I’ll never forget the excited anticipation I had while traveling to Ethiopia for the first time. I was overjoyed to have the opportunity to visit this beautiful yet deeply impoverished country in hopes of sharing all that God had given me with anyone I encountered. First and foremost I hoped to share Jesus, but I also hoped to serve the people there with my education, skills, and material possessions.
I remember meeting a large family in their small hut that was the size of my living room. As I sat on the mud floor of their house, I quickly noted their lack of toys, beds, blankets, and food. I leaned over and asked the youngest child in the family, “How can I pray for you?” Before he started to answer, I was already making a long mental list of obvious needs that he might request. While I was midway through my list he quickly replied, “For me to be closer to God.”
Shocked by the simplicity of his answer, I quickly realized this poverty-stricken child already possessed a wisdom and wealth far beyond anything I had to offer him.
“For the believer in Jesus, every trial of suffering is an opportunity to grow in the faith, to grow in our relationship with the Lord, and to see Him work in our lives in a uniquely personal way that demonstrates His compassion, His comfort, His tender mercies, His loving kindnesses, His grace, and His endless love. Only God knows what each of us needs to experience and learn in order to be ‘conformed to the image of his Son.’” - T.A. McMahon
James 1:2-4 says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Did you notice those last three words? Not lacking anything! The trials that we face as believers, which often cause us to experience a sense of deep suffering and feelings of inadequacy, are meant to produce a spiritual perseverance in us that matures our faith and makes us more complete. Furthermore, God uses this cycle of suffering in order to give us something we lacked though we weren’t even aware it was missing. That little boy I met in Ethiopia experienced a physical suffering of poverty that led him to believe that God was all he needed in order to survive. This reliance on God gave him spiritual maturity and contentment well beyond his years.
This is why James says we ought to view our trials with great joy. Not because the trial itself is enjoyable but because the outcome of our suffering is spiritual growth. Just as muscle in the body can’t grow by a life of ease, we can’t expect to be conformed into the image of Christ without the added weight and resistance that suffering provides.
Living in a fallen world means we are all destined to suffer at one time or another. The Bible is filled with countless passages that warn us, as we follow Christ’s example, we will experience trials, trouble, and suffering. 1 Peter 4:12-13 says, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in as much as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”
Did you notice the common language used in James 1 and 1 Peter 4? We are to consider it pure joy, rejoice, and be overjoyed in the suffering we get to share with Christ because of the necessary spiritual growth we will gain in order for God to be glorified.
First Peter 5:8-11 says, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” This passage on suffering reminds us that we are not alone in the trials we face, and it goes on to promise us that God himself will restore us after we have suffered a little while.
When else has God used suffering to bring restoration to the world? God’s plan for the salvation of his children was through the sacrificial death of his son, Jesus. Without the suffering of Jesus we would not have restored relationships with God, our Father. Part of the reason we can rejoice in the midst of our trials is that it is an honor to share in the sufferings of Christ.
First Peter 4:19 gives us a final instruction. It says, “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.” So then, my brothers and sisters, when we are faced with trials of suffering, let us commit ourselves to our faithful creator and do good by resisting temptation, standing firm in our faith and rejoicing that we get to share in the sufferings of Christ as God uses the weight and resistance of our suffering to conform us into his image of Jesus for the ultimate purpose of His glory.