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The Significance of Suffering
by Anita Kelly-Couch
God’s greatest desire is that we become His by trusting in Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross for our forgiveness. Once we become His, His primary concern becomes stamping the image of Christ on us. The trials, challenges, and even temptations He allows are all part of His refining process to make us more like Jesus Christ. Because of His intimate knowledge of us and what we need, He knows exactly what it is going to take to accomplish this goal in our lives. He promises that everything He allows in our lives will be for our good and for His glory! (Ro.8:28,29; I Pet.1:6-8)
What good could possibly come from our suffering?
- Your suffering is a test of your faith and trials will greatly strengthen the faith of those who are open to His training and will let all else go. (James 1:2-4; I Peter 4:12)
- Trials are the necessary proof of the reality of your faith. Trials do not make us what we are; they reveal what’s already inside. Trials can be a wonderful confirmation of our faith in God. They also reveal areas where God will continue to cause our faith to increase.
- Trials teach us dependence on God rather than on ourselves (2 Cor.1: 8,9)
- Trials are to bring us into a more intimate knowledge of God. We gain an understanding of who God is by sharing in His sufferings. (Phil.3: 10; 2 Cor.4: 7-12) Our trials give us the opportunity to taste of the excruciating pain He endured for us, because of His great love. Through our suffering, we can relate to His suffering.
- God’s ultimate purpose is joy! “Counting it all joy” (James 1:2) means “looking down the long road and seeing what God is going to produce in us through this trial!”
In every trial, we must decide:
*will we accept this trial based on our belief that God will do as He has promised
or
*will we not accept this and remain in our unbelief?
Elizabeth Elliot reminds us that the underlying principle of the Cross is:
ACCEPTANCE of God’s will
And
RELINQUISHMENT of my own will
Jesus was our supreme example: “Father, not my will, but Thine be done.”
- Sometimes our trials are God’s tool for discipline: necessary correction or reproof, so “that we might share in His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” (Hebrews 12: 10b, 11)
- Our trials are temporary. In light of eternity, they last only for a moment. (2 Cor.4: 17-18) Our endurance will be rewarded.
- We are destined to suffer (Phil.1:29), but our sufferings are designed to drive us into the everlasting arms of His love. They are not designed to destroy us.
- Our sufferings will produce godly results, if we respond in faith. God will use what we have suffered to give hope and comfort to others. (2 Cor.1: 3-7)
Perseverance, proven character and hope are the results of suffering.
- PERSEVERANCE: to endure in faith and patience
- PROVEN CHARACTER: proof of trustworthiness & genuineness
- HOPE: the assurance that I am His (Ro.5: 3-5)
Your healing depends on your response. Will you believe God to do what He has promised through your suffering?
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