There’s no good word to describe the torrential waves of a tsunami that washes villages away in India or a tornado in Missouri that destroys people’s homes. It really is hard to understand why God allows such devastation to plague our earth. In Texas, the months of July through September mark hurricane season, and we still remember the havoc and chaos that storms like Hurricane Harvey brought to our city back in 2017. Not to mention earthquakes, forest fires, freezing blizzards and more. Beyond, natural disasters, there’s also disease, cancer, car accidents, the heart break of death and loss, persecution and more.
Have you ever experienced these sort of pains and wondered, “Why does God allow this kind of suffering in my life?”
The Goodness of Suffering
Friends, we will never be able to answer that question fully. We also know that there are all different kinds of reasons for why people suffer. For example, sometimes suffering comes as a consequence of sin, but not always. Other times, God uses suffering for our good.
The Apostle Paul has a lot to say about the goodness of suffering in 2 Corinthians 4:13-15. In fact, he gives two reasons in this passage for why we should see it as good. First, our sufferings link us to the sufferings of our biblical ancestors and, second, it plays a vital role in bringing others to faith.
Paul has just finished a long laundry lists of trials and persecutions in the preceding verses, from bodily pain to social rejection, and he makes it clear that a believer’s life should be defined by these experiences. But now, in verses 13 through 15, he unpacks the relational dynamics inherent to a believer’s sufferings.
The History of God’s People is a History of Suffering
First, Paul explains that true suffering is an integral part of the history of the people of God all the way from the beginning of the Old Testament.
In 2 Corinthians 4:13, Paul states, “Since we have the same spirit of faith as he had wrote, ‘I believed, and so I spoke,’ we too believe, and so we speak.” Now this is without a doubt a confusing statement to make. But there is a purpose. Paul is making an intentional comment about believers today and the person who made the statement, “I believed, and so I spoke.” This latter person is a psalmist – probably not David – who writes in Psalm 116:10, which states, “I believed, even when I spoke: I am greatly afflicted.” Interestingly, the organization of 2 Corinthians 4 and Psalm 116 are very similar. Both authors lay out a long list of sufferings before making reference to faith and speech.
Paul thus links arms with this psalmist twofold: he not only tries to show how his sufferings share in the same sufferings of the psalmist, but also that his faith enables him to both trust in God and speak out (about Christ) boldly in the midst of such sufferings.
There is a great history of believers suffering for their faith in God. Paul links arms with a Psalmist in the Old Testament, but we can also think of the suffering of so many believers throughout church history with whom we also are linked. Think of all those who are martyred because of their faith; think of the pastors in the Middle East who have been imprisoned for preaching the Gospel; think of those in India who converted to Christianity and were then disowned and rejected by their families. When we suffer for our faith, we become bonded with these believers around the world and throughout history.
The Suffering of Christ and His Resurrection
Moreover, when we suffer, we are united to Christ in his sufferings.
In verse 14, Paul tells us to look to Christ and, specifically, to think of and find comfort in the resurrection: “knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into His presence.” This is both the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and also our resurrection at Jesus’ Second Coming. Paul’s reference to our own death in this verse is significant because he implies that we may die on account of our suffering, but, if we do, our death brings us closer to Christ, and that is a good thing.
Can you see and feel the intimacy that Paul is trying to depict in this kind of suffering?
But Paul does not stop there. He includes verse 15 one final reminder for why we should see a bigger picture when we suffer. He concludes this passage by highlighting how suffering is also an evangelistic tool that leads to belief.
Paul states, “For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.” As we suffer, the grace of faith is extended to others, and as they come to faith, thanksgiving increases, which ultimately gives glory to God.
Friends, let these truths encourage you today. God has not abandoned you in your suffering. In fact, he may be producing great character in you through your trials, drawing people to himself and bringing him glory. When we suffer for our faith, we link arms with believers throughout history and with Christ himself. These truths should give us great comfort and perseverance. So press on today, in spite of what you may face, and know that you are not alone.
God uses suffering for our good. It link us to the sufferings of our biblical ancestors and it plays a vital role in bringing others to faith. Click To Tweet
