I had the opportunity to speak to the young adult ministry at my church recently, and from the moment I was asked to speak, I felt very strongly to speak on suffering. Based on the response of that night and subsequent weeks as well as general observation, I believe this topic requires a more thorough examination. In the end, my hope is that you will see suffering the way God intends and the Bible describes: as a gift.
The previous posts in this series have built on each other. First, we discovered that suffering is promised to the Christian. After that, we learned that suffering is a means of grace for the Christian. Last week, we saw that suffering is part of God's plan and is good for the Christian.
In the final post in this series, we combine all of these points with a revealing verse from the Bible to conclude the following: Suffering is a gift from God.
I will expand on this simple statement at the end of the post so that we can more fully understand just exactly how suffering is a gift. For now, let's turn to the Bible to see how this statement can be made at all.
Philippians 1:29
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.
The highlighted portions of the verse above indicate how we can understand suffering as a gift. To simplify the verse for the sake of our discussion, it says that it has been granted to us that we should suffer for the sake of Christ. To work this statement in reverse, we see that it is for Christ that we suffer. We can take comfort in this point. We don't suffer needlessly. There is a purpose to our suffering, and that is that we, by His grace, can suffer in such a way that will bring glory to Jesus (Col. 1:24). When we go through suffering but maintain our faith and trust in His good plan, when we refuse to give in to the doubt which we are tempted to feel, we show forth the immanent goodness and trustworthiness of God and display Him as our greatest treasure.
We likewise see, yet again, that suffering is the expected norm for the Christian life. Not only is our belief granted to us, but so is suffering. This has been discussed at length in other posts, but it bears repeating if for no other reason than because this is the hardest point to get - as a Christian, you will suffer.
Finally, we see that this suffering for Christ 'has been granted' to us. Another word for granted is given. And what gets given?
Gifts.
Allow that to sink in before reading on.
Why would God give us suffering as a gift? I don't know about you, but in my flesh I can think of a few other things I would much rather receive than suffering. Like....just about anything. And yet the Bible is unyielding in its view on suffering. It leaves us no room for displeasure in suffering. Why? Let's look back at the last couple of posts to understand this.
We can view suffering as a gift because we can see that it is part of God's plan, and God's plan is good and pleasing and perfect. God's overarching plan for all of creation is to bring Himself glory. Therefore, our suffering is meant to bring Him glory, and in so doing we will be fully satisfied in our lives because, when we suffer well for Christ and hold Him as most dear, He is most glorified.
We can view suffering as a gift because its goodness means that it stands as a form of grace in our lives. It is a way that God trains us as His children, and being His children means being adopted into His family and being co-heirs with Jesus.
We can view suffering as a gift because God promises it will happen in His Word, and His promises are meant for our ultimate benefit and blessing.
Allow me to now expand on the initial statement at the beginning of this post. This is the culminating conclusion of this series:
Suffering is a gift from God designed to enhance our delight in Him and advance the gospel to the world.
Armed with this truth, I want to leave you with a thought and a challenge. I warn you, the challenge will not be easy, yet I believe it is one that every Christian must face at some point in their walk with the Lord.
C.S. Lewis writes in A Grief Observed:
"You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you...Only a real risk tests the reality of a belief (p. 22)."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes in The Cost of Discipleship:
"Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ...Costly grace is a treasure hidden in a field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods...It is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him...Above all it is costly because it cost God the life of His Son; 'ye were bought at a price,' and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us (p. 44-45)."
It is a simple thing to say that God is good and trustworthy when things are going well. It something altogether different to hold to the truth that God is good and trustworthy when no particular circumstance in your life would indicate that goodness.
My challenge is to ask yourself the following questions, honestly, before the Lord:
1) Do you hold your life as so precious that you avoid suffering for the sake of personal comfort?
2) Have you 'sold everything' and made Christ your treasure?
3) Have you asked God to test you in these things?
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