 Cor. 11:1). If there is anyone who knows suffering, it’s Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus asked the Father for another way. Anything but having to bear the wrath of God and experience that separation from him. Nevertheless, he says not my will but your will. He willingly submits to the plan of the Father and endures the worst suffering anyone will ever experience.

Jesus’ suffering resulted in countless, surprising benefits for us, but to get you started, here’s two: we are given rest and we are given peace.

Jesus offers us a great deal in Matthew 11. He tells us to come to him with our burdens and he will give us rest. Jesus offers us rest even as the stressors of life continue to pile on. He doesn’t promise that they will go away but he does promise to be with us in the midst of them.

We are also given peace. This is the ability to tackle life with a renewed perspective. In Matthew 7:24–27, Jesus tells the story of those who build their houses on the rock and those who build it on sand. You’ll notice in that passage, the winds and waves of life crash on both houses, regardless of which made it through

Jesus does not say that the storms of life go away when you trust in him. He doesn’t even guarantee that we won’t be swept away. What he does assure you of is your ability to weather them because you have put your hope and trust in him. This doesn’t mean we always get it right but we do see the tragedies of life differently. We experience what Paul calls the peace of God that surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7).

This isn’t a naive or foolish peace but it is a peace that doesn’t make sense when compared to what we are going through. It gives us the ability to remain calm, steady, and focused even as the world around us is crumbling. It is a peace that guards our hearts and minds from going down those rabbit holes when we are going through it. Our minds love to play tricks on us and go to the worst case scenario, but the peace of Christ helps us to see our situation, no matter how bad it may be, and helps us to know that our God is greater still.

What’s the Point?

We often ask the question, why do we even go through any of this? Romans 5 gives us a good answer: “And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.”

In ways I don’t think we will ever fully understand this side of Jesus’ second coming, suffering is often for our good. It is a part of that classic Romans 8 text that says, “all things work together for our good.” The hard part is it’s something we typically can only see in retrospect.

When Jesus offers us that great trade in Matthew 11, he tells us to learn from him. He describes himself as lowly and humble in heart. This is who we ought to imitate and aspire to model. Jesus gives us the most beautiful example of humility: he was the most important person in the room and still washed everyone’s feet.

If you don’t agree with or understand anything I’ve said thus far, just know this: our lives are not about us. Growing up in Brooklyn, the old folks used to say, “You didn’t go through it to be quiet about it.” On some level, our suffering helps us minister to others. In 2 Corinthians 1:4, Paul says, “He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

It is in our suffering we are equipped with the words and actions necessary to comfort others in their times of struggle.

Again, our lives are not about us. In a world that tells us we need to do what makes us happiest, it’s a hard message to hear. In a life of selflessness we find true flourishing. It is when we use our gifts for the betterment of others that we feel the most free. In the same way, our suffering can be used for the benefit of others.

Paul used his adverse circumstances to make the name of Jesus known. We have the same opportunity. When we see people struggling in life or trying to find hope in the midst of suffering, we have the opportunity to tell of the hope we have in Jesus. We can speak to the comfort and presence the Father was in our lives when we went through similar things.

Hope for the Day

I’ve never known suffering to be easy, and it can often feel like life is moving from one issue to the next. I like Jon Mark Comer’s words about this in his book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry:

There is an emotional and spiritual weight to life; we all feel it, especially as we age. An easy life is a myth. Life is hard. No comma, no but, no endnote. All the wise men and women of history have said as much. No new technology or pill can change that, there’s no escaping the pain.

One pastor once said to me, you’re either going through, coming out of, or about to go into a trial. If this is true, which many of us can attest that it is, we have to know how to handle these times in order to survive. The best and only real method is by imitating Jesus.

Present sufferings are nothing because we have a greater hope. It is when we see Jesus as our great big hope that our suffering looks small. That doesn’t mean we don’t pray for relief and work to fix our situations but it does mean that our hope and souls are not tied to preferred outcomes. We tie them to the only one who provides peace and to the promises of a loving Father.

I know pain- real pain- but I also know God. The one who sustains us and sees us through. I pray you know him too.

Further reading:

A Path Through Suffering by Elisabeth Elliot

Instruments In The Redeemer’s Hands by Paul Tripp

Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering by Tim Keller