Glory and suffering— two words that seem like an odd combination! Suffering hurts and glory brings joy so how can the two co-exist?
God’s ways and His perspective rarely aligned with man’s natural thoughts or understanding. Suffering dreaded and unwanted— yet glory is desired and sought after. So why does Romans 5 talk about “glory in our sufferings”?
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5
Life is a mixed bag of highs and lows, joys and sorrows. We learn throughout our years of walking with Christ and sojourning on this earth that we can either lose precious moments in our times of suffering or allow ourselves to gain treasures through them. True treasures are created through time and pressure— at least the most valuable ones. The same is true with suffering and trials. The treasure of perseverance, character, and of unshakable hope adorns our lives as we allow the pressure and time of suffering to do its perfect work in our lives.
It is a choice though. We can choose to become angry, bitter, or to lose hope or we can humble ourselves before God and allow the heat and pressure to refine us. Our natural tendency amid pain and pressure is to escape and fight to survive but the proper spiritual response purifies us and creates riches and treasures within us. As we fully embrace the pain in humility and we can also surrender our pain to His trustworthiness while inviting His Spirit to make us more like Jesus.
I do not say this with a flippant attitude because I understand that what some of you are facing and the pain that you are suffering seems unbearable and unimaginable. I have had those moments and even those seasons of pain where even catching my breath seemed like more than I could accomplish apart from His power. I have even had moments where death seemed like a better option that the pain of life.
But there is a glory that only is experienced within the place of surrendered suffering. It is the glory of discovering His comfort, His love, and His mercy when there is nothing else to hang onto or to hope in. This glory takes the surrendered soul to that place of experiencing Christ as the only source of life and purpose— and the only source of love and joy. This is not found anywhere else. The glory found in life’s mountaintop experiences is different (beautiful but different).
Only within the crucible of suffering is the glory of purification and transformation into the image of Christ fully realized.
We don’t need to ask for the crucible, because we do not need to initiate our own suffering in our desire to become like Him. God knows when, how long, and what form it will take for each one of us. I have discovered that yielding to His hand and His workmanship is far better than fighting the process or creating a process outside of His timing or plans.
It always reminds me of the contrast between my first two birthing experiences. With my first baby, I fought the pain of the contractions— I resisted the pain to the point of prolonging the entire process. After 40 hours of laboring, I was absolutely exhausted and terrified of ever facing labor again. In contrast, during my second birth, the Holy Spirit clearly spoke to me and instructed me to trust him and relax into the pain. With each contraction, I would focus my mind on Him and allow my body to move with the pressure and even surrender control as the pain would build. My labor time was cut in half and I was at a much greater peace throughout the process.
I often remember this in times of loss, pain, or suffering. I try to let go of that fight or flight instinct and ask the Holy Spirit to help me surrender to trust and rest in God. This has been where the greatest formation of His character in my life has occurred. It also produced in me a perseverance and endurance for the road ahead— always having hope in His faithfulness.
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18
Therefore, we can glory in our suffering, and know that it is producing a greater treasure than if we had not suffered. These are eternal treasures that will not pass away.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Inscribe Ministries
Featured Image by Matteo Vistocco on Unsplash
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