Suffering hurts. It isolates. It cripples. Yet the Bible makes it clear that suffering is part of the call to faith. “Take up your cross and follow me,” Jesus said (Mark 8:34). We’re not even supposed to be “surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you,” but are commanded to “rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed”(1 Peter 4:12-13).
How can this be? Suffering knocks us to our knees—but if we pray while we’re there, that’s a good thing. One of the hidden benefits of suffering is that it can draw us closer to God—if we are willing to move in that direction. We can reach for a deeper connection with God and learn things we’ve bypassed in times of comfort and pleasure. Suffering teaches us humility and opens our hearts. Jesus did not come to explain away suffering or remove it; He came to fill it with His Presence.
But how, exactly, do we get through our suffering? Often we begin by saying something as simple as, “Father, You have allowed this suffering to come to me, and I accept it in the name of Christ. I ask You to unite my suffering to His, so that through it I may become more like Him in every way.” And remember, we need to concentrate on what we are being asked to endure today (Matthew 6:34).
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with praying for relief from suffering, but we also need to prepare our hearts for whatever God’s will may be. My father used to advise people to put pain in God’s hands, and leave it to Him. “If it is His will that you are to bear it,” Dad said, “God will fortify you with sufficient understanding and strength to endure it.” He knew firsthand that prayer can remove suffering; he also knew that prayer was needed in order to “be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12).
When we do suffer, we are called to do so patiently. Why? “Because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:20-22). Keeping a positive attitude and concentrating on better days ahead is important to surviving our difficult times. We must resist the temptation to become bitter and, instead, join the Apostle Paul in saying, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).
