The cross reveals the very possibility of suffering. In the Gospel a righteous man brought glory to God while dying on a cross. If we understand this, we will not “be surprised” (1 Pet. 4:12) when we experience the same.

One of the reasons that people lose faith in times of suffering is our tendency towards a religious rather than a Christian worldview. A religious worldview teaches, “bad things happen to bad people and good things happen to good people.” Far from a random thought, this is the default of the human heart. The biblical examples are numerous. This is what the disciples assume when, coming upon a blind man, they ask, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (Joh 9:2) In Luke 13 Jesus recounts two tragedies. One involved Pilate slaying a group of Galileans and mingling their blood with sacrifices. The other concerned a tower that fell on a group of people at Siloam. In both cases the crowds assume that these tragedies took place because the people were greater sinners than most. Finally, remember the words of the natives of Melita when the snake came out of the fire to bite Paul: “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” (Act 28:4) The assumption here is that an injury such as this can only mean that this man is guilty of something. All of this sounds very much like Eliphaz in the book of Job: “Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?” (Job 4:7)

The flip side of this, of course, is that good things will happen to good people. Some think that as soon as I give my heart to Jesus my problems will disappear: my grades will come up, the pretty girl will fall in love with me, and grandma will get healed.

The Hebrews are struggling because they have adopted this religious world view of suffering. They cannot help but think, “How is it that we who follow Jesus are losing everything and those who have abandoned Jesus are doing so well?”

The Gospel brings us face to face with the very possibility of suffering. Peter writes boldly, “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” (1Peter 4:19) In a similar way, the writer of Hebrews shows us that if the sinless, righteous Son of God suffered while following God’s will, it is reasonable that His followers will too. (Hebrews12:5-7) In other words, the Gospel teaches us that pain, loss, and suffering are not a sign that a person is unfaithful to the Lord.

Hebrews 11 illustrates this so well. In this chapter the author takes an inventory of some of the great men and women of the faith. Many of these are described as accomplishing great things. But, note the contrast in the middle of these verses:

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets– who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection.  ////   Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated– of whom the world was not worthy–wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. (Heb 11:32-38)

By faith some subdued kingdoms; by faith some were subdued by the kingdoms. By faith some escaped the edge of the sword; by faith others went to the sword. Some of these saints glorified God in life; others glorified God in death.

I cannot explain why some seem to live in the first half of this paragraph and why others exemplify the latter. But we can be sure that both were faithful to the Lord.

As believers in Christ, we seek to understand everything in light of the Cross. The Gospel is the lens though which we understand the world, draw strength for daily living, and discover ultimate hope. Nowhere is this truer than in the area of suffering.

While there are many passages that teach us how to suffer in light of the Gospel, Hebrews 12 is one of the most vivid. Notice how the author weaves together our suffering with the suffering of Jesus:

Jesus’ Mission (vv. 1-3)

• Jesus endured suffering (vv. 2-3)
• The end of His suffering is glory (v. 2)

Our Mission (vv. 4-12)

• We endure suffering (v. 7)
• The end of our suffering is fruit (vv. 10-11)

For the author of Hebrews, Jesus’ suffering serves as a pattern for us. There is even a repetition of a key word: “endured” (vv. 2, 7). Just like a zipper brings together the teeth on both sides of a garment, the author zips together our suffering with the cross of Christ.

This pattern is not unique to the book of Hebrews. The apostles routinely call us to understand our own suffering in light of the cross. Consider Romans 8:16-17: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Peter does something similar: “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)

What does this mean practically? The only way that a believer can come to grips with suffering in his or her own life is by coming to grips with the pain in Jesus’ life. We cannot even understand suffering apart from the Gospel. This is why the passage in Hebrews begins with the words, “Consider Him…” (v. 3) In other words, when you as a believer experience a trial, the first move is always to look to the cross.

It has been wisely said, “If God can make sense of the suffering of Jesus, He can most certainly make sense of the suffering in your life.” Hebrews 12 reveals four important points about Gospel-centered suffering: the possibility, the progress, the purpose, and the potential. We uncover the first in the next post.

In the book Grief and Pain in the Plan of God, Walter Kaiser gives eight reasons why God allows suffering in this present world. They are Retributive, Disciplinary, Empathetic, Vicarious, Doxological, Revelation, Apocalyptic, and Testimonial. The issue of suffering is complex indeed! The implications of a survey such as this are far reaching and remarkably practical. First, we must exercise a degree of restraint in reading too much into any given tragedy. Most of the time, a simplistic answer will not do. Consider the responses that the American people heard on 9-11 when the planes crashed into the Twin Towers. Many people on the conservative right understood this event to be the judgment of God against Americans for immorality and apostasy. Not to be outdone, some from the liberal left assumed the opposite: God is judging America because of its birth defect of slavery, oppression of women, and exploitation of the poor. Both pulpits were essentially crying, “America’s chickens have come home to roost!” (to quote Jeremiah Wright).

Continue Reading…

Two final reasons for suffering are Apocalyptic and Testimonial. Apocalyptic suffering refers to the intense period of pain and suffering that the world will experience just before the Second Coming of Christ. We get a picture of this in Revelation 6:15-17:

Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

While some of the other reasons for suffering can be experienced today, apocalyptic suffering is unique to those who are alive just prior to the close of this age.

Finally, God will often bring suffering into our lives to reveal our hearts. Faithfulness in times of stress and anxiety is an opportunity to prove our love to God. Job provides an excellent example of testimonial suffering. It was God who said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job?” (1:8) Having felt the affliction of great physical and emotional pain, Job was now in a position to demonstrate his love for God before the entire visible and invisible creation.

Consider someone preparing a cup of hot tea. As the individual dips the bag into the hot water and squeezes it against the spoon, the tea comes out into the water. The heat and the pressure do not create the tea; rather, they bring out what is already there. Or picture the foundation of a bridge cracking as a large truck crosses. The truck did not create the weakness in the structure; rather, it revealed it.

In a similar way, suffering does not create a poor or godly response, but brings out what is already in the heart. As pressure, stress, and pain enter our lives, we have the opportunity to see what is really in the heart.

When I was a kid the dentist gave my brother and me a package of red, chewable tablets. They were intended to reveal all of places that we missed when brushing our teeth. Sure enough, after brushing and then taking a tablet, our smiles were speckled with red. We were amazed at what we had missed. Suffering acts like those red tablets. Everything looks good and healthy until God brings a crisis into your life. Then, while enduring pain and suffering, our response shows exactly what is really in the heart.

This is why seasons of suffering are so ripe for repentance. Thinking ourselves to be righteous, through trials, God shows us how unfaithful we really are and how desperately we need His grace.

Thus far we have discussed four reasons for suffering: retributive, discipline, vicarious, and empathetic. We are not done yet. The Scriptures reveal even more. A fifth reason that God allows for suffering is doxological. Through pain and suffering, God brings glory to Himself.

Although all suffering can glorify God, there are a few verses in the Bible that specifically highlight the glory of God in suffering. In John 9 Jesus and the disciples pass a man who is born blind. The disciples assume that the man is handicapped because of his own sin or that of his parents. However, Jesus states, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (v. 3). The suffering in this man’s life was intended to bring glory to God.

A similar idea is seen in the Joseph narratives in Genesis. Having already been sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph was falsely accused of a sex crime and thrown into prison. As painful as this was to Joseph, he knew that God would glorify Himself through this son of Israel: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Gen. 50:20). God allowed pain in Joseph’s life so that in the end He might have a measure of glory.

This is the comfort that we Christians enjoy. All of the suffering in this world is moving in the right direction; it will ultimately abound to God’s honor and glory. There is not a single pain in our lives, a single tear, or a single sigh that God cannot and will not use to glorify Himself. Nowhere is this more evident than in the cross of Christ. The unspeakable pain that Jesus felt at the cross brought immeasurable glory to God. The Gospel ensures that ours will do the same.

The sixth purpose for suffering is Revelation. Probably unique to the prophets in the Bible, in this category, a person’s suffering reveals something about God. Consider the story of Hosea. Through the trial of marital infidelity, Hosea remained faithful to his wife, Gomer. The pain in this man’s life was intense. Time and time again his children were forced to watch their mother leave home. He was forced to bid on his wife as she sold herself into prostitution. Why did God allow this kind of pain in Hosea’s life? It wasn’t to grow him personally (though I’m sure it did) nor was it to teach Hosea a lesson. The suffering in the prophet’s life served as a revelation from God. It was a picture of God’s faithfulness to an unfaithful people. Through Hosea’s grief, God was calling the nation of Israel to repent.

The ultimate expression of revelation suffering is seen in Jesus Christ. Romans 5:8 states, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” At the cross, the nature of God is revealed. His love, His justice, and goodness, His mercy, His faithfulness – all of His divine attributes are revealed in the cross and resurrection.

Thus far we have touched on six reasons for pain and suffering in this life. The next post will cover the final two; then we look at some of the implication of the complexity of suffering.