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Suffering as a Consequence of Sin – The first truth about suffering is the recognition that it is alien to God’s plan of life. That might sound incredible, but to the Christian worldview, it is vital. Suffering is a product of the fall, a consequence of human sin against God (Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21).

1. Suffering is in our lives because we are living in a broken world.
2. Some suffering is due to our sinful and wrong choices, but some is due simply to the world being fallen.
3. This aspect of suffering should drive us to long for a better world, a world redeemed and freed from sin, a world that God will one day come again to establish (Romans 8:19-23).

Nothing is so broken as to be unusable by God. Although suffering is alien to His goal for humanity, God uses it now as part of our development as people. Nothing forces a person to confront their true self like suffering. Suffering causes our focus to turn inward, to face those parts of ourselves we might otherwise ignore.

What is God’s purpose for pain?

The Purpose of Your Pain – Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope by Rick Warren — April 24, 2022 From “In our trouble God has comforted us—and this, too, to help you: to show you from our personal experience how God will tenderly comfort you when you undergo these same sufferings. He will give you the strength to endure.” 2 Corinthians 1:6 -7 (TLB) God expects you to use your pain to help others.

1. Whatever mistake, failure, trouble, trial, or bad decision you’ve experienced, God says, “I’ll still use it for good in your life.
2. And I expect you to use it to help others.” This is called redemptive suffering.
3. In our trouble God has comforted us—and this, too, to help you: to show you from our personal experience how God will tenderly comfort you when you undergo these same sufferings.

He will give you the strength to endure” (2 Corinthians 1:6-7 TLB). Think of the biggest troubles you’ve had in your life and the worst pain you’ve had to endure physically or emotionally. God doesn’t want you to waste that hurt; he wants to redeem your suffering.

You can always help people more through your weaknesses than through your strengths. Telling someone all the things you’re good at won’t help someone in pain. But sharing with them how God has walked with you through your pain could change their life. One of the biggest hurts in my life was the death of my youngest son, who took his life after struggling with mental illness for 27 years.

Almost every day somebody calls me from around the world, asking for help with mental health. I didn’t ask for that ministry; I didn’t think that would be a part of my dream. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to waste my pain. The people that come to me for help think I must be safe because I’ve been through it—and because I’m willing to talk about it.

What pain in your life are you not talking about because you think it’s a burden you have to carry alone? God wants to use you right now—not when you’ve fully recovered or moved past your pain. He wants to use you even in the areas that you have been embarrassed about and that still hurt. Part of God’s dream for your life is that you help people, not just through your gifts and strengths but also through your pain.

This is what Jesus has done for you. This is the power of the Gospel. Talk It Over

What fears keep you from sharing your pain with others? Why do you think sharing your painful experiences is sometimes a more effective ministry than sharing your gifts and abilities? Do you believe God can use you when you have not fully moved past your pain? Are you able to do this with whatever hurt you are experiencing right now? Why or why not?

: The Purpose of Your Pain – Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope

Is pain a blessing from God?

Pain is not only a necessity but also a blessing, because it warns us, corrects us, guides us, and brings us to Jesus. Pain can be a blessing in many different ways, and the first is as a warning system.

What does God say about our pain?

My favorite Bible verses about finding Purpose in Pain — Nothing Is Wasted I’m not normally one to cherry-pick verses from the Bible. I believe there is usually much more richness to be experienced in understanding entire passages and their context. I guess this is why I love preaching and teaching.

I want people to experience those “aha” moments where a verse or a passage becomes more real and relevant to them than ever before. However, there are definitely some verses that I keep logged in my memory bank—or hidden in my heart, if you will. These verses help me in times of distress and emotional unrest.

These verses keep me focused on God’s promises rather than my problems. I would encourage you to also memorize these. Keep them close to you. Put them on your phone background screen. Write them on sticky notes and hang them on your mirror so you can see them first thing in the morning.

• I pray they encourage your heart and lift your head today! Isaiah 30:20-21 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher.
• And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.1 Peter 5:10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Philippians 4:5b-7 The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

• Romans 8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.2 Cor 4:16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart.
• Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
• For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.1 Peter 1:6-7 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

James 1:12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. Romans 5:3-5 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

• And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
• Romans 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
• We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

Psalm 30:5b Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.2 Chronicles 16:9a For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, Phil 1:6 being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Hosea 2:14-15 “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.

There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Why does God allow emotional pain?

3 Reasons God Is Allowing You to Emotionally Suffer 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Here are 3 possible reason God is allowing you to go through emotional suffering and pain in your life. 1. God May Be Allowing This Emotional Suffering in Your Life Because He Wants a Deeper Relationship with You In Romans 5:3-5, we are taught that through seasons of suffering, God will produce in us endurance, character, and hope which will then enhance our ability to enjoy the love of God which the Holy Spirit has placed within our hearts.

When we are in these seasons of pain, however, we can still wonder why God couldn’t teach us these lessons in a “nicer” way. Did we really need to suffer like this to learn this lesson? While pain and suffering are never enjoyable, God often allows them in our lives because he loves us so much, he is willing to allow us to experience short term problems so we will reap long-term pleasures in him.

1. Oftentimes nothing awakens us and causes us to seek God’s presence more than pain.
2. And since God’s presence is what will produce the most pleasure in us (Psalm 16:11), the pain we experience is actually meant to produce more pleasure since the pain is meant to lead us deeper into Christ.
3. For as C.S.
4. Lewis said in his famous book called : We can ignore even pleasure.

But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Pain is often one of God’s most powerful tools in the purifying process. God wants us to be pure so we will remain intimately close to him, for as Jesus said in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” So one reason God allows emotional suffering in our lives is because he knows that sometimes there is nothing that will increase our passion to pursue him more than this pain.

• And when we seek the Lord and find his love and comfort, we experience far more joy and satisfaction in the Lord than the suffering we endured.2.
• God May Be Allowing You to Suffer Emotionally So You Will Admit Your Need for Healing in a Certain Area of Your Heart and to Prevent You from Repeating Past Mistakes The reasons for emotional pain are multi-layered.

It would be an oversimplification to say that God causes all the suffering in our lives or that we alone cause all the pain in our lives. Sometimes God can bring a test and at other times we create the trial through our own poor choices. In either case, the emotional pain we experience can always be used by God for the same reason.

1. Just like the pain we feel in our bodies, the emotional pain we experience is also telling us something important.
2. If you have a pain in your leg, this means something is wrong with your leg.
3. If you have a pain in your chest, this could mean you are having a heart attack.
4. When you put your hand on a hot surface, the pain you feel causes you to move your hand which prevents further injury.

The location of the pain and type of pain you experience in your body was put their by God so you can know what is wrong with you and what you need to do to take care of yourself. To treat all pain the same would be foolish. If your leg hurts, you need different treatment than if you are having a heart attack.

These same principles are true when it comes to emotional pain. The suffering you are experiencing internally is meant to tell you something. Just as physical pain is a symptom of a specific problem with your body, emotional pain is a symptom of a specific problem in your heart. So the goal is not really to stop the pain or avoid the pain.

A doctor who just numbed your broken leg so you didn’t feel the pain rather than putting a cast on it would not be a very good doctor. Likewise, the real goal should be to find the root cause of the emotional suffering. Why are you hurting emotionally? Were you abused by someone? Did you abuse someone? Have you been engaging in sinful behavior you know displeases the Lord? Has someone hurt you and you know you need to forgive them? As C.S.

• Lewis said: Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also harder to bear.
• The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say ‘My tooth is aching’ than to say ‘My heart is broken.'” So one reason God allows emotional pain in your life is so that you will seek out the healing your heart needs.

If we did not feel pain, we would often just allow our hearts to remain broken and wounded. God will also allow emotional pain when we sin and turn from him so we remember this pain and don’t do this again in the future. The sooner you acknowledge the true source of the emotional suffering you are going through and then address that issue with the Lord, the sooner the emotional suffering will go away.

• There’s always a reason for the emotional pain you feel, and you have to figure out what that reason is so you can bring it to the Lord.3.
• God May Be Allowing You to Suffer Emotionally So You Will Be Better Equipped to Help Others in Their Times of Need There are many other possible reasons for why God might be allowing suffering in your life, but one reason that we often overlook is that our suffering can often result in relief for others.

Notice what Paul said 2 Corinthians 1:3-5. It states: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

1. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too Those who are able to bring the greatest comfort to others are often the ones who have suffered the most themselves.
2. If you have asked God to use you greatly and to transform you into a mighty warrior for the Kingdom of God, the training process will often involve many seasons of suffering.

For even Jesus became our greatest source of comfort through the sufferings he endured himself, for as Hebrews 4:15-16 states: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Is pain part of God’s plan?

Our suffering is an integral part of God’s plan to ready us for the struggle of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. Suffering in some ways is a prerequisite for strengthening one’s spiritual muscle.

What is God’s promise to those in pain?

Matthew 11:28-30 – God lightens your burdens – Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Many times we feel overwhelmed in our Christian life. God has promised us that we can find strength in Him, and He will provide rest for us. You may feel overwhelmed caring for yourself when you have a chronic illness or sudden ailment. At Bethesda Senior Living, our staff provides assistance with personal care, medication management and health monitoring.

A licensed nurse is available should you need additional medical treatment.

Posted onFriday, July 13, 2018byBethesda Senior Living

: 4 BIBLE VERSES FOR COMFORT DURING PHYSICAL ILLNESS

How does our pain glorify God?

Suffering leads to glory – Lastly, suffering gives way to glory. Peter’s conclusion to verse 13 echoes a number of Paul’s writings: Earthly suffering connects to eternal glory.2 Corinthians 4:17 says that our afflictions are “preparing for us an eternal weight of glory.” This is a remarkable teaching, especially in its time.

1. While the Greco-Roman world lauded glory and honor, suffering and humiliation were marks of shame and dishonor.
2. Glory and suffering were something like polar opposites.
3. Incredibly, Paul doesn’t just see them as connected; he considers them linked, contiguous,
4. Suffering is the root; glory is the flower.

Suffering doesn’t somehow purchase glory; suffering is glorious. Put another way, glory is what suffering looks like from an eternal perspective. It is the honor of God that crowns God’s people. And there will come a time in which all of the church’s shared sufferings will be seen as radiant and beautiful.

One of my favorite quotes in all of literature is this one from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, a book that probes the depths of human pain. In that story, the hopeful believer Ivan Karamazov articulates the Christian vision of suffering like this: I believe like a child that suffering will be healed and made up for that in the world’s finale, at the moment of eternal harmony, something so precious will come to pass that it will suffice for all hearts, for the comforting of all resentments, for the atonement of all the crimes of humanity, for all the blood that they’ve shed; that it will make it not only possible to forgive but to justify all that has happened.

Scripture is clear: In the end, the body of Christ will stand and shine brilliantly. But the people of God will not proceed painlessly into this victorious future. We will be tested and tried. We will lose relationships. Yet in the end, these inevitable griefs will gather us closer to the heart of the crucified King and will reveal his glory in the church for which he died.

Does God heal our pain?

He takes everything you’ve ever done wrong—the guilt, the regrets, the shame, the hurts—and He replaces your bad memories. God sees you without a single fault because of what Christ’s love has done for you. That’s the good news. You need to replace your bad memories with God’s truth.

What God says about emotional pain?

Psalm 34:18 – Getty Images “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” The Good News: Even when you’re in low spirits, God still loves you. Advertisement – Continue Reading Below 16

What is pain spiritually?

Spiritual pain is a self-identified experience of personal discomfort, or actual or potential harm, triggered by a threat to a person’s relationship with God or a higher power.

Why does pain exist?

Why Do I Have Pain? Waking up with a sore throat that really hurts when you swallow. Jamming your finger at basketball practice. Playing a video game for so long that your wrist aches. These situations are different, but they have one thing in common: They all make you say “ouch!” When your body is injured in some way or something else is wrong, your nerves (cells that help your body send and receive information) send millions of messages to your about what’s going on.

Your brain then makes you feel pain. So if you put your hand on a hot stove, your nerves call your brain, and your brain quickly sends the message that your hand hurts. You get this message and pull your hand away from the hot stove, which saves your hand from further injury. People don’t come with warning lights, like the lights on a car dashboard that let the driver know when the car is low on oil or gas.

We need the sensation of pain to let us know when our bodies need extra care. It’s an important signal. When we sense pain, we pay attention to our bodies and can take steps to fix what hurts. Pain also may prevent us from injuring a body part even more.

1. If it didn’t hurt to walk on a broken leg, a person might keep using it and cause more damage.
2. If your throat is really sore, you’ll probably go to the doctor, who can treat the infection if you have one.
3. Doctors and other health professionals use a person’s pain as a clue in figuring out what is wrong.

The first question you will probably be asked is: “how much pain do you have?” or “how much does it hurt?” Often a nurse will show you some pictures of faces with smiles or tears so that you can choose the one that matches how you feel. This will help your doctor or nurse know how much you hurt.

Where does it hurt? Does it hurt all the time? When did it start hurting? Does the pain stay in one place or move around? Does anything make the pain feel better? What makes it worse?

They ask these questions because they want what you want: for the pain to go away! If pain doesn’t go away on its own, often a doctor can suggest medicine or other treatments that will make you feel better until it does. : Why Do I Have Pain?

Does God see my pain?

God Knows Our Suffering Daily Reflection / Produced by The High Calling You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Psalms 56:8 Psalm 56 begins with David’s cry for mercy because his enemies are attacking him. He implores the Lord to help him and to punish his opponents.

1. Then, with striking imagery, David recognizes that God knows his suffering: “You keep track of all my sorrows.
2. You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
3. You have recorded each one in your book” (56:8).
4. The verb translated here as “you keep track” is closely related to the Hebrew word for book ( sefer ).

David envisions God writing down his sorrows so as to remember them. In the original Hebrew, the next line reads somewhat differently from our translation. The verb is actually in the imperative mood (“Keep track!”). The word for bottle ( no’d ) does not refer to some small capped jar, but rather to a skin-bottle used for large quantities of liquid.

It’s as if David, after affirming God’s awareness of his sorrows, cries out in hope: “Collect all of my many tears in your canteen!” Thus Psalm 56:8 not only reassures us that God knows our suffering, but also reminds us of just how much we desire this very thing. When we are hurting, we want God to be aware of us.

Of course, we desire his help and healing. But, almost more than this, we want to know that he is still there, that he knows and cares for us. The good news of Psalm 56:8 is that our God does indeed pay attention to our sorrows. Every cry, every tear, every pain matters to God.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION : Do you think God pays attention to your sorrows? Why or why not? Why do you want God to know when you’re hurting? What helps you to be assured of God’s presence even in hard times? PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank you for the reassurance of this psalm. How good it is to be reminded that you know my suffering.

I am also encouraged by the give and take of Psalm 56:8. David confidently confesses that you write down his sorrows in your book. And then he cries out for you to collect his tears in your skin-bottle. I know this kind of dialogue as it moves from faith to longing, from confidence to crying out.

Where in the Bible does it say the pain you are feeling?

Romans 8:18 – The pain that you have been feeling can’t be compared to the joy that is coming!

What does the Bible say about pain and suffering?

By Mary J. Yerkes February 1, 2007

Why we suffer may always remain a mystery on this side of eternity. We can, however, glean certain truths from God’s Word. If God loves us, why do we suffer? Christian or not, it’s a question that comes up repeatedly during times of grief and tragedy. In times of distress, we want to know that our suffering matters to God and that He cares about our pain.

“Sometimes a fresh word may, in fact, be a very old one,” write Joni Eareckson Tada and Steven Estes in When God Weeps‚ Why Our Sufferings Matter to the Almighty, Joni Eareckson Tada and Steven Estes, When God Weeps‚ Why Our Sufferings Matter to the Almighty, Grand Rapids, Zondervan Publishing House, 1997, p.8.

“Truths that are timeless often need only the ‘time’ brushed away in order to reveal the polished patina that has gleamed all along.” Pastor Tim Hager, an associate minister in the Washington D.C. area, asserts that we suffer because we live in a fallen world.

• When sin entered the world, death entered,” he says.
• Chronic pain, illness, and disease are a form of death.” Despite this harsh reality, Richard C.
• Leonard, a minister with a Ph.D.
• In Biblical Studies, urges the chronically ill to take their questions to God rather than allow them to become a wedge in their relationship with Him.

“Follow the example of the Psalmists,” he says, “who sometimes cry out to God as though taking Him to task for their problems, but who persist in their conversation with Him; eventually an answer, reinforcing His faithfulness to His servants.” Suffering, in many ways, remains a mystery, one that we will never fully understand this side of eternity.

Suffering produces intimacy with God (Job 42:5). Job, who endured unspeakable suffering, said, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” Intimacy with God is often borne in the furnace of affliction. “There’s an opening of the soul that happens during times of stress or duress,” says Dr. Hager. “During times of suffering, we experience God at a deep, profound level.” Suffering equips us to comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3-5). Suffering gives us compassion for others who are hurting, enabling us to minister more effectively. “Sufferers want to be ministered to by people who have suffered,” writes Stephen F. Saint in his essay, “Sovereignty, Suffering, and the Work of Missions.” Piper, John and Justin Taylor, Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, Wheaton, Crossway Books, 2006, p.112. “People who suffer want people who have suffered to tell them there is hope. They are justifiably suspicious of people who appear to have lived lives of ease.” Those who have suffered make the most effective comforters. Suffering refines us. We can read in Isaiah 48:10 that “I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” The meaning of this verse makes it clear that pain and suffering have a way of bringing our strengths and weaknesses to the surface. When the dross floats to the surface, God skims it off; he purifies and refines us to be the radiant bride of Christ. Suffering produces growth and maturity (James 1:2-4). If we turn toward God in our pain, He can use our suffering to mature our faith. We see this biblical truth illustrated through the persecuted church. After hearing their testimonies, few would deny that suffering produces beauty and maturity of spirit. Suffering conforms us into God’s image (Romans 8:28-29). We may be tempted to read these verses to say that God will bring good out of everything. While He can and does redeem pain in our lives, these verses speak of being conformed to God’s image through our suffering. “If we are willing to sit still and let God work, we will find ourselves being transformed into the image of Jesus,” says Pastor Paul Daniel Jackson, a pastor at a church in Tucson. And Jackson speaks from experience. His wife, Jodee, suffered with breast cancer before passing away in 2002. “Though this horrendous experience, God did incredible things. Her mother accepted Jesus Christ as Savior‚ God also changed those who cared for her. Our lives were enriched by suffering,”

Simply put, when we seek God through His Word and prayer, we find Jesus. Remember, Jesus understands our pain because he, too, suffered. We read the words of Psalm 22:1: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?” Did God abandon His Son in His hour of need? We find the answer three days later‚ÄîGod raised Him from the dead! Because of this promise, we have hope for our future.

What does the Bible say about pain into purpose?

Revelation 21:4 gives you an eternal perspective, helping you find purpose in the pain. ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’

What is God’s promise to those in pain?

Matthew 11:28-30 – God lightens your burdens – Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Many times we feel overwhelmed in our Christian life. God has promised us that we can find strength in Him, and He will provide rest for us. You may feel overwhelmed caring for yourself when you have a chronic illness or sudden ailment. At Bethesda Senior Living, our staff provides assistance with personal care, medication management and health monitoring.

A licensed nurse is available should you need additional medical treatment.

Posted onFriday, July 13, 2018byBethesda Senior Living

: 4 BIBLE VERSES FOR COMFORT DURING PHYSICAL ILLNESS

How does our pain glorify God?

Suffering leads to glory – Lastly, suffering gives way to glory. Peter’s conclusion to verse 13 echoes a number of Paul’s writings: Earthly suffering connects to eternal glory.2 Corinthians 4:17 says that our afflictions are “preparing for us an eternal weight of glory.” This is a remarkable teaching, especially in its time.

1. While the Greco-Roman world lauded glory and honor, suffering and humiliation were marks of shame and dishonor.
2. Glory and suffering were something like polar opposites.
3. Incredibly, Paul doesn’t just see them as connected; he considers them linked, contiguous,
4. Suffering is the root; glory is the flower.

Suffering doesn’t somehow purchase glory; suffering is glorious. Put another way, glory is what suffering looks like from an eternal perspective. It is the honor of God that crowns God’s people. And there will come a time in which all of the church’s shared sufferings will be seen as radiant and beautiful.

One of my favorite quotes in all of literature is this one from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, a book that probes the depths of human pain. In that story, the hopeful believer Ivan Karamazov articulates the Christian vision of suffering like this: I believe like a child that suffering will be healed and made up for that in the world’s finale, at the moment of eternal harmony, something so precious will come to pass that it will suffice for all hearts, for the comforting of all resentments, for the atonement of all the crimes of humanity, for all the blood that they’ve shed; that it will make it not only possible to forgive but to justify all that has happened.

Scripture is clear: In the end, the body of Christ will stand and shine brilliantly. But the people of God will not proceed painlessly into this victorious future. We will be tested and tried. We will lose relationships. Yet in the end, these inevitable griefs will gather us closer to the heart of the crucified King and will reveal his glory in the church for which he died.