The Gift of Suffering
Almost all of us would agree that suffering is the last thing we’d willingly sign up for. The heart-wrenching experience of a miscarriage, the loss of financial security, or struggles with our health are sometimes more than we feel like we can handle. But what if we saw our suffering as a gift?
Romans 5 says, we can “glory” in our suffering. In Greek, the word “glory” isn’t just a happy feeling, it means to boast proudly. Think about that for a moment. The apostle Paul is saying we should be proud of the hard things we go through. Imagine you found out tomorrow that you lost your job and you had no idea how you would pay your bills this month. Would you go around and tell everyone about it, boasting about your good fortune? No, probably not! But we can because there is something much deeper going on when we suffer.
Our suffering produces beautiful qualities we need to make it through this life. As we persevere, our character is shaped, and as our character is shaped, we find true and lasting hope. Suffering removes all of the things that steal our focus from what matters most. Our pain purifies our priorities, and our suffering produces lasting fruit.
Whatever you are going through right now, God is at work. Remember that He wants to grow you through your suffering and not just get you through your suffering.
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