No one ever welcomes suffering. In fact, we all try to avoid it. Yet, it is a universal human experience. It can be brief, or it can be long. Here are some causes I wrote about in my book.
A big question we all want the answer to is, “What causes us to suffer?” The ultimate reason suffering comes upon us is that Adam and Eve sinned. We now all live in a messed-up world with messed-up people and messed-up bodies.
Causes more specific, however, also exist.
- Suffering others bring on us, such as rejection, divorce, betrayal, abuse—or persecution, as for some of my friends in Pakistan.
- Suffering we bring on ourselves from the sins we commit, such as worrying, unforgiveness, or adultery. This suffering also includes mistakes like making bad financial decisions or failing to see the other car before we pull in front of it.
- Suffering that’s a result of circumstances beyond our control. This includes events or circumstances like job loss through no fault of our own, a child born with a mental or physical disability, unexplained health problems, or the loss of precious people.
- Suffering caused by your ignorance of the New Covenant, which results in natural consequences from living according to the flesh instead of walking in the Spirit. This includes feelings of condemnation, frustration, and defeat.
- Suffering caused by the spiritual attacks Satan inflicts on our lives. This includes lies he tempts us to believe about God, ourselves, other people, and life events.” (p. 126)
In writing about his and his missionary team’s suffering, the Apostle Paul identified at least two purposes of our suffering. The first is that God comforts us in different ways. Sometimes it is with his felt presence, his voice, a Scripture, a friend, or a remedy to our suffering.
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 ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5
When we suffer, we can comfort others because of our capacity to feel others’ pain. Rather than trying to “fix” them, we are able to love them where they are with understanding.
The second purpose is to learn to trust in our God more than in ourselves.
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1:8-9
If we can change our circumstances to alleviate the suffering, that is certainly fine. Yet, what about when they cannot be changed? For we who believe in Jesus, we have a choice. Depend on ourselves or depend on God.
(If you or someone you know feels overwhelmed by their suffering, please click here to request a consultation for our counseling. We care and want to help you get to the other side ot it.)
