“Start thanking God.” That was the advice my friend offered me years ago, after my second pregnancy ended in miscarriage at 13 weeks. I was devastated! How on earth was I supposed to be thankful? So, instead of thanking God, I mourned, and was overcome with guilt... it was my fault- I should have been happier about the pregnancy. Though it didn’t feel like I would at the time, I did get through it. And eventually, I understood why I still needed to praise and thank God even in the hard situations.
Suffering is an inevitable part of life’s journey! We can’t wish or pray it away. Yes, we can rail at the unfairness of the situation, ask “why me”, complain, blame, mourn, succumb to sorrow, anxiety or despair... but eventually, we’ll have to make a choice. Either we continue in our state of misery or we choose to live, to keep walking...
Our sufferings can serve to draw us closer to God if we are honest and willing to admit that we cannot save ourselves; that we need God to comfort and strengthen us; that we need Him to heal our hearts, to restore our peace, our health or ease our pain. Our suffering can be used for the benefit of others... If we have to endure the pain, let’s not waste a drop of it! Someone, somewhere in the world is in need of our prayers... we can offer our suffering for the needs of others. This concept is so against our nature...
The same friend who told me to thank God, also gave me an image of God as the great refiner of gold. He keeps peering in the crucible, turning up the fire hotter and hotter to remove the dross; all the while looking to see His own image in the molten gold. The fire is the trials and suffering we face as God purifies us, calling us to be holy; wanting to see His own image reflected in our lives.
In the 5th Chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans, we read:
”Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.“
We can endure because of the love and hope that has been poured into us by God, our Father who chose to send his own Son to suffer on our behalf; a Son who knows suffering greater that we could ever fathom... The thing is, we can in turn encourage others with the same encouragement that we have received from God. No pain is wasted if we are willing to share our story with others. Who knows pain and suffering better that someone who has had to endure it?
May we not despair when faced with suffering, but recognize each trial as a time to draw closer to God, to boldly approach the throne of grace to obtain mercy, hope and help in our time of need. May we allow God and the people He sends our way to comfort, support and encourage us; and then, may we do the same for others...
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