Hope in the Midst of Suffering

Suffering is part of our human life on planet earth. No one is immune to suffering. No one escapes it. Not even Jesus Christ. The Bible describes in great detail how Jesus endured physical pain, betrayal, spiritual abandonment and the agony of the crucifixion to redeem all of us because of His love for all mankind. We will also have our share of suffering in this broken world. However, we have something the world does not have. We have hope, as followers of Christ.

Hope is a wonderful gift from God, a source of strength and courage in the face of life’s harshest trials, like the current lingering Covid-19 pandemic. In times of suffering, the following reasons will give us hope to face all kinds of life’s adversities.

God Has a Purpose for Our Trials

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. (James 1:2-3 ESV)

Trials are often necessary to test and develop our faith. They teach us humility and compassion so that we never make light of the sufferings of others. We learn not to trivialize another person’s trial by comparing with ours or with someone else’s. Instead, simply be there with the person who is hurting, be a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on. Be a comfort to those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves have been comforted by God. (2 Corinthians 1:4)

Suffering is a powerful tool for personal growth and transformation. God uses our suffering to help us grow in our faith and to complete His work in us.  Seldom will there be a perfect platform to share our faith than when we are suffering and enduring it instead of strongly reacting. When others who know what we are enduring see how calm and at peace we are, they will listen to what we have to say. We have earned the right to be heard. In testifying, we are witnessing for God through our suffering.

God Will Bring Our Trials to an End

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. (1 Peter 5:10 ESV)

Though it doesn’t make it easier in our darkest moment, it is good to remember that our suffering is only a momentary affliction. It is only temporary. No matter how heart-breaking our situation is, as God’s children, we trust that Christ our Lord will restore everything better than anything we can imagine.

When pain seems unbearable, remember the crucifixion. Think of Jesus hanging on the cross enduring the painful death just for us. It will help to alleviate the pain in our lives, ease and erase any sense of bitterness or resentment within us. He is the Man of Sorrows, the Suffering Servant who knows everything we are going through having gone through suffering Himself.

God Hears Our Prayers

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. (1 Peter 3:12 ESV)

God doesn’t abandon us during difficult times. On the contrary, He is closest to us when we are suffering, broken and crushed in spirit. We have hope knowing that God sees us in our suffering, is compassionate and merciful to deliver us when we call on Him. Even in our darkest hour, we can always turn to Jesus to find the hope and encouragement we need.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:17-18 NIV)

We Have a Living Hope

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3 ESV)

Those of us who are “born again” in the Lord Jesus Christ have been promised a living hope through His resurrection from the dead. If God brought His Son through the most painful trials, resurrected Him from death itself, He can certainly bring us through whatever trials we face in this world, no matter how hopeless and helpless we might seem at that time.

When we are going through difficult times, our hope is in Christ who protects and stabilizes us through all the storms in our lives. Keep reminding ourselves that this time of hardship is not the end of our journey, it is simply a rough journey to our final destination.

We Have a Permanent Inheritance

…to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you. (1 Peter 1:4 ESV)

Our inheritance as children of God is absolutely secure. It is “imperishable, undefiled and unfading”, reserved in Heaven for us. This inheritance is protected and untouchable; nothing will be allowed to damage it in any way. The more difficult our lives get on earth, the better and more welcoming Heaven seems.

We Have Divine Protection

…who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:5 ESV)

We are protected by the most efficient security system available – the power of our Sovereign God. No diseases or pandemics, not even death itself can weaken or threaten God’s ultimate protection over our lives. No matter what kind of destruction our bodies suffer on this planet earth, our souls are divinely protected. He who made us from the dust of the earth will protect us by His Almighty power and promises to deliver us to our eternal home in Heaven.

When we are in the depths of great despair, don’t try to understand or explain the mystery of our suffering, just accept it and deliberately trust God to protect us by His Sovereign power.

Tears shed during the darkest season of our lives are the same everywhere, whether we are children, adults or the elderly.  Suffering is universal. The sting of pain may be expressed differently in different ways but the hurt, anguish and torment are the same.

When we feel rejected and abandoned, hope reminds us we are not alone.  When we are crushed in a tunnel of misery, hope points to the light at the end; when we struggle with a terminal, crippling disease, hope helps us to persevere beyond the pain; when we fear the worst, hope reminds us that God is still in control.

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. (2 Corinthians 4:8-10 ESV)

Our trials will not be the end of us. We have a living hope because God has already given us victory. We will be victorious because Jesus Christ has overcome the world.

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33 ESV)

Reference – Hope Again by Charles R Swindoll.

About the Writer

Doreen Lau has a heart for evangelism and a deep belief in the power of words and stories to heal and encourage. Though she embarked for London as a young woman to train as a nurse, the Lord had different plans for her. Coming from a background in which she has had to be resilient, Doreen’s life has been shaped and directed by the Lord to be one of ministry, using her life experience to provide encouragement and to build up the vulnerable in our society.