2 Corinthians 13:4 "For though He was crucified through weakness, yet He liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you."
We view suffering through human reasoning. By every standard of human reasoning the cross of Jesus was a waste of a great and noble life. But in the reasoning of God it was the greatest demonstration of His power. It resulted in the salvation of man.
Paul understood this important principle of spiritual power. The power of God is disguised in weakness. This is why he could say:
2 Corinthians 12:9, 10 "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."
We never see power in weakness or failure. This is a strange attitude for people whose center of faith is the cross. Jesus experienced the resurrection after He had suffered. Resurrection power comes through the fellowship of His suffering.
True spiritual power is demonstrated not in the absence of suffering, problems, and crises, but in the midst of them. Power turns what the world calls an ordeal into an opportunity for the demonstration of the power of God.
God did not create suffering. It originally entered the world through man's sin which was instigated by Satan in Genesis 3. When man yielded to Satan's temptation and sinned, suffering entered the world. Sin, which resulted in all suffering, can be traced to its originator, Satan. Although there are different reasons why suffering enters your life, all suffering can be traced back to this original source.
Happily, in the life of a believer, God can take suffering, which Satan intends for evil, and turn it for good to accomplish His purposes. It can actually become an opportunity for the power of God to be demonstrated in your life.
The Bible has much to say concerning suffering, problems, and afflictions. In summarizing its teaching, we discover five ways that suffering can enter a believer's life. All suffering you face in life will come through one of these ways:
(1) Suffering and difficult circumstances of life may come through others around you.
Joseph is an example of this type of suffering. Through no fault of his own, Joseph was sold into Egypt by his brothers, was imprisoned falsely by Potiphar's wife, and was forgotten by those he helped in prison. But listen to his response. Joseph said:
Genesis 45:5; 8 "Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve life. . . so now it was not you that sent me hither but God."
(2) The second way suffering comes to you is through the circumstances of life. This is illustrated by the experiences of Naomi recorded in the book of Ruth in the Bible. She was bitter with sorrow because of the death of her husband and sons.
Until Jesus returns and the final enemy of death is conquered, death is part of life. Death entered through the original sin of man and it is a natural circumstance which we all will face, for "it is appointed unto man once to die" according to Hebrews 9:27.
When Naomi experienced these difficult circumstances of life, she said, "No longer call me Naomi (which means blessed), but call me Mara." The name Mara means "bitter."
(3) The third reason for suffering is because of your ministry for the Lord.
The New Testament speaks of suffering for His name's sake:
-Acts 9:16
-Philippians 1:29
-2 Thessalonians 1:5
-2 Timothy 1:11, 12
-1 Peter 2:19, 20; 3:17
-1 Peter 3:14
-1 Peter 4:15-19
The Apostle Paul is an example of suffering resulting from ministry. Some people view suffering as a sign of failure or lack of faith. If this is true, then the Apostle Paul had no faith and was the greatest failure in the history of the church.
Paul said that while in Asia he was so utterly crushed that he despaired of life itself (II Corinthians 1:8). He presents a different image than that of the cheerful evangelist who promises believers nothing but peace and prosperity.
When Paul was first called of God to ministry he was told of great things he would suffer for the sake of the Lord in Acts 9:16. Paul's response to suffering was to endure "the loss of all things to win some for Christ." He wrote to believers "to you it is given not only to believe, but to suffer for Him" in Philippians 1:29.
Paul was not alone in suffering for the ministry. The whole church suffered in New Testament times in Acts 8. Hebrews chapter 11 records the stories some of the cruel persecutions they endured. Many of these men and women of faith were delivered by the power of God. Prison doors were opened and they walked out. They were sentenced to death in fiery furnaces but emerged unaffected by the flames.
But some of these believers, who are also called men and women of faith, did not receive such deliverance. They were imprisoned, afflicted, tormented, and even martyred because of their testimony of the Gospel. We focus on living faith but God also reveals His power in dying faith. This is a faith that stands true in the bad times, not just in good times when mighty deliverance is manifested.
(4) Suffering can also enter your life as a result of direct Satanic activity.
This is evident in the story of Job. This book wrestles with the question, "Why do the righteous suffer?" God's testimony of Job was that he was a righteous man. Job did not suffer because he had sinned, as his friends claimed. They believed if Job repented, his circumstances would change.
These friends tried to make a universal application based on an individual experience. It would be similar to saying that because God delivered Peter from prison He will do the same for you. This is not true. Many have been martyred in prison despite their great faith and sinless lives.
We must be careful when we view the suffering of others that we do not accuse them of sin, faithlessness, or unbelief. The Bible does teach that a sinful man reaps a bitter harvest because of sowing in fleshly corruption in Galatians 6:8. But sowing and reaping cannot be used to explain the suffering of the innocent.
Job did not suffer because of anything he had done. Job was a righteous man. This was God's testimony of Job, Job's testimony of himself, and his reputation before man. Behind the scenes in the spiritual world was the true cause of Job's suffering. There was a spiritual battle going on over the heart, mind, and allegiance of Job.
There is a warfare going on in the spiritual world over you. That warfare is manifested in the difficult circumstances you experience in the natural world.
An important truth evident in Job's suffering is that nothing can enter the life of a believer without the knowledge of God. God does not cause your suffering. It is inflicted by Satan, but its limits are set by God. God's power is greater than that of Satan, and you will experience victory if you continue to trust Him.
(5) The fifth way suffering enters your life is because of your own sin.
Jonah is an example of such suffering. In disobedience to God, Jonah headed the opposite direction from Ninevah where he had been commanded to go and preach repentance. He experienced a terrible storm at sea and ended up in the belly of a great fish because of his own sin.
Trouble should always be treated as a call to consider your ways and examine your heart before God. You may be suffering because of your own sin. The Bible reveals that God chastises those who live in disobedience to His Word. Chastise means to discipline, reprove, and correct:
Hebrews 12:11 "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."
God uses suffering to correct you and bring you back to His will for your life:
Psalms 119:67 "Before I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept thy Word..."
Verse 71 "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes..."
Verse 75 "I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that THOU in faithfulness hast afflicted me."
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