As I was wondering what to share today I came across a very insightful quote on the purpose of suffering made by award-winning author, Philip Yancey. He said: “We feel pain as an outrage; Jesus did too, which is why he performed miracles of healing. In Gethsemane, he did not pray, “Thank you for this opportunity to suffer,” but rather pled desperately for an escape. And yet he was willing to undergo suffering in service of a higher goal. In the end he left the hard questions (“if there be any other way . . .”) to the will of the Father, and trusted that God could use even the outrage of his death for good.”1
As I re-read this quote I was struck by the phrase, referring to Jesus, “And yet he was willing to undergo suffering in service of a higher goal.” In the case of Jesus, the higher goal was to redeem humanity from the curse of sin and our date with eternal damnation. As we know the price Jesus had to pay was very steep – horrific suffering on a wooden cross, intense humiliation, and then the ultimate price, death. Yet, we know that Jesus concluded that since this was the will of the Father for His life, and that God works all things together for good to those that love Him, Jesus went with joy in His heart to Calvary. (Hebrews 12:2) shares this thought beautifully: “…who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
I believe that Jesus looked down the corridor of time and said if I go to the cross I will bring salvation to millions of souls. This thought must have brought so much joy to His heart that it gave Him the motivation to go to Calvary. You see, while suffering is never pleasurable, even when it is done to advance the kingdom of God, it can fill your heart with intense joy since I can think of nothing more wonderful than having the approval of our heavenly Father and watching our efforts bless others. For you see Christian service opens up for us levels of personal fulfillment far exceeding any others. In fact, self-denial and suffering can bring us joy that we can’t get in any other way.
My friends, when your higher goal is doing things to glorify God and bless others then Jesus uses our suffering to produce joy. This is a seeming paradox, but since joy is so much more than happiness the two go hand in hand.
So, what about you? Are you suffering from an illness? Have you recently lost your Job? Or has your wife just had a miscarriage? In all of these situations God has allowed them to happen because He has a master plan in which He wants to use your tragedy for His glory. Our role is to trust God that He will use our suffering in unique ways if we just turn them over to Him. So, rather than question God in these above cases with the refrain: “why me,” I much prefer to ask God how can you use these negatives to bless others and make me a God glorifying vessel.
Satan wants us to entertain thoughts of doubting God’s goodness and wallowing in self-pity. I choose to thank God for these trials and sufferings because first, we are told in Scripture: “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18), and second, because suffering for the kingdom’s sake is the pathway to abundant joy and the highest goal we can ever achieve – bringing glory to Jesus!
How we handle suffering is critical because we can either grow bitter or better. My prayer is that we will always strive to realize that if God allows suffering to come into our lives, He will use it in a marvelous way to bring joy into our hearts and glory to our Savior!
1 Where Is God When It Hurts? by Philip Yancey – Bible Portal
Amen, God bless you 🙏