In our busy lives, suffering is considered an unwelcome guest. But could suffering really be a blessing from God? Because Christ suffered, we should also expect to suffer as we live for him. God will sustain us in our suffering and will use our suffering as a means to help us grow into the Christian he needs us to be in order to impact his world.
Joni and Friends, International and Tyndale House Publishers
Day 1
Scripture: Job 42:1-9
God’s Sovereignty over Suffering
Do you ever wonder why your faithfulness to God doesn’t eliminate the suffering in your life? When you suffer, do you imagine that God has found fault with you?
We see in Job’s story that it is quite possible to suffer greatly even when we have been faithful to God. Job’s suffering did not result from sin, nor did he bring affliction upon his family. When Jesus and his disciples encountered a man who was born blind, Jesus underscored this truth (John 9:3). So, why did these men suffer? Was Job merely a pawn in a divine chess match between God and Satan? Was the blind man simply a tool for displaying God’s power?
The way in which God spoke to Job in the final chapters seems to suggest that the answer to these questions is yes. Rather than the explanatory language we might feel that Job deserves, God boldly affirmed his sovereign authority over all of creation. At times, God’s tone can come across as sarcastic, even scathing, and he never once explained to Job why his suffering occurred (Job 38:2-4; 40:1-2, 6-10, 14; 41:10-11). Of all the ways he could have responded, God chose to “put Job in his place.” Despite the sympathy that we feel for Job and his circumstances, God’s sovereignty assumes center stage in Job’s story. We find ourselves confronted with the truth that God is Lord of all. He is God. We are not. And we have no basis upon which to question his goals or methods.
However, this need not cause us to despair. Humility before God is the access point for receiving his mercy and grace (Psalm 138:6). We cannot receive salvation, or any other spiritual gift in Christ, apart from recognizing God as God, and ourselves as creatures in need of his grace as Jesus mentions in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3).
When Job was brought to his knees before the Lord, he exclaimed, “I was talking about things I knew nothing about” (Job 42:3). The Lord saw Job’s humility, commended him, and blessed him even more than he had in the beginning (Job 42:12). Similarly, as we are humbled under God’s mighty power, we will be exalted by him “at the right time” (1 Peter 5:6). Our faithfulness to God may not eliminate our suffering, but it positions us to receive one gracious blessing after another.
Day 2
Scripture: Psalms 40:1-3
Waiting on God
Why does it sometimes take so long for God to answer our prayers? And what do we do while we’re waiting?
We trust that God knows everything about us and is intimately acquainted with the details of our lives. We believe that he cares about all that concerns us, big or small, and promises to hear and respond to us when we pray (Psalms 34:15; 139:1; 1 Peter 5:7). In prayer, by faith, we invite God to minister to us with his promised comfort, rescue, and help (Isaiah 30:18). However, his answers are not always immediate, and his timing is frequently far different than ours (2 Peter 3:8).
In Psalm 13, David cries out, “How long?” no fewer than four times in the span of six short verses. He has been waiting . . . waiting . . . and waiting some more—to the point of feeling forgotten by God. Still, David affirms, “I trust in your unfailing love . . . I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me” (Psalm 13:5-6). Because he had experienced God’s faithfulness, David was able to maintain a spirit of praise and trust while waiting.
Throughout Israel’s wandering in the desert, God instructed the people to set up piles of stones to commemorate distinctive moments of his faithfulness. These memorials became tangible reminders of times when the people saw, felt, and experienced God’s provision and favor. They not only benefited those who built them but also offered assurance for generations to come (Joshua 4:1-7). In Psalm 40, David sets up a “pile of stones” by recalling all the ways he has previously seen, felt, and experienced God. By doing this, he worships God in the present and also fortifies himself for the future. In fact, David has so many things on his list that he declares, “If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them” (Psalm 40:5).
Remembering God’s past faithfulness emboldened David to cry out to the Lord for his existing need. We, like David, are encouraged to ask, seek, and knock (Matthew 7:7) as we refresh our memories of God’s faithfulness to us (Psalm 40:13, 17). We may need to wait for God’s answers, but we can choose to trust and praise him while we wait and inspire others to do the same.
Day 3
Scripture: Romans 5:1-5
The Blessing of Suffering
Can suffering be a spiritual blessing from God? In Christ, we are showered with spiritual blessings. We have peace, confidence, joy, hope, love, salvation, and friendship with God, gifts of grace that are “pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay” (1 Peter 1:4). We can easily appreciate and get excited about all of these privileges. But how could we ever consider suffering a blessing?
Paul explains that we can rejoice in the midst of our trials because suffering produces endurance, and endurance strengthens our character. Endurance equips us to weather the storms of life without being consumed or broken. Like Paul, we are pressed, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; hunted down, but not abandoned by God; knocked down, but not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). Endurance makes us resilient. Endurance also allows us to live well by God’s strength under any circumstance. We learn to be content in every situation—whether having nothing or everything, a full stomach or an empty one, plenty or little (Philippians 4:11-13).
The core of our abiding resilience is our ever-deepening relationship with God in the midst of our suffering. In his divine presence, there is a continual spiritual feast. He fills our hearts with his love by the Holy Spirit and satisfies our souls “more than the richest feast” (Psalm 63:5). To know him deeply is to experience the rich and satisfying life that Jesus came to give (John 10:10). During the trials and hardships of our lives, God will faithfully extend his care to comfort us, encourage us, and keep us going (1 Peter 5:10).
What we have come to know partially in this life will be known completely in the next (1 Corinthians 13:12). God eagerly awaits the opportunity to reward us for any suffering we’ve endured (1 Peter 1:7). As a result of enduring suffering, we can look forward to sharing God’s glory and reigning with him (2 Timothy 2:12). When seen from this perspective, suffering can be one of the many spiritual blessings we receive from God.
Day 4
Scripture: James 1:2-8
Suffering Wisely
How do you respond to the suffering in your life? Can you view trials as an opportunity for joy?
Jesus promised that we will suffer in this world (John 16:33). While we cannot always avoid suffering, we can decide how we will respond to it. We can waste our suffering by turning away from God and his purposes, or we can choose to suffer wisely.
Wisdom is applied knowledge. It is the ability to take the truth of God and make it practical for our daily lives. When we ask God for wisdom, we are asking for discernment to view and respond to our circumstances in accordance with his will and ways (James 1:5; 4:2). “Suffering wisely” involves understanding that trials have the capacity to spark a powerful chain reaction in our lives: When our faith is tested by suffering, our endurance grows, and when our endurance is fully developed, we become “complete” (James 1:3-4). Completeness is manifested by, among other characteristics, a spirit of “great joy” (James 1:2).
Joy is far richer and more stable than our notion of mere happiness. Joy is a supernaturally-produced state of wellness that is not dependent on our circumstances. Joy does not just happen; it must be cultivated through a relationship with God. The closer we draw to God, the more his joy will inevitably “rub off” on us. Joy grows through the habits of trust and thankfulness. We cling to our faith in him, even when we cannot see God or understand what he is doing. Our gratitude is displayed as we choose to praise and affirm the character of God, even when we seem to have no earthly reason to.
Joy also grows when we set our minds on God’s future promises (2 Corinthians 4:17). God promises to give the “crown of life” to those who patiently endure testing and temptation (James 1:12). We can look forward to being lavishly recompensed for whatever we have suffered.
While we cannot avoid suffering in this life, we can choose to respond wisely. As we discover and grow in joy, we will experience a “glorious [and] inexpressible” blessing that will never be taken away from us (John 16:22; 1 Peter 1:8).
Day 5
Scripture: James 5:10-11
We Are Not Alone
Do you ever feel alone? Do you feel like others can’t identify with the trials you go through?
God’s Word reminds us that we experience the same temptations others do (1 Corinthians 10:13). For our encouragement and inspiration, God lovingly provides us with numerous examples of faithful people who suffered through trials (Romans 15:4-5). We may be able to identify with Abraham’s dislocation from his homeland, Joseph’s abandonment, Moses’ insecurity, David’s anxiety, Mephibosheth’s limitation, Elijah’s depression, or Jonah’s anger. These are just a few members of the “huge crowd of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) that have gone ahead of us in the life of faith. They all experienced some form of weakness. Each struggled, sinned, and eventually grew stronger in faith as a result of suffering. As we encounter the life stories of God’s people, we become motivated to “strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up” and to “run with endurance the race God has set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). Their stories of resilience help strengthen us for our own journey.
Above all, Jesus is our consummate example. Christ was “made in every respect like us” (Hebrews 2:17) and “faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Because of this, he is uniquely qualified to be our “merciful and faithful High Priest” (Hebrews 2:17), able to empathize fully with every aspect of the human condition. Whether we feel physical pain, endure rejections and abandonment, are impoverished, or feel weary or sad; Christ has felt it too. No matter what our circumstance, the Lord is able to connect with our experience. Because Christ has stood in our shoes, we can keep our eyes fixed on him, as “the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). He blazes a trail before us, encouraging us to not grow weary, lose hope, or give up.
“Sharing in his death” through our suffering, enjoying his tender compassion for us along the way, we grow closer to Christ (Philippians 3:10-11). We learn to affirm along with Paul that everything is worthless compared to Christ and becoming one with Christ is the best thing (Philippians 3:8-9).
In our suffering, we are never alone. Jesus is our faithful and merciful companion on the journey. As he promised, he will always be with us (Matthew 28:20).
Day 6
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:5-10
When God Says No
The power of prayer can move mountains. Jesus said that we will receive “anything” we ask for in prayer “if [we] have faith” (Matthew 21:22). But what happens when the mountains don’t move and God seems to being saying no to our prayer?
Even when our faith is strong, our sins confessed, and we fast and pray, God may be silent. During these times, we find ourselves in good company. The apostle Paul asked God three times to remove his “thorn”—a source of “torment” to him (2 Corinthians 12:7-8). God said no. David, a man after God’s own heart, begged God to spare his dying son, fasting and laying on the ground all night; God’s answer was no (2 Samuel 12:13-23). Jesus’ soul was crushed with grief as he prayed in Gethsemane, and he repeatedly pleaded with God to take away his cup of suffering; God refused (Matthew 26:36-46).
We may never know the whys behind God’s decisions, but we can trust that his answer reflects what’s best. As a loving parent, God has a bigger perspective and sometimes needs to protect us from ourselves. Paul saw his weakness as an opportunity for God’s power to shine through him. David worshiped the Lord at the Tabernacle after his son died (2 Samuel 12:20). Jesus submitted himself to God’s will (Matthew 26:39). We must also cede our wills to his authority.
In God’s paradoxical economy, deficiencies are not liabilities, and letting go of one thing can help us grasp something better. Weakness is an asset that allows God’s power to shine through us. Paul knew what it was to be down and out (2 Corinthians 6:9-10), but like David, he also knew he had all he needed because he trusted in God (Psalm 23:1).
The possibility that God may say no to our requests should never dissuade us from praying. We are encouraged—even commanded—to believe in God’s ability to heal, to ask him for health, to seek him for relief, and to knock on his door for provision as an expression of faith in his power and his goodness (Matthew 7:7-8). We honor our heavenly Father by beseeching him to move mountains in our lives. But even if he doesn’t, we accept his response and trust in his promises that we will always have what we need.
Day 7
Scripture: Revelation 21:1-7
Making Everything Right
Do you ever wish that God would just make everything “right”?
We are all too familiar with the effects of creation being subjected to God’s curse (Romans 8:20-22). God has “planted eternity” in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11), giving us a unique awareness that we are made for far more than this world (Romans 8:23).
Sin and suffering increase our anticipation for the fulfillment of God’s promise to redeem all things. His unstoppable mission is to restore the entirety of creation to a state of eternal perfection, in which the blight and burden of suffering will be forever eliminated. What we suffer now—no matter how painful, intense, or chronic—is still “nothing” (Romans 8:18) compared to the glory that will be revealed.
The new creation will contain no more hate, prejudice, discrimination, poverty, or unmet needs. There will be no more physical or spiritual blindness, deafness, lameness, or muteness. Gladness and joy will overtake us. Sorrow and sighing will flee. There will be no more fear; no more anxiety, depression, or loneliness; no more death, mourning, crying, or pain. We will sparkle in God’s hand like jewels in a crown, attractive and beautiful. We will know perfect peace, untainted joy, loving relationships with God and others, and eternal pleasures at his right hand.
Perhaps most sweetly, God will minister to each of us individually (1 Peter 5:10). Hewill bind up our bruises and heal our wounds (Psalm 147:3). He will lead us to the springs of living water (Revelation 7:17). He will wipe every tear from our eyes (Revelation 21:3-4). In an instant, we will realize that he sees and has always seen. He hears and has always heard. He cares and has always walked with us, even during our darkest days when we were not able to sense his presence.
As long as we walk this earth, we will continue to “groan and sigh,” wanting our dying bodies to be “swallowed up by life” (2 Corinthians 5:4). While it can be a challenge at times to wait patiently and confidently for the world to come, we hold on, by faith, to the hope that God will fulfill his promise to make and keep everything right—forever.