(Romans 5:3-4 NIV) Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; {4} perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Life is filled with suffering. “What a pain!” is a common phrase that is often heard in our society. It has become so common place that it is considered cliché. We do not like to be inconvenienced and whenever we are we tend to complain or grumble. It’s a natural reaction for human beings.
We see suffering as a trial or a punishment in most cases but suffering is really a gift from God. It is a gift that not many of us seek, though. After all, who wants to suffer? The reality is that suffering is a necessary beginning for obtaining hope. Just as a weight lifter causes his muscles to experience pain in order to produce growth to increase strength, so God allows us to suffer that we may grow stronger.
As we suffer we may go through the steps of grief; denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Suffering may not seem like grief but loss of any kind causes us to experience a form of grief.
The steps of grieving listed here do not completely describe the Christian experience. We go through these steps or a combination of these steps in dealing with our loss but we have some added steps. Once we have reached the acceptance stage we just hang on. We stand our ground. The Christian perseveres and embraces the suffering. We don’t like it but we acknowledge and accept its presence in our lives.
That tolerance of suffering causes Christians to develop great character. The person who suffers gracefully comes to understand the suffering of others and that understanding allows us to embrace compassion for those around us that we see suffering. As we watch others suffering and dealing with their situations just as we are doing we begin to realize that there is something more than the pain we are all currently experiencing. That something more is Jesus Christ. He is greater than anything we have to deal with and he becomes our hope.
The bible speaks of hope differently than how we usually view hope. Most of us think of hope as being a wish or a desire. When the bible speaks of hope it is speaking of more than an emotion. It is speaking of an assurance of fact. A belief that is so strong that it cannot waiver.
While we usually cannot find any hope that the suffering will just go away, we can always find hope that Christ will support us and help us find a way to walk through the suffering and to eventually grow stronger than the pain. It is this hope that allows and even encourages us to rejoice whenever we find ourselves suffering once again.
(1 Peter 1:13 NIV) Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
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