I Know Him In My Suffering

Suffering and struggle have been at the forefront of my mind these days. It seems that everyone around me, myself included, have been carrying heavy burdens. What does this mean for us spiritually? For me, it has helped me know who God is better.

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Suffering doesn't disappear once we accept Christ into our life, He actually warns us of the troubles we will experience in this lifetime. In John 16:33 Jesus tells His disciples, "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (NLT). Within the promise that we will experience the consequences of a sinful world, we are also promised the eternal hope that we have in Jesus' triumphant return. This is the hope I cling to when my burdens feel like bricks on my shoulders.

As I walk through trials, or walk alongside those who are, I find myself running to the Bible for reassurance. Jesus lived on this earth too, surely He can offer us solace in our despair? "So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude He had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin" (1 Peter 4:1, NLT). Jesus is no stranger to our suffering, He also experienced grief (John 11:33-37) and pain (Mark 15:17-24) just as we have. As I read through the accounts of Jesus' life on earth in the gospels, I find comfort that He truly knows the weight of what we walk through. Jesus knows our hearts are hurting and He cares deeply.

Not only does Christ understand our pain, He is the solution for it. When my need for reassurance runs deeper than just shared experience and relatability, I am met with hundreds of accounts of Jesus bringing relief and solution to difficult circumstances. Often, His solutions defy all logic and reason. How incredible that we serve a God who is unstoppable in whatever He wills! He is faithful to lead us into His goodness, whether that be through helping us overcome obstacles (Exodus 14:15-22) or providing the impossible in our lack (Genesis 22: 13-14).

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The more I study who God is and what Jesus experienced on earth, the more confident I am in His goodness. This does not eliminate our suffering, but it reminds us that He is present with us in the midst of it. More often than not, I can't see to the other side of my suffering in the moment, but I am assured at each step that He goes before me, beside me, and behind me, making a way where I can't yet see one. He truly loves us, and with that simple truth I can continue to lean on Him when life is hard (Matthew 11:28-30). Even when I am drowning in my worry He grants me unspeakable peace (Philippians 4:7), and for these reasons I say thank You, Jesus.