When suffering and evil come our way, they’ll exert a force that either pushes us away from God or pulls us toward Him. The perspectives we’ve cultivated between now and then will determine our direction. In my experience, most Christians lack grounding in God’s attributes, including His sovereignty, omnipotence, omniscience, justice, and patience. We dare not wait for the time of crisis to learn perspective! The time to study these things in the Bible is now.
Now is the time to contemplate these words of God about the future that awaits us:
Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:3–5)
But what about when we’re already experiencing suffering—when it’s too late to prepare, or even when we’re as prepared as we could realistically be? What can we do to more fully embrace God’s purposes in the midst of our ordeal?
We should realize it is not too late to prepare, because the time we spend today worshiping God and learning from His Word and His people will prepare us for tomorrow.
Based on what God has given us in Christ, we can be sure He’ll give us all we need to endure evil and suffering. “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). When God has given us the greatest gift, the one that cost Him everything, shouldn’t we trust Him to give us the good gifts that cost Him nothing?
Trusting God for the grace to endure adversity is more an act of faith than is trusting Him for deliverance from it. And we can demonstrate that trust with actions and attitudes like these:
1. Look to God’s promises for comfort.
Holding on to Scripture sustains us through suffering. A woman in our church who has suffered reads her Bible each night, then hugs it as she falls asleep. She asked a pastor self-consciously, “Is that weird?” It may be unusual, but it certainly isn’t weird. By clinging to God’s promises, she clings to God.
In a time of dark suffering and dread, David affirmed,
The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?... Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.... Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.... I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. (Psalm 27:1, 3, 10, 13–14)
Notice how David talks to himself about God’s faithfulness and goodness, encouraging himself to wait on God. It’s worth listening to self-talk if it involves speaking God’s Word.
Years ago I turned off talk radio to listen to the Bible instead. Scripture, loaded on my iPod, accompanies me as I travel. I never regret investing my time this way—why listen to one more human voice when you can listen to God’s?
2. Anticipate God’s rewards.
Evil and suffering are temporary, but God’s goodness and our joy will be eternal. Jesus told suffering believers to “rejoice... and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven” (Luke 6:23). Greater suffering for Christ will bring us greater eternal rewards.
The believers described in Faith’s Hall of Fame (see Hebrews 11) all endured severe tests. None of them had an easy life. Yet they all clung to their belief in God’s promises, trusting His goodness and believing “that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (verse 6, NASB).
Sadly, the doctrine of eternal rewards is one of the most neglected teachings in the Western church today, partly explaining our failure to face suffering with greater perspective and to anticipate what awaits us in Heaven.
Knowing that suffering will one day end gives us strength to endure this day. Though we don’t know exactly when, we do know for sure that either by our deaths or by Christ’s return, our suffering will end. From before the beginning, God drew the line in eternity’s sand to say for His children, “This much and no more, then endless joy.”
3. Lighten the load through prayer.
Suffering often induces stress and anxiety. If you pray in light of God’s sovereign grace and unfailing love, your anxiety will eventually give way to peace. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7).
Worry is momentary atheism crying out for correction by trust in a good and sovereign God. Paul, whom we seldom think of as vulnerable, wrote, “For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:8–9, ESV). God uses suffering to break us of self-dependence and bring us to rely on Him.
He helps us learn that He alone can bear the full weight of our pain, and give us strength and life when we feel only weakness and death. Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Looking back at her eighteen-month-old son’s death, my friend Ann Stump said, “I learned what it was like not to be able to do something on my own. I couldn’t get up in the morning without the Lord’s help.”
4. Share your life with others who suffer.
I encourage you to get in touch with the suffering of others. Reach out to those who suffer. Give your time and energy and money to work with the poor, the unemployed, the lonely, and those who battle illnesses, disabilities, or addictions. My time spent with suffering people has been an investment not just in their lives, but also in mine.
Consider this: “The God of all comfort... comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4). When God uses us to help others, we discover a joy we’d never have known if we had never suffered.
