Suffering Is Good



Last night I found one of my many notebooks, and within its pages I have discovered notes I jotted down from a church conference I attended on the topic of suffering. Based on these notes, I am writing this as a reminder to myself.

This present life is appointed as a field of trial that the Christian is to combat. There are three main enemies for all Christians:
1. The flesh
2. The world
3. The devil

Our own flesh is against us due to the Fall; man was never meant to die, but to be eternal like God. Now we suffer from decay and death; diseases are messengers of death, which is why they ought to humble us. They remind us of our need for God, and how much we MUST depend on Him for everything in this life.

In my case: DEPRESSION = suicide + fight with the Truth + suicide in battle of flesh = MIND. My mental illness is not only decaying my heart, but it is a rot of the mind. It is only by depending on God and trusting Him in this burden that I can be renewed in my body, spirit, and mind, not conforming to the pattern of this world and resisting Satan's attempts to drag me into darkness. I am constantly fighting the flesh, world, and devil.

One of the greatest struggles for the Christian is that godly hearts feel division. Eternal life is promised to us, but we can only achieve it once we are dead. We are promised purity but are surrounded by corruption. This is why our lives need to be filled with God's word: we must TAKE ACTION in living out God's word, because if we just hear the promises, we will take them for granted. If we just hear the warnings, we will be driven to despair. Unless we know, read, AND hear God's Word, live it out, and pray, we will be lost in the calamity of this evil age.

It is when we don't feel like praying that we MOST need to pray. Prayer is a conversation, not a formality or a motion. It is necessary, and it is a privilege. Jesus' death and resurrection has sealed for us the privilege of praying to God as He intercedes for us before His throne.

Suffering seems to emerge from every page of Scripture, and suffering is used by the Spirit to advance our faith. Even the most bitter of afflictions can become sweet to us when we know they proceed from God for a purpose. God truly does work ALL THINGS for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). God is not a faraway, distant, or cold-hearted God. He is  a PERSONAL God Who hears our groaning, cries for mercy, and petitions for peace.

God never intended for us to go through suffering alone. He provided us with not only Himself, but our churches, our families, and friends. We never have to go through pain alone. We can ask our church families to pray for us, our pastors to visit us, our friends to support us, our families to love us. The more burdens we bear, the more enclosed the circle of people who know, the ones we trust to help and love us. We should never be afraid to ask "Can you pray for me?" When suffering seeks to silence us, we can roar over Satan's lies to cry out from the depths to God.

Suffering is good because, to share the gospel well, you need to be open about your weaknesses. Pretending to have a healthy, wealthy, and easy-going life as a Christian is deceptive. As Christians, we suffer due to upholding our faith in a world so full of hatred of God, and so full of battle and warfare. We often avoid the subject of suffering because it touches a nerve, and we don't want to debate if God is good for allowing us to suffer.

Where does suffering come from?
1. Our own sin and stupidity
2. Others' sin and stupidity
3. Because we are members of Adam's sinful family
4. Because you belong to Jesus' family

Jesus suffered. Plain and simple. Our Heavenly Father knows us so well because HE TOO suffered.

We need to remember that even when our companions have become darkness, and darkness alone is our friend (Psalm 88), suffering is TEMPORARY and the pain will NOT last forever. God uses our trials to show our faith to be genuine, like a refining fire (1 Peter 1; Malachi 3).

-Amanda

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