The Glory and Triumph of Suffering

The Glory and Triumph of Suffering For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory 2 Corinthians 4 v 17 We cannot experiment with God but we can experience Him. Often our experience of God is through a period of affliction or suffering. The suffering will produce in us the patience of Jesus or the character of Jesus in us. As Aristotle told his royal pupil Alexander, “ There is no short cut to knowledge.” There is no shorter cut than suffering to a deep and personal knowledge of the Lord. We will experience in practical terms the love, the power, the mercy and the grace of God. The suffering cuts deep furrows in our soul where the seed of the truth can be planted. It might be intensely painful at the time but the pain and anguish will make us call out to the Lord. He will turn the area of our greatest pain into the reason for our greatest gain. This uni-verse offers us comfort and consolation that whatever we have suffered in the past or whatever we are going to suffer in the future or whatever we are suffering at present is meant for a greater good. As long as we approach it with this kind of faith, it will be a source of immense strength and eternal glory. My mentor used to say that even if his own brother or any member of his family were to meet with an accident that would only leave him breathing but seeking the Lord, it would be worthwhile in comparison with what his soul would gain. Suffering is often employed by the Lord as a means to draw us to Him. If we are already His, then He would use suffering or affliction to remove the dross or impurities that remain in our faith. Our affliction however terrible it might seem to us at the moment is light in comparison with the eternal glory we will get on account of it. It knocks down all other dependencies. The logical and the natural will not give an adequate explanation of why it had happened to us. Once a Canadian police officer explained how training had helped him get out of a dangerous situation with an armed suspect. I then told him that I was in a situation where no amount of training in the world would have helped. Like King David we can say with confidence that the Lord will cause our suffering to be ironically a source of everlasting joy and power: “ it was good that I was afflicted that I might learn His holy will.” When we believe this, we are affirming our faith that God is good and that He will not cause or allow us to suffer without reason. But the suffering should not be self-inflicted through our actions and habits or through our evil desires. It should not be satan-inflicted through our playing into his snares. Such types of suffering are frustrating and debilitating. The suffering that is wholesome and good is what is Saviour-allowed or God-ordained. How do we know that it is Saviour-allowed? The suffering will be only to such a degree that we can bear it and in the end it will produce praise, honour and glory for the Lord. It will produce a rich harvest of hope and salvation in our lives and the lives of others. I was happy to hear from one young man the other day that my account of my suffering in the assassination of a world leader while I was on duty had produced faith and hope in a large number of youth I had shared with in a meeting more than twenty years ago. He said he had attended several such meetings but that meeting was different in terms of the impact and the number of lives touched by my testimony. It is the Word of God along with the word of testimony that produces faith and eternal life and eternal glory. If placed in a balance, the weight of the latter will far outweigh the pain of the suffering underwent. When people hear a true story of suffering and triumph over trauma such as mine, they vicariously undergo the suffering and are drawn in their souls to the Vicar or substitute for their own suffering –Jesus, the One who triumphed over both suffering and death. If my momentary suffering produced or enhanced the eternal hope and spiritual experience of a large number of people, if the vicarious suffering helped to draw them closer to the Vicar of our souls-Jesus, if it brought meaning and purpose into their lives, then it was indeed worth the while.