Suffering Isn’t The End, But The Beginning

Have you ever suffered?

If you’re wondering, “Have I ever”…well, have you ever experienced and endured trauma, pain, disease, injury, grief, loss, or isolation? To any degree? Then you have suffered. There are different levels with which one suffers, but I dare say, almost all of us have suffered in some way shape or form.

Whether it be losing a loved one, being diagnosed with an illness, or feeling an immense loneliness and isolation from someone or something, I often tell people that the experiences and circumstances are different, but the feelings and emotions are the same. Suffering often creates feelings and emotions of anxiety, fear, despair, anger, deep sadness, and in some cases, hopelessness.

So how do we “suffer well” in a world that is inundated with it and in a world where it can feel like all is lost?

The answer is simple. By looking to the cross and our Savior, who died for you and for me.

Like I said earlier, suffering has different faces and facets, but we share in the same feelings and I think this couldn’t be more well represented in scripture than on the cross. We will all suffer through something (John 16:33), but we share in the same story through that suffering, by the strength of Christ. The story that all of our sufferings are pointing to our need for our Savior, pointing to our eternal home, and pointing to the fact that one day, God will rescue us from it all.

You see, when we suffer, it’s not the end, but the beginning of something insanely crazy that God is doing in and through our lives. When we think we’ve hit rock bottom, God is actually starting something deeply and profoundly beautiful. He is choosing to teach us something that will impact that rest of our lives.

2 Corinthians 4:17 says, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” And what does that look like? James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”

My friend, your story here on earth, is not the end of the story. God is doing something CRAZY in your life: to point people to Him through your story, so that He can get the glory. Our suffering is NEVER wasted! Personally, if God hadn’t allowed what He did in my life, I wouldn’t have experienced the deep joy and deep grief that can be encompassed into one circumstance, which allowed me to see Christ’s life in a way I had never before. I would’ve missed out on incredible blessings that my suffering actually gave me, and the depth of relationship I now have with God.

I’m not saying you can’t be sad and grieve what God has allowed in your life. I think there is a place for that and in fact, I encourage you TO feel those feelings. Because when we allow the depth of our suffering to impact us, we know the spectrum of true joy and true sorrow, for Christ too, grieved. Feel the pain that has happened to you. But then lift your eyes, trust God, and run the race God has given you, knowing this isn’t the end of the story.

Now sometimes we are delivered from our sufferings here on earth and sometimes we have to wait until heaven, but our sufferings are NOT the end. Our world suffers as if it has no hope. But Christ, who knew no sin, came TO suffer, by being beaten, rejected, and crucified by the very people He loved. He persevered through an unfathomable death, but his death wasn’t the end either.

You see how our sufferings here on earth, all point us to the cross and Christ? We are all part of the same story. HIS story.

No matter what story God is writing for your life, trust that God will help you endure whatever suffering might come your way, knowing that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

May our sufferings lead us ever closer to Christ, knowing that this is just the beginning of an eternal story that has the most perfect ending: a forever life with our Savior in heaven, free from ALL suffering, for eternity.

To God be the glory!