I’ll Have the Joy, Hold the Suffering

I’ve been going through Cas Monaco’s study on the book of Philippians. I started the study a–*ahem*—a while ago, but life got in the way. Which is, of course, a euphemism for “I let life get in the way.” This spring and summer felt like a good time to pick it up again.

There’s so much packed into this short little book—eternal perspective, Christ-centeredness, passionate faith, unity, humility, perseverance. As I read through it again this morning, though, something jumped out at me.

“For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake…” (Phil. 1:29).

It has been granted to you. Like it’s a gift. Not only belief, but suffering.

It struck me that the New Testament talks a lot about suffering, not only as something to be endured, but as something special God gives us. A gift. James talks about it, too.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).

How about Peter?

“But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Peter 4:13-14).

Not that we should seek out suffering. No self-flagellation here. Yet when it does come our way, we are to greet it with joy. While these verses most specifically speak to suffering for Christ, we are also to be joyful in trials of various kinds.

I suppose I’m thinking about this today because I look around and see a lot of suffering. I’m mostly focused on the suffering in my own nation, but it’s all around the world—people dying of disease, fear of COVID, people being stripped of rights because of COVID, people out of jobs and worrying where their next meal is coming from, people depressed and suicidal, people suffering racial injustice, people being harmed by riots, anger and suspicion between neighbors… That’s aside from the every-day worries of finances, health, marriage, parenting, you name it. Suffering is always with us, but right now it feels like there’s suffering to spare. It can be overwhelming. Yet Paul, Peter, and James say we should greet suffering with joy.

It’s a hard stone to swallow.

I don’t know about you, but I do my best to avoid suffering. When I do find myself in the midst of it, I tend to complain. A lot. At the same time, I know, and certainly God knows, that the best way to keep me close to Him is to let me feel a little pressure. Perhaps there will be a time this side of heaven when I will learn to press into Christ as much in the good times as in the bad, but I’m surely not there yet. So God grants me suffering, blessing me with the chance to become steadfast in my faith.

That’s really not the way we’re used to thinking about it, is it?

You can’t achieve this kind of mindset by willpower. The only way to experience joy in hardship is to focus on what matters and to remember that it matters far more than any hardship.

“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13b-14).

Look up. Now is the time to press in. Now is the time to spend time in prayer, to fast, and to immerse yourself in God’s Word. When the waves of suffering threaten to overwhelm you, reach up. His hand is there.