Glory in suffering
Suffering is a universal experience. While we live in this broken world, we will endure suffering that is often out of our hands. Yet how we view God relates to how we endure suffering. God is the one who wants to help us go through suffering and to find His glory in the midst. This Sunday, we learnt what this meant from Isaiah 53.
The suffering of God (verses 2-4)
Imagine that the Son of God would be sent down to experience human suffering. Imagine the most important person in the world is able to understand our suffering. Yet, we don’t have to imagine as this was the reality. Jesus knew suffering very well. He was not very popular in His day, even Isaiah said that He would have no beauty that we should desire Him. Verse 3 states that He was treated like someone of no importance (ERV). So there’s no exaggeration when we say Jesus understands our suffering. Our God is the only god who knows our suffering; He wasn’t immune to the worldly griefs and sorrows. Yet, it was not meaningless suffering but because of the sovereignty of God.
The sovereignty of God (verses 5-12)
If we believe that God is sovereign, then we also believe there is a reason for our suffering. Jesus who endured public humiliation, rejection and even threats of violence (John 8:59) had to endure the worst suffering of all; the cross. Carrying the sins of the world, Jesus endured it till the very end because He acknowledged that it was God’s will (Luke 22:42). He knew that this suffering was not in vain. We should look upon our own suffering with the lense of the cross; a lense that is of humility and submission to God’s sovereignty. It’s important to note that God is not the author of evil, but as He governs it so that He shall see the offspring (John 16:21).
Where is the glory?
Pain and suffering are very real. But let’s think of childbirth. A mother must endure many, many hours of pain and suffering when giving birth (not including and pains prior to or after giving birth). In the moment, she may feel like this is the worst pain she’s ever felt in her life. Yet, once a loving mother hears the first cry of her baby, the pain and suffering pales in comparison to the beauty of this moment; the moment her child has come into the world. Now, her pain and suffering (still present) is overshadowed by joy. So how do we know that the suffering we must endure is worth it? It’s because one day He will show us the glory and we would even share in His glory (Revelations 21:3).
Dear Lord,
Thank You that we have a God who understands and has experience suffering like ours. Thank You that You are a God who can empathise with Your people. I pray that while I endure pain and suffering, I would look to You as the provider of joy. I look towards the future with joy knowing that the day is near when You will reveal that our pain and suffering was worth it.
In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen