Have you ever experienced death during the Christmas season? Or a surprise diagnosis, or extra medical tests? Maybe you are far from family and miss your friends. Or you lost your house or vehicle and find yourself staying with a friend, disillusioned. All of these scenarios and more have happened to me at one time or another, and several involved the month of December.

But it’s Christmas. And suffering doesn’t fit into our happy Christmas pattern. It interrupts and brings distraction, causing discomfort we don’t want associated with the season. It defies the shiny ribbons and bows, melodic carols, and cheerful bells. It dampens the nostalgia of classic movies and quiets the comfort of warmly lit church services. Every good thing we experience in the season is spoiled by it, and dread looms in the heart.

A few years ago, in a classroom setting, I was challenged to think biblically about suffering. How did God fit into suffering, and was there good to come from it? Up until that time, I had only absorbed suffering and waited for it to end. And maybe you’re like that too. You’re waiting to turn a corner, hoping the discomfort and angst lead to a new outcome or some relief.

I hope the article brings you hope, so be sure to read to the end. My thoughts on the topic are not exhaustive, but please take what you can use and maybe do further personal study.

First of all, let’s acknowledge that the Bible presents suffering as a fact of life.

Let’s consider Job since he is most famous for his suffering:

Early in the book, we find Job grieving because the LORD had permitted Satan access to him (Job 1:8). By Job 1:20, he kneels in worship to the LORD. Job never charged God with wrongdoing (1:22). By chapter 10, Job is wondering what God has against him. In Job 19, he cries out that he is in torment and that there is no justice. By the end of the book, Job realized he had spoken to God in ignorance and repented. For Job, the value of suffering lay in trusting God through it. Previous questioning of God’s wisdom led him to humbly understand that God is working in ways beyond his understanding or knowledge (Job 42:3).

Even Paul suffered. Paul’s captivity was due to Christian persecution, not for crimes. Someone said we would not have the letters he wrote if not for his imprisonment. His incarceration allowed him time to write. He had plenty to say about his suffering. And the churches in his day, the Church today, and Christians who read their Bibles are impacted by Paul’s rich manuals of wisdom. Readers past and present see some good that resulted from his sufferings. Paul gives hope in Romans 8:28 that our suffering will have purpose. We don’t always understand that purpose. Paul’s sufferings teach us how to endure through it all.

ENDURANCE THROUGH TESTING

James tells us that perseverance is developed through trials and suffering (James 1:3) and that we need endurance for life and godliness. Without these two traits, we would only offer a fleshly response to our personal suffering. But when we dig deep and unite with God’s intention, His Spirit leads us to green pastures with responses only generated in us by our Fairest Lord Jesus. To Him be praise~

WE ARE NOT ALONE

God is so good to remind us that we are not alone in our suffering. I Peter 5:9 tells us that other believers are suffering. Of course, we are not happy about this, but it is meant to be comforting. Not that misery loves company, but that we are not alone. All Christians suffer.

JESUS SUFFERED

Isaiah 53 speaks of Jesus’ suffering. In Revelation 5, John tells of a Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world.

Jesus came to die.

While He was on earth, He suffered. He suffered so much that the author of Hebrews said that we have One who identifies with our sufferings (Hebrews 4:15). If Jesus suffered, which He did, then it’s plausible that His children will suffer. And the Bible says we will (Romans 8:16-18). As that passage states, we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ if we share in His sufferings.

GOD’S CHARACTER

Sometimes we don’t realize how good and kind our Lord is until we go through suffering. James 5:10-12 tells us He is full of compassion and mercy. Lamentations 3 is a lovely chapter in God’s Word. And the writer talks about being led into a time of testing. But in verses 19-26, even though the writer remembers his suffering, he also recalls the Lord’s faithfulness and worships Him.

In Deuteronomy 8, the Israelite’s desert experience is referenced as a time of testing to reveal what was in their hearts. I think that happens to us as we go through suffering. We are presented with a choice: we can either harden our hearts or humble them. Suffering reveals sin in our hearts. As we surrender to the suffering, giving it over to Jesus, we are changed.

Even Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit and suffered under the hand of Satan (victoriously) for 40 days. Jesus knows what it is to say, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). And suffering helps us to learn to say this too.

SIN

Back in Genesis 1:16-19, God declares specific suffering on the woman and the man due to their sin. Our sin causes self-inflicted suffering. Just as assured consequences come from earthly parents to their children, we must suffer discipline from our loving Heavenly Father when our sin harms us. But even that produces a harvest of righteousness and peace ( Hebrews 12:11).

Then there are other people’s sins. We may suffer for others’ poor choices. These injustices are bitter to endure. Waiting for others’ behavior to change is an opportunity to cling to God for sustaining strength and faith.

LIFE:

Then life presents a variety of circumstances beyond our control. The world is unpredictable, and sometimes the overflow of horrible suffering impacts our lives. All these scenarios are better when we quickly turn to our gentle Shepherd to lead and guide us through.

PRAYING FOR OTHERS:

Have you ever prayed for other Christians who are going through the same thing you are? I don’t mean people you know. The next time you are suffering, ask God to help other Christians who are going through the same thing you are, wherever they are in the world (1 Peter 5:9, Ephesians 6:18). It is comforting to pray for others, but you are ministering to them through praying for them. When we all get Home, you will meet them.

THE GOOD FROM SUFFERING:

Some good results of suffering are already presented in this article. And the Bible presents a case for good outcomes from suffering. Some people in the biblical text even say their suffering came from God. Often, a divine plan shines and lights the way for redemption, and not just redemption for one person, but for several, or even many. One example is Ruth 1:13. Naomi declares that the hand of the LORD is against her. As the story unfolds, she lives in the provision, protection, and prophecy of the One and Only True God, and plays a role that sets the stage in Bethlehem for the coming King.

Some people wonder if God allows or sends our suffering. That answer may not come on this side of heaven. I’m not sure it has to be answered. But I don’t find a God who allows suffering inconsistent with a good and loving God. As stated earlier, the Bible stories and people display the idea in living color. Personally, I am comforted that God is controlling what comes my way. My suffering is not random. God is love, and I can learn to trust His heart.

People have all kinds of hypothetical ideas about a God who allows suffering, and all of them are beyond my pay grade and probably beyond theirs, too. I believe that everyone on the planet suffers. The rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45). I often pray that I won’t cause suffering to myself(self-inflicted) or others. But while my identity is in Christ, I am not glorified and with Jesus yet, so to my disappointment, I sin.

THE CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE:

For those in Christ, we have our faith in God, the promised Holy Spirit, the Bible, and the Body of Christ to help us through all of it. Those are huge, mega resources, and the Christians who learn to incorporate each resource into their life are better for it and grow in Christ’s likeness.

I do know we were never meant to be stoic or to do life alone. The biblical example is others. Always others. God has more than provided a plan in suffering, no matter how insufferable. He hurts when we hurt (Psalm 103:13-14, Hebrews 4:15-16). Plus, as previously stated, He suffered.

When suffering visits, we can remember the saints before us and the One who stands with us. He is always with us, but when we suffer, we know His presence like no other time when we turn to Him. Then we know we have a companion. We never suffer alone. We will never die alone. The Bible says we have a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24), and just when we need that kind of closeness, He is there.

©Valerie Rumfelt

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” Matthew 1:23