Integrating Suffering and Pursuing Joy
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“A man really believes not what he recites in his creed, but only the things he is ready to die for.” – Richard Wurmbrand
When it comes to the integration of suffering into our lives, there are many levels. At the very top, there are those who willingly endure torture and death for what they believe. But while we look up to them and admire their faith, determination, or courage, the majority of people sit somewhere lower down. At the bottom level, we sit in denial that suffering exists in our lives or absolutely refuse to let it in at all. We make any and all attempts to avoid it and, when it can’t be avoided, to numb it out. Then, when the side effects of numbing it out end up wreaking havoc on our lives, there is perhaps the sad admission that maybe the attempts to avoid suffering have been naïve and we should at least try to learn to live with it. Hopefully next there is the further acceptance of it as a reality and fewer neurotic attempts to avoid it at all costs. We might come to think, “Perhaps it can even bring some good, like character development,” when we recognize that there is more to this life than our own happiness and pleasure. “Maybe some measure of discomfort is good,” we tell ourselves. But on these lower levels there is still a struggle and a tension as the heart (or it should more accurately be described as the flesh) still desires ease and abundance and can only stand discomfort for so long.
Are We Supposed to be Uncomfortable?
Are we supposed to integrate suffering into our lives, even if it doesn’t come naturally to us? Christ’s instructions for what a disciple’s life should look like certainly entail integrating some sense of living a life of uncomfortability. Loving our enemies, grieving with those who grieve, bearing the burdens of others, extending forgiveness instead of enacting vengeance. All these are calls to do what we really don’t want to do. To offer goodness and love to those who have done us wrong (especially when society would commend us for doing the opposite). To sit in the darkness with someone whose heart has been torn in two by loss. To spend time with, and seek out, those who are confused or lost in their faith. These are inherently uncomfortable actions. There is, at the very least, a call to try to integrate some level of discomfort into our lives so that we may become people who—admittedly by the power of the Spirit—can and would do these things.
The Payoff of Integrating Suffering
But why pursue discomfort? What’s the point? Our natural instinct is to steer away from pain and to indulge ourselves in things that offer a diversion instead. Consider the words of the author of Hebrews when he describes Christ: “For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). Conversely, consider what Jesus was doing in the Garden of Gethsemane before he went to the cross: “Going a little farther, he fell face down and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will’” (Matthew 26:39). While even Jesus felt the desire to avoid his own death, he was driven on by love for his Father and for the people of this world who needed to be shown a different way to exist. Suffering often reveals the true values of our heart. In most cases, if not all, we show that we’d prefer to save our own lives—whether literally or figuratively—rather than lose them. When suffering came to Christ, though, his heart was revealed to be self-sacrificing and steadfast. There was no deception in him. He truly had the heart of God and was willing to integrate suffering into his life, knowing what would be accomplished on the other side of his death, knowing that joy awaited when it was finished.
Reflection
Take some time to reflect on the questions below.
In which areas of your life do you experience a degree of suffering or discomfort?
What is your reaction when you experience suffering or discomfort?
What sustains or drives you to endure suffering?
Where is Christ when you are suffering?
For Christ, the primary things that sustained him during suffering were his love for God and for people and the hope of joy that would be accomplished through his suffering. When you’re in your day to day life, consider how pursuing love and joy might change how you endure suffering.