Romans 5:3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope.
One of the goals of all modern societies is to reduce suffering. We don’t have to walk miles down to the stream to gather water. We simply turn the faucet. We have heat in the winter and cooling in the summer. We drive cars rather than walking. We get vaccines to prevent diseases. We buy food rather than produce it ourselves.
And yet, even with all our modern advances, suffering still happens. People still get hit by those cars we drive. Food purchased at the store still has e coli. Cancer happens, even to good people.
So for the writer of our text today to say, “We glory in our sufferings” is an indication of some sick form of self-harm. Or is there something else going on in suffering that we too often miss? Does the author understand something about the nature of suffering that the Jesus-follower is supposed to share?
Suffering is a part of life, and no amount of human effort will change that. The suffering in this world is too great for the likes of mere humans to eradicate. Human history is a history of suffering, and not just in the dark pages of ancient history, like the 1960’s. Don’t forget the murder in the first family!
For the Christian, Paul writes, suffering can take on a different character, a purpose, if you will. Suffering isn’t meaningless. For the Christian, even suffering isn’t useless! God can, and does, use everything for redemptive purposes. Even cow manure has a use! I enhances next year’s crops!
This doesn’t mean we run toward suffering with gleeful expressions and cheers of “Yippee!” That would be silly. But it does mean that, when suffering does come, we can embrace it, knowing that God is able to use it for His glory and our good. Some things can only be learned in suffering.
One of the lessons learned in suffering that can only be learned in suffering is perseverance. Perseverance is the ability to stick to a task, a path forward, despite opposition and difficulty. “Stick-to-it-tivness!” This is one of the lessons most needed in our culture today.
Some people are so “suffering” averse, that they have never learned to make it through a “triggering” event. They must be shielded from all offense. Good luck with that! Living in an insular world isn’t living. Interpersonal relationships are about rubbing people the wrong way and getting rubbed the wrong way.
Paul says that sticking to suffering and not running way or avoiding, that this process of perseverance produces character in us. Character is the deep traits that help define who we are and how we will react in future situations. We all have character, but what type of character gets developed when there is suffering.
The military training is all about suffering as an instrument of character building. We get pushed to our limits and beyond as a means to “test our metal” in the heat of suffering. Units are pushed repeatedly, like the metal in the heat of the forge and the pounding of the anvil, learning to endure the suffering in order to accomplish something far greater than ourselves. With each reheating and pounding, the character of the soldier become better suited for the accomplishment of the mission.
So it is with the Christian. As we endure suffering, knowing that God is using it to give us the opportunity to develop perseverance, and thereby more godly character, our hope gets built. When we make it through something we didn’t think it was possible to survive, then we see the power of God at work and our faith is strengthened.
But we can short circuit this process. We can reject God’s help in the midst of suffering and go it alone, kicking and screaming. Anger, bitterness, resentment. These are the results of going it alone.
What is your response going to be next time suffering comes knocking at your door?
The Arnold Journey 