By Alice Lock & Hannah Tang Peled
Life is hard. Every one of us has our fair share of pain and struggles – it could be work problems, family issues, and even the loss of a loved one. Suffering stings. When our lives are plagued with darkness and hopelessness, it is easy to falter in our faith.
We often ask, “Why, God?” or “How long, O Lord?”. We pray for God to take our suffering away.
Don’t waste your suffering
Yet, the bible urges us to persevere in our faith and be comforted that our suffering is only for a little while compared to the joy of entering God’s eternal glory and restoration (1 Peter 5:10).
We cannot fix our eyes on the eternal hope when we are focused on our own suffering. Instead, we can focus on Jesus and invite Him to walk with us in our journey. With Christ who treaded the path of suffering before us, because of us, and for us, we can be assured that He will hold us, comfort us, and strengthen us when life is hard.
If we truly believe that God is sovereign, then we must also believe that our suffering has a purpose.
God knows and sees our suffering. He collects our tears (Psalm 56).
When faced with suffering, we can respond in two ways. We can either throw away the opportunity to grow in faith and character, or we can take heart that God will use our suffering for His glory and for our good.
If your life is hard at this moment, don’t waste the opportunity to grow in godliness and faith. Make a deliberate choice to free yourself from the shackles of bitterness, anger and hopelessness that suffering brings. Allow yourself to witness the faithfulness, love and goodness of God even in the midst of your suffering.
Travel without baggage
Recently someone shared with me about her experience of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro which involved trekking uphill and downslope – it was not a straight and easy path.
On the final day before she reached the summit, the hike became so challenging that the guide offered to take over her backpack so that she could continue. With the guide’s help, she finally reached the top! But just when the group were starting their descent, a forest fire approached and they had to evacuate quickly. Thankfully they managed to escape the fire with the help of the guide who was familiar with the terrain.
Her story reminded me of our faith journey: When we walk with the Lord, we do not always feel like we are on top. There are days where we are finding our way through dark valleys, wondering if we are lost. The psalmist wrote, “Out of the depths I cry to thee, O Lord!” (Psalm 130).
Without the assurance of an experienced Guide and Good Shepherd leading us, we would often feel lost. Hebrews 12:2 tells us to keep “looking to Jesus, the pioneer and the perfector of our faith” because Jesus is familiar with the struggles that we face in this world and He has overcome them.
Jesus is our Good Shepherd who cares for us and our High Priest who intercedes for us.
Hebrews 12:1 also tells us that in order to finish the race well, we must “lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely”. The Greek word for “weight” (öykoc) refers to a burden or hindrance. It may be our past hurt, guilt, disappointment or fear. By staying focused on Jesus and remembering the joy He gave us, we can learn to lay down these weights and press on.
We also need to throw off the “sin that easily ensnares us”. Our sins can give room for our spiritual enemy to weaken us and even make us give up the race. God told Cain in Genesis 4 that “sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you but you must rule over it.” God wants us to overcome sin and He is able to help us.
Reflect and Respond
1. Is there any sin that may be hindering you from running with perseverance the race marked out for you?
2. How can you fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith?
3. How can you use your suffering for His glory?
Read with your child
Do you know what keeping the faith means? It means to continue to trust and obey God even when it is difficult. When we face challenges in school or at home, it is difficult to have faith and trust God. At times, we may even wonder if God knows the challenges we are facing. The truth is God knows! He knows everything. He also knows what is best for us. We just have to trust that God has our back and will help us. It is not easy to keep the faith, but we must keep trying.
Here are three things you can do daily to help you stay strong in your faith:
1. Read the Bible
2. Share what God has shown you with a trusted adult
3. Pray.
Dear God, help me to persevere and not grow tired of keeping my faith strong.
