Suffering and adversity are inevitable. As long as we are alive there will always be times of suffering and adversity. It is not if they will come into our lives, but when they do strike us, how we will respond to them? Suffering has the uncanny ability to bring us to the very edge of our knowledge. Death comes, disease attacks, disaster strikes, and we sometimes find ourselves standing on the precipice staring into the chasm that stands between what we believed and what we experienced.
However, it is important to note that each experience in life only has the power we give it. Everything lies in the power of our thoughts. What we allow ourselves to think and believe can either make things better or worse. We have the ability to choose our perspectives. We decide how we choose to look at things. We can be a great force, fortified with a positive attitude, possessing the ability to transform all things. We just have to transform our attitude and accept responsibility for what goes on inside our minds.
Sometimes we are invited to embrace even that which we do not want as the means of our transformation. We have been given the grace to accept difficulties, struggles and, even at times, undeserved suffering. Calling and depending on God for help is our only recourse during those times. The biblical tradition is rich with examples of faithful people questioning God in their time of pain. This practice is not seen as unfaithful. Instead it is often treated as one of the only ways to respond well to suffering.
When we cry out, we are calling to account the fact that what God wants for us and what we are experiencing are worlds apart, and we begin to seek ways to close that gap between our beliefs and our reality. During those times of suffering and adversity, we are challenged to use our pain to draw closer to God and to others, instead of allowing them to cause us to respond in negative ways.
You see, God did not spare Jesus, His only Son, from pain and suffering. So what makes us think that He will spare us? There are many benefits that can be derived from pain and suffering:
? Pain and suffering can help us to learn important lessons in life. Scripture: Deuteronomy 32:10,11
? Pain and suffering can bring about creativity, resourcefulness and courage. Scripture: Psalms 18; 42; 63; 126
? Pain and suffering can help us to comfort others who are going through similar pain. Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:3-5
? Pain and suffering can help to shape our character. Scripture: Isaiah 48:10; Zechariah 13:8,9; James 1:2-4
? Pain and suffering can test us to show what we are made of. Scripture: Genesis 22:1-14; Matthew 26:69-75; Acts 4:1-21
? Pain and suffering can lead to repentance and salvation. Scripture: Judges 2:11-19; Acts 9:1-16
? Pain and suffering can sometimes help us to trust God. Scripture: Job 40:3-5; Job 42:2, 3; Lamentations 3:19-24; Daniel 3:16-18; Habakkuk 3:17-19
? Bearing pain and suffering well can be an inspiration to others. Scripture: The Apostle Paul endured his “thorn in the flesh” but was able to take the message of Christ to many areas of the world and write most of the New Testament.
? Pain and suffering can have a Divine purpose in preparing us for glory. Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
? Pain and suffering can prevent us from becoming dangerously proud. Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
? Sometimes pain and suffering in the life of one person can result in the advancement of the gospel in the life of another person. Scripture: Philippians 1:12-14
? Pain and suffering can allow us to be like Jesus. Scripture: Philippians 3:8-11; Hebrews 2:9-11; 4:15; I Peter 4:12-16
The secret of every winner in those periods of suffering and adversity, is resilience – the ability to bounce back from setbacks or failure. The secret to a person’s resilience is perspective. The key to happiness is realizing that it is not what happens to us that matters, it is how we choose to respond.
So in times of suffering and adversity, let us not waste our pain. We must let God heal it, recycle it, utilize it and use it to bless other people. Let us use our pain as a model for our message and a witness to the world. Let it touch other people. We need to be vulnerable. We need to be honest – with God, ourselves and others.
My friends, let us never be afraid to speak to God about our concerns, fears and disappointments. He knows and understands our hearts. There are many Bible heroes who lamented to God. Job, David and Jeremiah did. They spoke to God about the things they were experiencing in their lives. However, there was a pattern in how they did it that we too can follow. That pattern is: Complain; Appeal; Remind; and Express Trust.
We can complain to God about what we think is unfair or painful. We can lament out of anger, frustration or fatigue, disappointment and fear. Whatever we are tired of tolerating in our lives, we can turn it into a lament. If you don’t believe it, then look at what David wrote in Psalm 142:2: “I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble.”
After complaining, the Bible heroes appealed to God’s nature. I personally like what Jehoshaphat said. In his prayer, the king tells God that: “You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.” Bible heroes also reminded God of his promises and how he’s helped them in the past.
In Exodus 32: 11-14, Moses reminded God of how he brought the Israelites out of Egypt and how he promised to make Abraham’s descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. My friends, we need to also express our total trust in God. David did in Psalm 4:8: “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” God cares for us, my friends. We can take our frustrations, fears, complaints, confusion and anger to God. When hit with gusts of adversity or drenched in the cold rain of despair, it makes sense to bring our problems to the one who really can calm the storms in our lives.
I can’t promise that we’ll become wealthy after the storms in our lives, but I know from experience that God can bring good out of awful situations. And what helps us get through tough times is reliance on God – the best storm stopper and comforter and peacemaker there is.
So if, perchance, you are experiencing a challenging period in your life, one thing you can give up is your tendency to try to explain away pain and suffering – and instead begin to simply suffer with those who are in pain. Allow them to cry out to God the words of lament that our forebears gave us. In so doing you will be reminded that you don’t have all the answers, and maybe one of the things you need to repent of, most, is pretending as if you do.
Let us decide today to make the choice to always say, “God, not my will but yours be done.” When we live and love this way, the very people and circumstances that once seemed to be so difficult can become the path to our continuing freedom. Even struggle can become our teacher from whom we learn to walk the way of forgiving love.
Adversity itself is not a great teacher, but I have often learned a lot while facing adversity. During those times, I have grown and felt closer to God and known of my great need for Him. I have also become keenly aware that I don’t have all of the answers. And perhaps I have been more willing to humble myself in order to hear the direction God has ordered for my life. I have also discovered that what God has in store for me is far greater than anything I can think up. And I have learned not to buckle under adversity, but to maintain hope and anticipation regarding the outcome.
Facing adverse situations calls for us to know our need of God, but the promise of doing so is great – the Kingdom of Heaven! In other words, when we have the humility to listen for God’s direction, we will find both health and harmony in our lives. “Happy are those who know their need for God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs!” Embracing this beatitude may be the smartest thing you could have ever done because it will help you to face adversity with grace.
Remember: Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths.
About the Author: Mrs. Marilyn Hodge owns and operates the Wellness Centre in the Farrington, Anguilla. The Centre offers Counselling Services by Appointment Only. Contact information: 476-3517 or email: marilynb@anguillanet.com. Referrals can also be made directly through the Atlantic Star Center of Medical Excellence, South Hill, Anguilla. By Appointment Only: Tel 497-0765.
