Suffering is an unfortunate part of life. As Christians, we sometimes wonder why there is suffering in the world, and why we who are children of God experience suffering ourselves, but even Jesus Christ suffered persecution and death for our salvation. The types of suffering are innumerable, from infertility, financial challenges and relationship problems to disease, war/violence and death. Whether perceived as explainable or irrational, it can be challenging to reconcile why bad things happen.
The Bible gives us many examples of people who suffered greatly, from Job, who lost everything he had except his life, to martyrs like St. Stephen the Protomartyr, who held on to his faith till the very end. However, their faith in God was never misplaced.
After his many trials—the loss of his children, wealth and health—Job had an exchange with God and bowed to God’s superior knowledge, plans, workings, and the splendour of His majesty. “Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.”[1]
Job 42:10b-12 then tells us: “The Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part.”
Even when the outcome was death, it was for God’s glory to be manifest. St. Stephen spoke of the word of God before the High Priest and the Sanhedrin, pointing out their hypocrisy and highlighting the blessing of the Holy Spirit, saying: “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him—you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”[2]
After this, they “…all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.”[3]
Some might say these Biblical figures were uniquely blessed with grace to bear their suffering, but there are recent examples of people who held on to their faith even through great tragedy.
Having noted his many trials, repeated imprisonments, multiple bombings of his home, stabbing, incessant death threats and more, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said: “My personal trials have also taught me the value of unmerited suffering. As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways that I could respond to my situation: either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course. Recognizing the necessity for suffering I have tried to make of it a virtue. If only to save myself from bitterness, I have attempted to see my personal ordeals as an opportunity to transform myself and heal the people involved in the tragic situation which now obtains. I have lived these last few years with the conviction that unearned suffering is redemptive.
There are some who still find the cross a stumbling block, and others consider it foolishness, but I am more convinced than ever before that it is the power of God unto social and individual salvation. So like the Apostle Paul I can now humbly yet proudly say, “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” The suffering and agonizing moments through which I have passed over the last few years have also drawn me closer to God. More than ever before I am convinced of the reality of a personal God.”
I cannot but think of the words our Saviour Himself tells us: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”[4]
I would be remiss if I failed to note that the journey of faith in times of suffering is not just one of fortitude and resilience, but can be, and often is, one of pain, faltering faith, negotiation with God, acceptance of His will and reconciliation to Him.
The story of Dr. Jill Biden dealing with the death of her son, Beau Biden, springs to mind. She recounts how having prayed for her son’s life as he battled brain cancer, then watched him die, caused her to almost lose her faith. “In 2015 my faith was shaken … For over a year I watched my brave, strong, funny, bright young son fight brain cancer. Chemotherapy, operation after operation, weight loss. But still I never gave up hope. As a mother, you can’t.” “In the final days I made one last desperate prayer and it went unanswered. After Beau died, I felt betrayed, broken”. After this, even with her priest repeatedly inviting her to church, she says “…I just couldn’t go. I couldn’t even pray. I wondered if I would ever feel joy again.”
It was not until years later, when another pastor’s wife, offered to be her prayer partner that things changed. “She sat beside me and she said, ‘Dr. Biden, I would like to be your prayer partner.’ I don’t know if she sensed how moved I had been by the service. I don’t know if she could still see the grief that I feel still hides behind my smile. But I do know that when she spoke, it was if God was saying to me, ‘Okay Jill, you’ve had enough time. It’s time to come home.'” “And in that moment, I felt for the first time that there was a path for my recovering my faith.”
Suffering can shake one’s faith, but it is especially in those moments, when ‘going through the dark night of the soul,’ that we ought most to hold on to our faith in God. Isaiah 40:31 always brings me comfort and strength: “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Yes, in this world, there will be times of running, and times of walking, but our God will fortify us through them all. I also hold fast to Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Our God’s plans are for our good and even in times of trial, He is there with us, we need only to reach out in prayer. ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus’ by the Irish-Canadian poet, Joseph M. Scriven, tells us as much:
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
[1] Job 42:1-3.
[2] Acts 7:51-53.
[3] Acts 5:57b-60.
[4] Matthew 5:10-12.
