- Never to suffer would never to have been blessed.
- --Edgar Allan Poe
Suffering.
Not many would consider it something beneficial, much less something to look forward to.
Suffering may involve physical pain, loss, stress, illness, betrayal, disappointment, injustice, or abuse. How many of us would pay a large sum if it meant your life would be exempt from any agony? Count me in!
Everyone of us, however, is destined to walk through valleys of suffering, hardships, and trials; it is the result of a fallen world. So how do we do it successfully?
The church since it's earliest days has often portrayed the Christian life as one of mountain top highs, without valleys. It sounds ideal, and the ignorant may jump aboard, but how could this be so? A mountain without a valley is no mountain at all.
"A message that ignores the valleys is not big enough for life. It raises false expectations, and it has nothing to say to a suffering world."(Unlocking The Bible in 30 Days--Smith)
Every Christian-- every human rather, to walk the face of this Earth will face trouble, hardships, persecution, betrayal, loss, abandonment etc...The first thing God wants us to know however, is that it is not meaningless. "And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings', Paul writes in Romans, 'because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.'"
The mountain
tops revive our spirit as we feel assured we are headed in the right direction. It provides a moment for our packs to be loosened, our bodies to recharge and rest and reflect before repelling down to the valley ahead.Something comes from our suffering. Character is developed. As we seek God for direction and guidance, His love produces hope. Slowly our idiosyncrasies begin to align with His word and desire for our lives. Ultimately life becomes an impending adventure.
As we mature in character we begin to scale cliffs and crags we never imagined possible. Hence, our character sharpens, and suddenly suffering is not something to fear but rather an entity to embrace. We learn that God is not punishing us through our times of hardship but truthfully He loves us and desires for us to reach full maturity in character and hope.
Naturally, we choose to avoid pain and resistance in our circumstances, yet that leaves us on a plain. An ordinary, unattractive, unostentatious life where living beings do not flourish to the full potential. Sometimes we circle round and round the mountains in life looking for an elevator rather then attempting the steep gradient before us. God so faithfully has placed us in rough terrain to keep us in training; fit in body, mind and soul!
" Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, 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. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."--2 Cor. 4:16+17
Do not lose heart if you are going through a time of discomfort and disappointment. Maybe you are struggling financially, or in your marriage, maybe you have lost your place of employment, or your family member, maybe you are enduring physical pain, or a spiritual desert. Whatever it might possibly be, please know that God has a purpose, a plan, and a shining outcome for you. Do not blame him or resent him for your hurting, try trusting him that he is faithful to see you through it.
Even Helen Keller, a woman of ultimate trial and tribulation declared,
"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved."
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