Remaining with God is a struggle. We can begin with Jesus, excited to have the salvation he offers and ready to be guided by his will. But when we really begin living with Jesus, it can seem difficult. There is so much we do not know, and God seems to bring up our fears and angers and desires to us at all times and tells us to ignore or avoid them. At times the suffering in our lives seems so overwhelming that God could not possibly overcome it all.
Why do we suffer?
But the suffering or the struggle —whether from our sin or from outward circumstance—we face in life isn’t a puzzle to God. Nor is it something that he wants to instantly overcome. In some situations, God delivers us completely from our sins or difficulties. He does this to show his power and mercy. But many situations, perhaps most, God allows us to fight and struggle and endure through pain. Why is this? Because God uses suffering as a tool to mold us and shape us for his use.
First of all, how we respond to our suffering gives us an opportunity to prove our faith. Our faith isn’t tested and proven except in the context of suffering. What we really believe and who we really are isn’t shown in times of comfort and ease—they are shown in times of trial and difficulty and unmet desires. If we remain faithful to God through difficult circumstances, then our faith is proven and we will be welcomed into the kingdom of God (Matthew 5:11-12; Hebrews 5:8; Romans 8:17).
Secondly, our suffering is one of the keys to overcoming sin in our lives. God allows us to suffer and struggle to strengthen our resolve to obey him, even when it is difficult. As God delivers us from some of the suffering we endure, we find that we are strengthened to obey him in all our lives (I Peter 4:1; Romans5:1-5; 8:13).
Thirdly, if we show that we are faithful in our suffering, then we will gain the kingdom of God. If we do not have suffering, then we will not gain God’s kingdom (Acts 14:22). It is only by being faithful—enduring through suffering— that we have any assurance of our salvation, even as Jesus’ resurrection through his suffering shows that his path is the way of salvation for us (Romans 8:17; Mark 13:13; Hebrews 12:2-4).
The Way of the Cross
Even if suffering has good effects for us, that does not mean that it is easy. It does not mean that we are able to endure. Often we cannot endure—we fight, we struggle, we try our best to remain in God despite our desires, despite those who oppose us, despite all the various things that try to tear us away from God, but we fail. What do we do? Jesus’ answer is to take up the way of the cross. Jesus’ cross was effective for our salvation, and the cross is effective in effecting political change. But the cross is also the effective path to enduring through suffering. Some of the aspects of it are:
Be committed to remaining in God, recognizing that obedience is a big part of it.
The core of surviving our suffering and overcoming everything that is attempting to tear us apart from God is a firm commitment to God. We need to be unswerving in our commitment to God, recognizing that he is our Lord and that there is no other in our lives. We give our life, our love, our trust to God alone. Along with this is our obedience. We remain committed to doing what God has told us to do, no matter what the consequences—even if our suffering increases. (Matthew 6:33; Hebrews 10:36-39)
See the destruction disobedience causes.
We need to open our eyes to see what disobedience to God causes. This disobedience is fundamentally rebellion against God and so we will be separated from God, from Jesus, from any power of the Spirit. The disobedient and unfaithful will be under the control of death and heading to hell. But we also have to see that our disobedience to God destroys our relationships with others as well. To disobey God is also to cause destruction to those whom we love, and eventually cause them to hate us. (Romans 1:32; Matthew 7:21-27; I John 3:10-15)
Don’t rely on other powers, only God
To help us escape suffering, there are many powers and authorities that claim to be able to help us. Drugs (both legal and illegal), alcohol, sex, money, various religions, occultism, and thousands of consumer goods all claim to ease your suffering and make your life better—and that quickly. What we need to realize is that God wants us to depend on him. He is the only one who can grant us help through every difficulty and the only one who can help us be who we need to be through the struggle we are having. We need to be confident that God loves us and will do what is best for us—even if we want release from pain and he says “no.” We need to be confident in God’s strength—that he can do whatever he wants and he will use his whole power for our best interests (Luke 1:37; Matthew 6:24)
Recognize our weakness, the weakness of the flesh.
Despite our confidence and trust in God, we are weak. We don’t always have the steadfastness we need in God. We want to be right with God, but sometimes we don’t care. We want to love those around us, but sometimes, we really don’t. We want to do what is right, at all times, but sometimes we are just tired and will do whatever comes into our mind. We have to recognize that when we feel strong, our weakness is right around the corner. And sometimes, when we least expect it, we will fail. It is important to remember that God is our strength, but we are weak and so often we are faithless, no matter what we try. (Mark 14:38)
Repent when we sin
Recognizing that we will fail sometimes, Jesus told us what to do. He recognizes our weaknesses and has offered a plan for when we give into weakness—when we are disobedient, or when we rely on something else to take us out of our suffering, then we can still return to God. To return to Him, God wants us to do three things—we need to admit our sin to Him and to another brother or sister whom we trust; we need to do everything we can to stop from doing it again; and we need to make it right with those whom we’ve hurt because of our sin. (Luke 17:3; I John 1:19; Mark 9:43-48; Matthew 5:23-24)
When faced with temptation, fight against the Enemy.
We need to remember that the one who wants us to die at the hand of God is Satan. He is the one who wants us to fail and to be destroyed. Therefore we must do everything we can to fight him. We must battle him with all we have, with every authority we have received. Jesus gave us authority over the evil spirits that want to destroy us, and we need to take advantage of that and verbally assault them. We need to command them to go and they must go. That doesn’t mean they won’t come back to attack us again later, but we don’t need to live under their control—Jesus died to set us free from them. (I Peter 5:8-9; Matthew 4:1-11).
When faced with temptation, rely on God
When tempted to give up, rely on God. He will strengthen you. He will never be faithful, but offer you an opportunity to escape from having to rebel against him. Pray to him and he will give you opportunity to be strong. Contact others in Jesus and ask them for prayer and counsel. (I Corinthians 10:13; 15:58).
Just don’t do it.
When tempted to give into your desire against God, the most important thing is to just not do it. We may not have control over what happens to us, but we do have control over what we don’t do. We don’t have to sin. We don’t have to give up on God’s strength. We don’t have to rely on evil to do God’s job. We can depend on God alone—even if we suffer for it in the meantime. God will make sure that we are not destroyed, and that if we endure, we will live in him forever.
Be steadfast, immovable, knowing that our toil for the Lord is not useless. I Corinthians 15:58
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