Thanksgiving has gone by, and we’ve made our way into the season of Advent. The holidays are a time of year when we attempt to fight the typical busyness of life in favor of slowing down to enjoy good food, seasonal fun, and bonding with friends and family. This year, I found myself considering the significance of shifting from the celebration of Thanksgiving into the start of Advent. As I reflected on the things for which I’m thankful connected to the sense of longing and waiting that comes with Advent, I found myself praying a prayer I don’t think I’ve ever prayed, “Lord, help me be thankful for the struggle, the fight, the tension, and even the pain.” There’s a lot of hardship in life and ministry, but gratitude is not typically the first, second, or third response in the midst of suffering, assuming we feel it at all. Why would I be thankful? That’s the question I want to consider.
There is pain on the path to hope.
In Acts 14, we find Paul and Barnabas returning from a missionary journey. They had been performing miracles and proclaiming the gospel to Greeks who responded by trying to worship Paul and Barnabas instead of Jesus. If that wasn’t frustrating enough, their Jewish opposition arrived and convinced the crowd to turn on these missionaries. They stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the city thinking he was dead—I’d say that qualifies as a challenging ministry experience—but the two continued their journey making many more disciples on their return to Antioch. Once back with their people, we see in verse 22, they sought to “strengthen the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, by telling them…” These next words have been reverberating in my soul. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, seeking to encourage the disciples, they tell them, “…it is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” Perhaps, like me, you feel less lonely. We may still want to avoid pain in life, but we can also sense hope rushing in to meet us in every moment of struggle.
There are several places in Scripture that warn us of inevitable times of suffering. They come with encouragement because suffering is a meaningful reality in the story of God (e.g. John 16:33; 4 Cor. 4:8-12; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 4:12-13; among others). And if it’s true that “it is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God,” it stands to reason, we ought to be thankful for them when they come. Surely we see with hindsight, there is much to be gained as we endure, but I’m suggesting we find gratitude while we wait and persevere.
Hardships are on the paths of righteousness.
Gratitude is not found through grit and determination to survive; it’s found in surrender. We have to trust the promises of God as we realize our inability to keep the hard times at bay. A pursuit of success, by worldly metrics, is typically designed to avoid hardship. Which is understandable. The kingdoms of earth declare the efficient and productive paths are the paths of righteousness. This is not so in the Kingdom of God. I’m not suggesting we ought to be inefficient and unproductive; however, I am suggesting that if we are managing ministry and relationships by our own strength, in order to avoid the hard things in life, perhaps we’re also avoiding the Kingdom of God. The hardships are necessary. Moreover, if things are challenging for you right now, don’t be discouraged. It does not mean you’re on the wrong path. When we follow the Lord down His paths of righteousness, we may find He leads us into the valley of the shadow of death, but we don’t have to be afraid. It’s necessary to go through it, but He is with us always.
I don’t believe we should desire suffering, nor should we pursue or inflict it; rather, knowing trials and tribulation are unavoidable, we ought to be grateful they’re not in vain. The power of the gospel is not that all pain is removed immediately, but that all pain has purpose–it is being redeemed. The curse is being reversed, but death is still required if resurrection is to become reality. This is what it feels like to “hope against hope” like Abraham, trusting in the promises of God despite impossible circumstances (Romans 4:18-21). Like Abraham, righteousness is gained for us as we place our hope in the promises and wait on the Lord.
It may seem paradoxical to be grateful for trials and pain, but it invites us to contemplate the redemptive nature of suffering. We may find ourselves filled with a hopeful longing to share with Christ in life as we share in suffering (Phil. 3:8-11). The Kingdom of God is our home. We have gained access through faith in Jesus, by the grace of God. And yet still, life is full of many trials and tribulations. We must go through hardships to find hope. Hope that the promises are true, Jesus will one day, once and for all, take away the pain. Until that day comes, He is with us now in the midst of our suffering. As you wait, be encouraged and be thankful, it means you’re entering the Kingdom of God where all suffering will cease.
Romans 5:1-5
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Promises for the suffering saint:
- The Lord sees you and looks after you (Gen. 16:13).
- The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed (Ps. 9:9-10).
- The Lord hears you and will deliver you. He is near to the brokenhearted (Ps. 34:17-18).
- The Lord will not forsake us. He is with us always (Josh. 1:5; Ps. 37:25)
- The Lord will make your path straight (Pro. 3:6).
- The Lord will hold you up and strengthen you (Is. 41:10).
- The Lord gives us rest (Matt. 11:28-30; Ps. 23:2-3).
- The Lord knows your needs and will provide (Phil. 4:19; Ps. 23:1).
- The Lord will end the suffering and restore you (1 Peter 5:10).
- The Lord is with us, so though there is affliction to endure, we will not be crushed, driven to despair, forsaken, nor destroyed; waters will not overwhelm and fires will not consume us (2 Cor. 4:8-9; Is. 43:2).
