Sanctified Suffering by Bryan Craig
For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. Hebrews 2:10
Years ago, when I was first starting to learn how to abide with Christ, even before discovering Influencers, one of my mentors, who loved to pour into men, said that you know that a man is growing in his faith when he wants to be like Paul. I’ve never forgotten that, and I understood it. For Paul was formerly a pagan in many ways when he was Saul, persecuting and killing Christians, arrogant, prideful, performance-oriented, worldly, religious. And we see an amazing transformation in Christ that makes him an impactful missionary to the Gentiles and such a key contributor to our faith and even authored God’s Word to us through his letters. Men who fall in love with Jesus and find forgiveness from their pagan pasts, desire to be instruments of God to impact the world, like Paul did.
I was reading the account of Paul’s Damascus Road experience, when Jesus, as the Holy Spirit, met him in a powerful way, calling him into ministry and blinding him at the same time. God uses a faithful follower, Ananias, to go to the Christian-killer, to speak a word to Saul (Paul). God also said:
“For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” Acts 9:16 ESV
And we know, as we read the New Testament, that Paul did, in fact, suffer for Christ’s name.
“Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.” 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 ESV
In another place, Paul talks about wrestling with his own sin nature:
“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” Romans 7:15-20 ESV
So, if we want to be like Paul, we better brace ourselves for some suffering. If we want to be like Christ, we better understand that suffering is part of the package. As soon as I write these words, my flesh recoils and wants to reject this truth, “Oh, don’t be a Danny Downer! Come on! You are blessed and highly favored.” Another quote works its way into my thoughts, “You’re either in a storm, coming out of one, or heading into one.” Ugh. I’ve always hated that quote.
So, what is about Suffering that seems to be part of the sanctification and abiding process?
What is suffering?
The dictionary says: “The state of undergoing pain, distress or hardship.”
We all know that this seems to be part of the human experience, and if we are honest, we spend much time trying to avoid this. We spend lots of money on doctors, we try to stay in our comfort zones, we try to hoard our money so we never have to face scarcity, we live in fear of suffering.
Yet, in God’s economy, suffering is fruitful. If we think about it, the times that we have felt closest to God and experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit most powerfully, it has probably been in times of desperation and anguish and hopelessness, when we have reached the end of ourselves and our attempts to control life, and we, like Christ and like Paul, hold our arms out in surrender. In these moments, we find a strength that we did not know we possessed. It is not our strength. It is His strength. It is in these times that our faith exponentially grows and at the same time, our witness to others is fortified and multiplied.
Paul reconciled his thoughts about suffering:
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:1-5 ESV
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Romans 8:18 ESV
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. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 1 Corinthians 1:3-5 ESV
And others spoke about this, even Jesus’ closest followers:
James, Jesus’ brother, says:
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4 ESV
And Peter, the one who walked closely with Jesus, then denied Him 3 times in a moment of weakness, was restored by the Lord and went on to lead the new Jesus’ movement after Jesus departed:
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” 1 Peter 4:12-13 ESV
There are many, many more verses about suffering and its benefits to the Disciple of Christ. Let’s quit running from this truth or ignoring it, and let’s start embracing the fact that we, who have given our lives to Christ, do not belong to ourselves. We belong to Him, so we accept whatever He wants to give us, whether good or bad, because we trust Him and believe He is working out a plan. I read a book called, “The Insanity of God” which highlights the “persecuted Church,” places in the world where intense persecution against Christians still very much exists. It talks about how persecution has not served to snuff out the move of the Spirit, but rather, it has fanned it into full flame. As a matter of fact, it said the Christians in these persecuted countries don’t consider someone a real Christian until he’s been arrested 2 or 3 times.
Can we start viewing Suffering differently? Can we view it as an invitation to the deeper things of God, to actually know Him better? Can we learn to remain in Him each day, trusting in His Spirit, even expecting hardship, persecution, trouble because we live “counter-culturally” as Jesus followers? Can we realize that suffering is fertilizer for the fruits of the Spirit?
I know this is a tough truth, but don’t take my word for it. Spend time with the Lord, the author of your salvation, who “was made perfect through suffering” and see what He might say to you. I close with this great prayer from Ted Loder:
O Lord, deepen my wounds into wisdom;
Shape my weakness into compassion;
Gentle my envy into enjoyment,
My fear into trust,
My guilt into honesty.
O God, gather me to be with You as You are with me.