Temporary Suffering

Part 1: Is it God's will for

Christians to suffer?

I recently posed this question to our congregation. The response could not have been more diverse, ranging from "absolutely," to "absolutely not!" Here's the thing: everyone undergoes suffering in some form at some point of time. Consequently everyone has an opinion about it, seeing as we're all experts in our own rights. But what does the Bible say?

If we take seriously Jesus' words in the Gospels it becomes abundantly clear that being His follower comes with various hardships. His teaching about suffering as a disciple culminates in everyone's least favourite promise in the Bible where He states, "In this world you will have trouble..." (John 16:33) But perhaps that's still somewhat open to interpretation? And what about God's will regarding such matters as suffering and hardship?

Let's look at passages out of the letters of four respective New Testament writers and what they communicate about suffering. In Philippians 1:29 the apostle Paul states, "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him." That's right, GRANTED, like suffering for Jesus is a privilege! Not only that, Paul makes the argument that as children of God suffering is our inheritance (Rom 8:17). Earlier in the letter to the Romans he gives us what is probably one of the best known statements about suffering out of the Bible. He writes that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character and character produces hope. And since this marvelous hope is the end product of this process Paul considers suffering, the necessary first step in the equation, something that we should glory in. (Rom 5:3-5)

James built on this idea of hardship producing perseverance when he wrote in the introduction to his letter, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4) Not only is perseverance a desirable virtue, James makes it clear that the trails that test our faith are a vital component in our journey to maturity. Like Paul he challenges conventional thought about the difficulties we face, seeing them as reason for rejoicing to the buffeted believer.

The Hebrew writer is the third in our short study on suffering. In Hebrews 5:8 he teaches that Jesus, being the Son of God, learned obedience by what He suffered. Not insinuating for a moment that Jesus was ever disobedient to His Father! Instead it shows how, as a representative of mankind and an example for us, suffering was a reality that He faced. Note how in this case obedience is the result of suffering. The Hebrew writer builds further on this theme in chapter 12 where he touches on a very important aspect of our Christian lives: discipline. In no uncertain terms he shows how it is the children who God loves who undergo His discipline. What does this have to do with suffering you ask? “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?” (Hebrews 12:7) God, then, uses suffering to teach us obedience and uses hardship to discipline us. And He does this because He is a loving Father.

Finally, in his first letter, the apostle Peter takes on suffering as one of the major themes in his epistle. He wrote during a time when the persecution of Christians was especially brutal. Scholars believe that it was in the reign of the Roman emperor Nero, who allegedly burned countless believers at the stake, that Peter wrote this letter. He brings an altogether different angle on suffering in 1 Peter 1:7. Like the purity of gold is tested in the fire, Peter argues, so the genuineness of our faith can only be proven when things get hot, so to speak. Ironically, the believers to whom this letter was originally addressed were literally living under the threat of fire — that is, being burned alive for their faith in Jesus Christ. He closes the argument in his conclusion that, when our faith proves to be genuine, Jesus is glorified... Let me connect the dots for you, in case you missed that: suffering is an opportunity for God to be glorified. It all depends on how we react when the hardship hits.

In conclusion, to answer the question we started out with: yes, it most certainly is God's will for Christians to experience suffering. A brief search of the Word makes that abundantly clear. "So is God glorified in my suffering?" you ask. My response is simply this:

You tell me.