How We Can Triumph in Suffering

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In my previous post on how to triumph in suffering (it’s been a while), I wrote that we need to be prepared to suffer. I’m going to continue to write on suffering because we can be triumphant in suffering if we understand what the Bible says about it—and it says a lot!! Those who don’t understand what the Bible teaches about suffering will struggle enormously more than those who do understand these principles. Specifically, they will struggle with the classic problem of evil: “If God is good, why is He allowing this to happen to me?” When suffering comes upon them, Christians who don’t understand what the Bible says about suffering often question God’s goodness. Further, I’ve seen many Christians, even famous Christian leaders, make huge mistakes while they were suffering—mistakes that hurt their faith and the faith of those around them. When one famous Christian leader died of cancer, some Christians posted on social media that his death had weakened their faith. That shouldn’t happen. That doesn’t need to happen.

So, if you’re suffering now, this series is for you!

And, if you’re not suffering now, then this series is for you! Why? Because sooner or later we’re all going to endure a lot of suffering.

We’re All Going to Suffer

I want to emphasize that we’re all going to suffer and we’re all going to suffer a lot! This is not open for debate. Consider that only one thing will keep you from watching every person you know die from murder, accident, or disease, and that will be your own death from murder, accident, or disease.

Have a nice day!

The only people who won’t suffer a lot are those who die young and suddenly, but I think few reading this would prefer to have died young and suddenly! The Lord doesn’t promise that we won’t suffer. The Lord doesn’t promise that you won’t die from heart disease or cancer. In fact, there’s a good chance you will die from heart disease or cancer because those are the two most common ways people die. But the Lord does promise to enable us to triumph in suffering (we’ll talk more about that in the future) and, thankfully, Jesus promises us eternal life!

But You Can Triumph in Suffering

So as I continue this series I’m going to explain four things we need to understand. First, we need to understand why we suffer. In other words, we need to understand the origin of suffering. Why is there suffering in the first place?

Second, we need to understand how God uses suffering in our lives to bless us now and forever. It’s hard to endure suffering if you don’t see the point of it. But if you understand how God uses suffering to make you more joyful while you’re here on planet earth and how God uses suffering to bless your eternity, then suffering is much easier to take. You may believe this or not, but the large majority of the important, truly beneficial things that have happened in my life were precisely the result of my suffering. I’ll say more about this in future posts.

Third, we need to understand how to cooperate with the Lord and how to relate to others while we are suffering.

Fourth, we need to understand how to help those who are suffering. Sadly, if you’ve suffered much while being a Christian, you know the myriad of things that people do and say that are harmful to the sufferer. Maybe these harmful things are well intended, but maybe not—some of the things said are more for the benefit of the onlooker than the sufferer. But there are truly helpful things we can do to encourage others in suffering.

I conclude this post with Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:16-20 and I encourage you to begin to pray this prayer:

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.

Notice that Paul did “not cease” to pray this. He prayed that we would know the hope to which he has called us, the riches of our inheritance, and the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us.

Peter writes something strikingly similar in 1 Peter 1:3-5. I’ve put the concepts similar to Paul’s prayer in bold type: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Peter used the same order and the same wonders as Paul did—we enjoy a hope, inheritance, and supernatural protection![i]

The Lord wants us to know these things. The Lord wants us to revel in knowing these things! Knowing the glorious eternal future God has in store for us not only goes a long way to explaining the larger problem of evil and why we suffer, but it also dwarfs our suffering here to insignificance.

We really need a revelation of the glory that awaits us in heaven. Please pray that we all receive, as Paul put it, such a “spirit of wisdom and revelation.” A beggarly appreciation of eternity will make suffering insufferable. But a robust view of the eternal glory that awaits us will enable you to triumph in suffering and have joy even in the midst of hardship!

Although this series is on how we can triumph in suffering, my book, Why Does God Allow Evil?, will give you the larger framework for why God is justified in allowing all the evil he allows.

My next post explains the origin of the suffering we endure.

[i] This protection is the protection of our souls, not our bodies. I’ll talk more about that in future posts.
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