No suffering is wasted for those who trust God.
A close friend got more bad medical news yesterday. Because her doctor didn’t do diagnostic scans before surgery, she has to have a second surgery more radical than the first. It’s so tempting to be angry and question why she has to go through two surgeries instead of one. Her suffering seems so needless and cruel. But I know that no matter how badly humans fail us, God is still able to bring good out of evil. We aren’t victims of human negligence or even hatred. We’re victors in the cosmic battle that will end in our eternal happiness and the supremacy of God in a world set right forever. And in the meantime, we’ll be stronger and more compassionate because of our suffering.
Suffering can make us stronger and better
“I have refined you, but not as silver is refined.
Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.
I will rescue you for my sake—
yes, for my own sake!” Isaiah 48:10-11
“You have tested us, O God;
you have purified us like silver. Psalm 66:10
“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect [many translations= mature] and complete, needing nothing.” James 1:2-4
Joseph suffered kidnapping and slavery, yet his suffering prepared him to become a strong leader in the country he was taken too. He saved thousands of lives and forgave and helped his brothers who had betrayed him. Genesis
Suffering can make us compassionate and able to help others.
“God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
“ They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity. . . They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.” 2 Corinthians 8:2,4
Yesterday an older man we love and respect talked to me with a heavy heart. He was deeply distressed because his dear wife was suffering. My eyes got a little misty when he recounted his beloved mate’s pain and their frustration with the situation. She has pain that prevents her from walking and forces her to crawl on her hands and knees for part of the day. Mind you, she’s 80 years of age. After a long wait, surgery to remedy her condition was scheduled for this past week. But the surgery was canceled last minute because the insurance company didn’t send approval in time. Now the surgeon is on vacation and the soonest the surgery can be scheduled is three weeks from now. After waiting so long for the pain-relieving surgery, three more weeks of pain seems cruel. He confessed that he was angry and some of that anger spilled onto God. He questioned why God would allow the needed surgery to be postponed. He had the sense to take his anger to God with honesty and an open heart to hear God’s answer. He told me he has resolved his anger at God and is in a better place in his spirit. In heart-wrenching situations like this, I go to the truth that our suffering isn’t wasted. Our pain isn’t random. God is in control. And only God can make good things come from bad things. Suffering is the human condition, but God can redeem the suffering and use it for beautiful outcomes.
Enduring suffering will bring rewards
“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. . . So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” I Peter 1:6-7
“But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life.” 1 Peter 3:14-15
Suffering helps us see God’s faithfulness
“So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and 
trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.” 1 Peter 4:19
“In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen.” 1 Peter 5:10-11
My kind and good in-laws are elderly. (Duh! Of course they are if they’re my parents-in-law!) My mother-in-law has taught the Bible to children and youth continuously until she was in her mid-eighties. She has led and hosted women’s Bible studies for decades. My father-in-law has served others his whole adult life. He cut wood for widows, took the handicapped to church and on outings, gave whatever he had to whoever needed what he had. But now he is the one who is handicapped. He’s unable to go to church which he misses greatly. On Sunday, his teenage great-granddaughter had an idea. She wanted him to have church at home. So she asked her cousins who are also teenagers to help her make it happen. Her grandfather did his part. Two of the teens led songs while playing guitar and ukulele. The other teen lead in prayer. Their grandfather gave communion. My mother-in-law who is not a crier told us she couldn’t help crying through it. Why should such faithful ones suffer? I don’t have the answers, but I do know that God has proven himself reliable, wise, and good. I know he has ultimate control. I know he is with them and I know he is carrying them along.
Suffering can remind us we’re fragile humans and God is God.
“We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God..” 2 Corinthians 1:8-9
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-9
Suffering can remind of us of what’s important.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18