“I have refined you, but not as silver is refined.
Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.”
Isaiah 48:10
Hey you! Long time, no blog. How are you? How’s your heart, truly? Sometimes, we get so caught up in ‘go’- mode that we neglect ourselves and our wellbeing. I think it’s safe to say that we see this play out at least 50% of the time when people have a knee-jerk response to the question “How are you?“. Half the time, the response “I’m good” is delivered without even thinking…somewhat like a call-and-response game that employs muscle memory. That knee-jerk response could also go the other way – robotically delivering your usual complaint about the work week without really assessing if this time was different. The point is this: Give yourself room to do an honest self-check in. If you haven’t actually given any thought to how you’re really doing, consider pausing to think about it. You deserve to be heard, and felt, and you can start by extending a listening ear and heart to yourself.
If you’ve been following this space for a while then you know it’s been a bit quiet. I took a mini hiatus during which the Lord taught me some lessons and, echoed some old ones. One of those topics that has been very apparent in this season is the focus of today’s post : Suffering. I know, I know this not an exciting or kumbaya topic but we all go through it, and as disciples of Christ, I believe it’s essential that we come to an understanding of the purpose of suffering in our lives(some of it at least). Without understanding, it’s easy to fall into a ‘victim’ mentality when we are in the thick of it. It is in those moments of distress that many find their relationship with God becomes strained. While I may not be able to tell you exactly why you’re going through what you’re going through as there are many nuances to individual situations, I do want to share some of the reasons God allows suffering to encourage you just as it has done for me. The purpose is to help you reframe suffering(past, present & future). It just may give you a different outlook, and perhaps, though it may sound far-fetched, maybe even a desire to suffer for God’s purposes.
Suffering shows up in different forms – physical, mental, emotional, etc. Whatever the case, suffering refers to some sort of hardship, pain or distress, and we all can testify that we’ve been there. Maybe you’re there right now. You may have sought God earnestly to deliver you from something, and He may be saying that His grace is sufficient. It’s now clear to me that while God does not necessarily orchestrate every hardship we face, He does permit them. Why? Well, that’s some of what we’re about to dive into. To keep today’s post relatively short, I will be sharing just four lessons I’ve learnt on suffering, soon to be followed by a part 2 if the Lord pleases.
Okay, let’s get into it.
- Suffering sets you up for submission. Permit me to use an out-of-the-box example here : As a kid, did you ever stub your toe while running around engaging in rough play? Perhaps your parents had warned you to quit running indoors, but you failed to listen until you hurt yourself. Sound familiar? Your parents may have been yelling at you to take a seat while you stubbornly refused. But when you stubbed that toe, it probably didn’t require much for you to sit. In that moment, after some pain, you submitted. There’s something about pain that truly humbles you. I gave that example because I felt it was relatable to everyone, but it was a personal incident that sparked this revelation for me. I had a painful sore right above my lip that I had peeled/picked (I’m not supposed to peel it, I know! Pray for me.) Well, as I was working on my face, I accidentally scraped the already open injury with my sharp nails, and the pain was … INTENSE. It was so painful that my eyes began to water. I was humbled instantly… no more picking at sores for me. I submitted in that moment to do the right thing : stop picking. Right then and there, I heard in my heart ‘suffering induces submission’. Hmm, the Lord knows how to teach a lesson doesn’t He? The next day, I decided to go read 1 Pet 4, and look what vs 1 & 2 says
“1So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. 2 You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.“
While this specific verse was speaking on physical suffering, Vs 1 speaks on suffering and Vs 2 speaks on the result of enduring that suffering: submission to the will of God and a change in desires. I’ve read this passage many times before but geez, it hits different after a real life-example. So this is what I’m driving at – Sometimes, the Lord allows suffering to break us into a posture of submission that we will not bend into with hard hearts. The truth is that pain softens us, whether we want to admit it or not. The Lord will often use pain for our good, to get us to a place that we would not have relinquished control enough to go otherwise. He’ll use it to help us submit to His will.
. - God uses suffering to develop patient endurance in us. The Bible tells us that we should imitate those which through faith & patience inherited the promise(Heb 6:12). It also says we should let patience have its perfect work so that we will be perfect and complete lacking nothing(James 1:4). In times when we are suffering and enduring hardship, our ability to hold on to hope(and to do so well) is tested and stretched. Patience is not just about waiting, it’s about waiting well. It has to do with our attitude while we wait. Matter of fact, many translations substitute the phrase ‘patient endurance’ for the phrase ‘long suffering‘. As Christians, the goal is to become more and more like Christ, and we cannot get there without being patient. Jesus was patient and is still patient waiting for His enemies to become His footstool(Heb 10:13). God was patient and is still patient so that none will perish but have an opportunity to come to repentance(2 Pet 3:9). Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit – the spirit of God and the spirit of Christ. In suffering, we are stretched and made to wait on God, and in waiting , when we yield to the Holy Spirit, we learn the right attitude to have. We learn to be patient: a fruit of the spirit that testifies of our resemblance to Christ.
. - Suffering creates a space for intimacy with God. At the end of the day, as much as we wish it was not so, we humans have the tendency to drift from God when all is great. In that place of suffering though, when we lean in to God, we get to experience Him in a deep and intimate way. We get to see Him reveal parts of Himself that we may not have come to truly know otherwise. Suffering, believe it or not, is often an invitation to witness a new(to you) dimension of God. There is a depth of undeniable experience of God’s presence and redemption in that place. You actually get to know(experientially) Him as healer, redeemer, comforter, friend, etc. You get to know Him as one who redeems. Afterwards, there is a track record in your life that you can reference and when life starts to life, you know that the same God that pulled you out then, can do so again. Then, you can wholeheartedly and confidently encourage others the same way because you’ve lived it. Even in friendships, the ones you can probably really vouch for have experienced some not-so-pleasant times with you. Think of that friend that you consider to be the most reliable, why? They’ve been there through some stuff. Through the ebbs and flows of life, we are opportuned to see God stick close as the constant companion we know Him to be.
. - Suffering can be a means to growth. Dying to the flesh is not pleasant. That in itself is suffering, and the situations that will often pull out and develop the fruit of the Spirit in you are not pleasant either. Joy is tested in hard times, patience is visible in waiting seasons, kindness is evident when the energy given to you is cold or your act of kindness cannot be reciprocated, the list goes on and on. There has got to be a demand on the fruit for it to be produced. Sometimes, that’s what suffering is – a circumstance putting demand on your fruit. And in that space, you get to grow in God and in the Spirit.
Suffering looks like all sorts of things, there are various degrees to it, but at the end of the day it comes down to hardship of some sort. And the more you endure, the more you increase your capacity to endure. Anything of worth will require some stretching… even world class athletes endure some sort of “suffering” in pursuit of their goals. Whether that’s ice cold plunges, self-denial, etc, it’s for their development into who they need to be to win the prize. Same thing goes for us. Paul tells us that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope(Rom 5:3-4). The process of being transformed in Christ will require different processes, suffering is one – but it’s only for a little while(1 Pet 5:10) and the glory that comes after is much greater(Rom 8:18).
Ultimately, I believe that God often permits suffering amongst His children for refinement. Isaiah 48:10 buttresses this point. It is one of the ways that we are shaped and molded to look more like Christ. Did you know that even Jesus learnt at the hand of suffering? Heb 5:8 tells us that Jesus learnt obedience from the things He suffered. That alone tells me it can be a pretty proficient teacher.
“Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. 9 In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.” Heb 5:8-9
Friend, be encouraged, for after you have suffered a little while, God himself will restore you. Even here, God is working. He just may be using your suffering to equip and prepare you. Hold on.
I love you. God loves you immeasurable more 💕
“So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.” 1 Pet 5:10b
Other Referenced Scriptures
“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
[Heb 6:1-12]
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
[James 1:2-5]
“There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet.”
[Heb 10:13]
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
[2 Pet 3:9]
“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
[Rom 5:3-4]
“So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.”
[1 Pet 5:10]
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
[Rom 8:18]
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