The Bible has wonderful examples how perseverance through suffering is worthwhile. A quick survey of my previous thoughts on suffering highlights fulfilled prophecy and promises that we can lean into when the going gets tough. My favorite resource is the book of Hebrews as it summarizes all the other great accounts through the lens of Jesus Christ, it culminates in Chapters 11-12 with the "hero's of the faith" who lived a life grounded in hope.
"Hope is not a strategy" is a favorite saying of a friend of mine. He means hope as a verb as in, "I hope everyone likes this definition." or "I hope that this will turn out well." Hope as a noun is connected with faith: "Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor 13:13)" and "Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1)"
Hope as a noun is the architecture, the plan, the hypothesis, the currency that must be backed by faith. Faith is trust, something you can lean on, put your weight into, it's verifiable - even when it can't be seen. Faith is the work, the test, the proof.
The biblical root cause of suffering is sin. Sin leads to hopelessness and it's hopelessness that is unbearable. Jesus paid for our sin and said it is finished. Now the good news is that we have access to father through Jesus. Hebrews explains all this but if you like a video format check out the The https://unanswered.prayercourse.org. It's a great resource that details how Jesus handled the suffering that is described in Hebrews 12:1-4. Jesus endured the cross and has commanded us to pick up our cross and follow him (Matthew 16:24-26).
Categories of suffering everyone can relate to
- Physical: Pain
- Loss: Grief over something once had
- Emotional: Sadness without words
- Mental: Inability to understand
- Spiritual: Fear and anxiety from an invisible force
- Lost/aimless/directionless: No hope
- Relational: Suffering on behalf of another
- Social: "Glass ceiling", "Out group", "Other"
Biblical categories of suffering
- Natural: Creation is cursed, we are natural sinners
- Sin: Our natural inclination towards unbelief of Jesus' words
- Guilt: for what we've done
- Disobedience: Our natural inclination to dishonor our parents and authority
- Lying: Lack of integrity between what we say and do
- Covetousness: Our natural inclination to want what others have
- Shame: for who we are
- Idolater: Making a god, an authority of our own
- Deceitful: hiding our guilt from God and others
- Thief: Taking what isn't ours; adultery, debauchery, murder
Symptoms of suffering
Time perspective
- Prison, waiting, held back (Philippians)
- God disciplines those he loves (Hebrews 12)
As a result on unseen forces
- God proves Job by allowing Satanic activity
- Daniel's prayer is answered but angel had another battle to finish first
Bottom line
- Embrace there is a mystery, you don't have it all figured out.
- There is knowing God and suffering. It's shallow to look at suffering through any lens but the cross.
Job 9:33 - needs a mediator.
- You will never understand suffering unless you see it through the lens of Jesus on cross. The enemy wants us to give up in suffering.
Job points us to Jesus
Job 13:1 “Look, I have seen all this with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears, and now I understand.
What an interesting read. Job understands - alludes to Abel (Job 16:18), points to Jesus (Job 16:19,20) seeing death approach (Job 16:21)
"Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor 13:13)" and "Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1)"
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