Joy in Suffering

Not many people enjoy suffering.  I know I don't...or at least, I didn't.

In the fall of 2000, I collapsed a lung playing soccer in Iowa.  Over the next three weeks, I had tubes stuck between my ribs, needles jabbed in my hands, leg braces that squeezed blood throughout my body every 15 minutes (great sleeping conditions!) and a staple shot into my lung to help it heal.  The doctors compared the pain of my chest tube to that of going through labor (but never mention that to a mother or they will yell at you).

On the "fun meter", the experience ranked just below sitting in a patch of poison ivy.  Or watching my older brother try to ballroom dance.

But that shouldn't surprise you.  Who looks forward to suffering?  Who rejoices when the swine flu hits or a loved one dies or the landlord stops making exceptions?  No one wants that, do they?

Well, almost no one...

The Apostle Paul, a pastor from the 1st century, wrote these words to us, "We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings," (Romans 5:2-3).

What?!?  "Rejoice in sufferings"?  If he had written, "We put up with sufferings" or "We grin and bear it through sufferings," I could relate, but "rejoice"?  How can that be?

How do you tell that to the people you meet in this life?  How can you tell a 48 year old woman to rejoice as she wakes up on the first Monday in 20 years without her husband lying next to her?  How can you tell the 12 year old boy to rejoice when the kids rip his self-worth to shreds in the lunchroom?  How can you tell the elderly man to rejoice that his wife's mind is failing and she may not recognize him again?

How could Paul say that?

If you read the rest of Romans 5, you'll find the answer.  In the very first verse he writes, "Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."  Peace with God.  Just the sound of that short sentence should shock you.  For a sinner like Paul, who murdered and hated and lied and set-up and schemed, to have peace with God is beyond belief.  But that's what Jesus came to do.

Jesus mission was to end the war between fallen sinners and a holy God.  He came to wave the white flag of peace by dying for our sins.  He turned enemies of God into the friends of God.  And thus he made peace.

The main reason we can rejoice in our sufferings is that the God who "runs the show" in the universe is not our enemy but our friend.  He is not looking for ways to punish us, but ways to build us up and save us.  The sickness and the funeral and the struggles are not a sign of his displeasure with you.  There's no spite or wrath when a Christian suffers.  Only love.

Parents understand that.  At times you let your children suffer.  At times you let them fall and fail.  You allow them momentary pain.  But is it because you hate them?  No, just the opposite!  It's because you care about them that you want them to grow.  The 1 year old may only see dad sitting and watching while she stumbles, but that is not because he doesn't care.  It's because he wants her to grow strong enough to walk.

Likewise, our Father in heaven isn't grinning as he watches the drama of our life with a bowl of popcorn in his lap.  Instead, he's like a Father who is only a step away, but allows suffering because he knows how things will turn out.

And that's exactly what Paul says in Romans 5.  "We also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope," (v.4).  The believer can rejoice in suffering because he knows that the end will be good.

Take a football player, for example.  His legs burn as he pushes through another drill.  Teammates pant for breath and double-over in exhaustion.  "Again," the coach commands.  Groans spread through the mass of men.  But they line up anyway and start to run.  They know it won't be easy, but the coach is only doing what is best.  In the end, they won't hate him for these grueling moments.  In fact, they will be the very ones searching for the gatorade to dump on him when the victory is won. 

It takes some long-range thinking to not only live with, but also rejoice in, suffering.  God never admits it will be pleasant now, but the results will be pleasant later.  Character and perseverance and hope will be born out of those difficult days.

You don't have to tell me that.  Those three weeks with one functioning lung were not joy-filled, but I would never take them back.  As I now listen to people's struggles and pain, I realize God was using that time to build my character and to equip me with experiences that would allow me to relate.  I now see how easy it is to be angry with God when temporary pains come--I was a theology major who was ticked at the Lord for ruining a good soccer season!  I now am aware that those days were a blessing for my family, my future marriage, and my faith.

Because, really, pain can only make you bitter or better.  The child of God can trust in the latter.  Having a loving Father is what makes all the difference.

God willing, next time, I will realize that truth from the moment suffering hits.  And I will make a different choice.  I will choose to rejoice.  I pray you join me, not matter what tomorrow brings.