Hope In Suffering

We have pointed out in our ascent to grow closer to God we will face persecution and that will and does cause suffering, but that suffering is a direct result of the decision we have made to follow Christ. We have been warned that it will happen, and we are comforted in the fact that in the end the rewards are more than worth the trial we face. But sometime there is suffering that we cannot explain in these terms it is unexpected, it is a suffering we did not see coming.

While suffering is not unique to being human, as we know and see suffering in all of nature, human suffering does have a certain uniqueness about it. As humans when we suffer whether it be physically or emotionally, we have the awareness to question on why we are suffering. If we know why we are suffering such as we break a bone, get sick or a love one dies, what we then tend to do is question the why we are suffering. We look for reasons outside of the norm so to speak we look to supernatural or spiritual reasons, we question whether the universe is against us. The next step we might take is to search for a way t alleviate the suffering, either in our own lives or in the lives of those we love. Suffering is a reality we cannot avoid and Psalm 130 address this reality from the perspective that suffering is real but more that that God is real and present in our suffering.

Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!

2 O Lord, hear my voice!

Let your ears be attentive

to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,

O Lord, who could stand?

4 But with you there is forgiveness,

that you may be feared.

5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,

and in his word I hope;

6 my soul waits for the Lord

more than watchmen for the morning,

more than watchmen for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the LORD!

For with the LORD there is steadfast love,

and with him is plentiful redemption.

8 And he will redeem Israel

from all his iniquities.

The Psalm begins with a declaration, crying out “Out of the depths I cry to you O Lord! O Lord hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!” This a cry for help but above that it is a declaration that we suffer. It is foolish to deny otherwise and to deny suffer leads us down paths we do not nor need to go. You cannot watch, TV, explore the internet, or read a magazine without finding a show, article or internet advertisement that does not promote the idea that if you are not happy you are flawed in some way and it needs to be fixed. The culture we live in sees no value in suffering, we live in a culture that views suffering either as a form of weakness, or as something that has no benefit and must be alleviated at all cost. This type of thinking has led to some very drastic and immoral solutions.

Some of the most liberal nations in the world are also seen as some of the happiest and yet the suicide rate among these nations is are some of the highest in the world. Many of these nations allow for assisted suicide and not just for patient that are terminal, but in cases of mental depression and in one nation it is legal for a parent to have a mentally challenged or handicapped child euthanized. This denial of suffering has begun to invade the United States as several states have passed laws making assisted suicide legal. While a Christian never welcomes any form of suffering, as no one should, we do not see it in the same light as the world as something that needs to be eradicated at all cost, we also do not see it as some sort of badge of honor something makes us more righteous or brings us honor. There is after all some suffering we get into because of our own sinful actions and nature, suffering that really is useless and unnecessary. A Christians sees suffering as a reality of living, the difference between that and the world is that in the midst of our suffering we immerse our suffering in God.

Peter Forsyth said of suffering, “Our very pain is a sign of God’s remembrance of us for it would be so much worst if we were left in ghastly isolation” Many times it is in our suffering that our relationship with God grows the strongest. God is spoken of eight times within the Psalm. When we are suffering it is essential for us to remember that God is attentive and hears our pleas for mercy, that he never leaves us alone. For those that are in Christ we can rest in the assurance that we serve a Lord who knows our suffering. The book of Hebrews says, “since then we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens. Jesus the Son of God let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin.” Jesus more than any of us knows what it means to suffer and is present in our suffering. Now that we have faced the two realities, that suffering is real and a part of our human existence and that God is real and present in our suffering we must look to how we are to respond to suffering.