As a child, I squirmed every time I read James 1:2–4:
My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.— NRSV
Even more discomforting was 1 Peter. The whole discourse on suffering made my stomach queasy, especially 1 Peter 4:12–13 (NRSV):
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you are sharing in Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed.
In the rural, middle-class Canadian community where I grew up, religious persecution was as foreign as the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas or the rice fields of China. When I heard stories about Christians being tortured, imprisoned, or beheaded for their faith, I was overwhelmed by horror and guilt.
These stories broke my heart, and they filled me with a slimy feeling of embarrassment because I didn’t need to risk my life to worship God. I felt like a soft-bellied wimp compared to my spiritual brothers and sisters in China, North Korea, or Iraq.
As it turned out, suffering found me soon enough in the form of divorce, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and mental illness. Shortly after I turned ten years old, my family system began to crumble, and I spent the next fifteen years sorting through the rubble of our broken home.
As a teenager navigating the emotional minefield of family dysfunction, I received James 1:2–4 and 1 Peter 4:12–13 like a slap in the face. However, now that I’m an adult spending countless hours in prayer to combat the spiritual warfare that surrounds my family and some of my closest friends, every line of those epistles is life and breath to me.
What I’ve learned from studying the biblical discourse on suffering is that we do not rejoice in the trials themselves; rather, we rejoice in the following three promises:
We Have a God Who Suffers with Us
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we receive from God.— 2 Cor. 1:3–4 NIV
God is a divine Judge who metes out justice with perfect impartiality, and He is a tender Father, loyal brother, and faithful friend. He is the God of compassion.
As Henri Nouwen explains, “the words passion and patience both find their roots in the Latin word pati, which means ‘suffering.’” Thus, “compassion” literally means “to suffer with.”
During our trials, we can rejoice in knowing that we serve a God who suffers with us and who conquered injustice by submitting himself to it (Isa. 53:2–4).
God Uses Suffering for our Sanctification
James and Peter both articulate that suffering is integral for our spiritual maturity. Just as our salvation required Christ to suffer for us, so too does our sanctification require us to suffer for his name (1 Pet. 4:14–16).
When we refrain from repaying evil with evil and choose to bless those who curse us, we can rejoice in knowing that God is accomplishing a redeeming work in us, replacing our arrogance, pride, and desire for revenge with a spirit of humility, patience, and sacrificial love.
Moreover, suffering instills in us empathy and compassion for others in similar situations (2 Cor. 1:6–7). The fieriest trials we endure are often God’s divinely appointed way of preparing us for the unique calling he has placed on our lives.
We Will Have the Victory in Christ
In Romans 8:31–37, Paul assures us that nothing in this life—no trial, hardship, or tribulation—will ever separate us from the love of God:
If God is for us, who can be against us? . . . Who shall separate us from the love of God? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Paul also promises (as hard as this is to believe sometimes) that “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor. 4:17).
When the enemy wreaks havoc in our lives, we can rejoice in knowing that God alone holds the sovereign authority and that he will work everything—even the most harrowing chapters of our stories—for his glory and our good (Rom. 8:28).
No matter what evil we may face in this lifetime, we can rejoice in knowing that God walks with us through our suffering, there is a purpose for our suffering, and that Christ will have the victory over our suffering. These promises of God’s compassion, sanctification, and redemption give us ample reason to rejoice—even when rejoicing means praising God with a broken heart and tears streaming down our faces.
Footnotes
Henri J. M. Nouwen, Donald P. McNeill, and Douglas A. Morrison, Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life (USA: Doubleday, 1982), 89.
