Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, (2 Corinthians 1:3a NIV)
Scribbling down thoughts on suffering Sunday led me to share some of them with you - why we suffer, and how to move through suffering with joy. Not joy like most people think of joy, but with a deep, inexpressible, divine joy of contentment, courage, and confidence.
It's really difficult to put into words how one can be filled with joy in the midst of suffering, but as believers in Jesus Christ mature, we learn to look at our suffering through the lens of Christ's sufferings, and how "for the joy set before Him," He endured the unimaginable suffering of the cross.
For the joy set before Him... (Hebrews 12:2)
The mindset of Christ is what we need to work towards as we pass through all kinds of suffering in this life. Our focus needs to be on the joy set before us and not merely on the circumstances we find ourselves in.
The indescribable joy I'm talking about comes only from the comfort we receive from the Savior of the world. The Savior who chose to put on flesh and walk among us. A Savior who left the glory of heaven for the gory of the cross. A Savior who took on our sin and who suffered on a level we will never fully comprehend. The wrath of God was satisfied through our Savior's suffering. This was the joy set before Him - healing our broken relationship with the Father which had been completely severed by sin.
His kind of joy produces patience to endure our sufferings, allows us to rest in Him knowing we're not alone, and increases our faith in knowing will be fine in the midst of and on the other side of our difficult circumstances. What our healing looks like is not for us to decide. It will look like whatever brings the most glory back to God Almighty.
The more trust we deposit into our relationship with Christ, the more joy we receive in return.
...Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. (2 Corinthians 1:4, capitalization mine)
The suffering we endure on earth is also used by God to spill comfort over into the lives of others as they suffer. Our suffering is never in vain. We also bring glory to God when we comfort people in their time of distress.
For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. (2 Corinthians 1:5)
God doesn't cause suffering in our lives, but He uses it to refine us and mold us into more of a radiant image of His Son on earth. Our suffering, and our response to suffering, can be used to point others to Christ and the comfort only He can bring.
Focusing on ourselves will make us bitter in our suffering, but when we're Christ-focused, our suffering will make us better. Better equipped, better in our Christ-like character, better in our attitudes, better at believing, better at trusting, better at loving others, just better... all the way around.
Watching someone suffer whom we love deeply can also make us bitter if we allow ourselves to lose focus. How we respond to their suffering can also make us better if we remain firm in the faith, and keep our eyes on Jesus. This is the suffering we are experiencing as a family right now. Our prayer is that God will make us better as we watch our loved one suffer, who will more than likely not get physically better, but will ultimately be healed in the presence of Jesus.
Suffering grows us up in our faith and strips us of our belief in self sufficiency. It helps us realize we are not in control of life. It causes us to examine what really matters, grows our prayer life as we learn to pray more intentionally and specifically. It also increases our understanding through godly wisdom, in our surrender, to be better equipped to walk alongside others as they suffer.
For those who are walking with us through our time of suffering, this is the Scripture we're praying over you...
And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:7 NIV)
This brings us joy!
My Pleasure,
Melanie
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