The Christian and Suffering: Part III

One of the more difficult issues we struggle with has to do with suffering and the Christian. How do we account for it? We know that, “…if God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31). However, we can often feel as though God is either strangely absent or perhaps even directly opposed to us. From Paul’s numerous statements in Scripture, we understand that any Christian who chooses to live for the gospel will find persecution. To a world that has consistently shown itself hostile to the message, anyone who proclaims that gospel can expect the same treatment even now.

However, does Paul’s theology of suffering include anything that happens to us, even if that misfortune has nothing to do with persecution or with our identification with Christ? Does Paul’s encouragement apply as well when a Christian gets a disease, loses a loved one in a car crash, or encounters abandonment by a mate? One commentator seems to reason that this kind of suffering is to be received in the same manner, seeing that “every affliction and every frustration becomes an obstacle to fulfilling the goal of serving Christ. It would be impossible to think that believers who…suffer no physical persecution or religious discrimination are thereby deprived of an essential element in their sanctification.”¹ Not all agree however, seeing this view as a doctrine that is inferred rather than one obtained through a study of what Bible texts openly state.² This inferred reasoning, however, seems to be aligned with Paul’s comments about his own suffering. It is believed that Paul had at least one type of physical affliction that hindered him from carrying the gospel to the degree that he would have liked. Some believe that he suffered from an eye ailment based upon his comment in Gal. 4:15 that the Galatians would have “plucked out [their] eyes” and given them to Paul, though this could just be an idiom of the day.³ Paul’s own writings reveal to us that there was something that hindered him in his progress in order to keep him from becoming too proud. He called it his “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7) sent to him through a messenger of Satan, though the Scriptures do not give us any clarity as to whether it was a physical, spiritual, or mental problem. Nevertheless, Paul had something which caused him suffering that was not necessarily as a result of the gospel, but was a means by which God would keep him humble. This seems to be more in line with the conclusion proposed by the commentator. Any kind of suffering that might hinder us from proclaiming, promoting, and living the gospel can align with the kind of suffering Paul calls all Christians to embrace and endure.

Are you suffering today? Is the cause of your suffering rooted in a stand for the gospel, or merely from catching a disease? Is it because you have spoken for Christ, or because difficulties have come to your doorstep and burst into your front door? Is it a personal attack because of your beliefs, or is it the emotional torment you encounter because of a loved one’s illness? No matter what your circumstances, God can and does use it for your good and your sanctification. While we too can and ought to ask God to remove those circumstances, we must remember that He is making us more like Christ through this circumstance as we are humbled, shown weak, and forced to become more dependent upon Him. It is yet another area in which we are to “…give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

God is at work in all of your circumstances! Do not forget the truth of 2 Cor. 12:9-10:

And He has said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

Footnotes:

1 Moisés Silva, Philippians, 2nd ed., Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005), 84-85.

2 Gordon D. Fee, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995), 171.

3 Richard N. Longenecker, vol. 41, Word Biblical Commentary : Galatians, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002), 193.