The Gift Of Suffering

The Gift of Suffering

My heart is troubled and restless.

Job 30:27

Hardly an Amish sermon is given without some mention of the forebears of the Amish and what they suffered. Many an Amish home has a copy of the Martyrs Mirror. This thick volume tells story after story of Christian martyrs from the time of Christ to the 1600s, including those of the Anabaptists—their lives, their sufferings, and their deaths. These men and women loved God and believed the gospel of Christ was for all humanity. They preached God’s love so persistently—right up until the moments of their deaths—that most judgments against them included the cutting out of their tongues so they couldn’t speak. Yet many stories end with descriptions of arms lifted, silent praise, and courageous gazes heavenward in the martyrs’ last moments.

Why does God allow suffering? That’s a good question. If God loves His children, shouldn’t He protect them? Can’t we trust that the God who loves us most will do His part to keep us from pain?

The truth is, even when those in the world around us ignore our words during peaceful or pleasant times, they pay close attention to us in our suffering. It’s unnatural to praise God in hard times, but that’s when our praise rings truest. Others pay attention when they hear us praising God in our pain. They learn to trust Him when we trust Him even on our hardest days.

Often I’ve prayed that God will use me to reach the world. I’ve also asked Him to remove my suffering. But often God accomplishes the former through the latter. In my weakness my testimony shines ten thousand times brighter. God’s light, reflected on our faces during our dark days of pain, is hard to miss. Turn to God during your trials, and those around you will discover Him in new ways.

Heavenly Father, thank You for teaching me that suffering is a gift. It’s an open door to sharing the Good News with the lost world. More than that, when I suffer, You draw near, and that is the greatest gift of all. Thank You.