Suffering brings change
As a mental health professional, one could quickly observe that the single most effective agent for change in people’s lives is pain. Pain can cause a person to desire life change for issues that would otherwise have been ignored, emotionally stuffed, or dismissed. Whether it is a wife’s threat of divorce that causes her husband to take his marriage seriously or a diagnosis of diabetes that finally convinces a distracted businessman to prioritize healthy eating—pain and suffering bring about change.
I cannot tell you how many times I have promised God, after a difficult season in my life, that I would never take Him or His grace for granted ever again—and then life happens. We become complacent or apathetic in ways we do not even notice. I would rationalize that I was still a good Christian: “I love Jesus. I pray every day. I read my Bible and go to church faithfully. I am generous in giving, and I try to always be kind to others.” These are all valid and true statements in my life. But was I strengthening my faith? Was I pursuing God and His will for my life with a burning passion? Was my heart soft and breaking for what breaks His heart? Was I allowing myself to see or experience the true pain in me and in the world that motivates a person in ways that no amount of church ever could?
After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you (1 Peter 5:10 NASB).
I wish there was another way to keep people on the path to righteousness. But the many years as a mental health professional and spiritual mentor have proven that this biblical truth is accurate: Pain leads to change. Humans naturally revert to a state of pleasure, comfort, and self-preservation if left to their own instincts. Evil and suffering are orchestrated and influenced by Satan, but God allows us to experience it, because we live in a fallen world. One day when we go to Heaven, we will be reunited with the Father, and suffering of every kind will cease. But for now, Satan is the prince of this dark world, and as a result, disease, evil people, desperate circumstances, and heart-break bring us pain. But have hope! Jesus reassures us: “…In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NASB).
When we suffer for the sake of righteousness, knowing God is refining us in ways a lifestyle of comfort never could, we can trust that suffering like Christ suffered brings honor to God. And it builds within us a strength and hope in Jesus that we might not otherwise have. Pain and suffering remind us that God is our anchor in the storms of life. This should be our mindset: We cannot live without His presence and love, which are a steadfast lifeline that carries us through the darkest of days. Jesus overcame sin on the cross and defeated death by His resurrection so that, no matter how hopeless life seems in the natural, our minds and hearts can find comfort in knowing we have a Savior, a Rescuer. Our victory has already been won; the battles in this life are short and meaningless compared to our lives in eternity.
Jesus will accompany you through the pain, and as you share in His sufferings, your faith will grow. Your awareness of God’s tangible love for you will increase. And your righteousness will become more and more evident. With this Kingdom mindset, you can embrace and even rejoice in the suffering, knowing the outcome is for God’s glory.
(This is an excerpt taken from, “Modern-Day Holy Woman-A 40 day Bible study on 1 Peter 3) Available here: https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Day-Holy-Woman-40-Day-Bible/dp/1664232885