When Suffering Feels Unexpected, Burdensome, or Like a Punishment

DO NOT BE SURPRISED

(Part of the Caregiver Devotional Series)

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

Peter 4:12-13

If you are a child of God, (meaning you’ve wholly thrown yourself at the mercy of God’s saving grace through Jesus Christ), then you are not to be surprised when suffering comes to you. It is not a strange thing. It is not an accident. And it is not a punishment for wrongdoing. If you belong to Christ, then suffering is never a punishment, it is always for the purpose of accomplishing God’s end goal of your life – namely to make you like Jesus.

In Hebrews 2:10 we are told that suffering is what led to Jesus being crowned with glory and honor. Suffering is also what perfected him: “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering”.

This is not related to Jesus’ moral perfection – which he always was/is, but rather the perfecting or fulfilling of the Father’s purpose for Christ’s time on earth. Suffering was the means God used to ensure that you could be reconciled to him and brought back into loving relationship with him.

So too, God uses suffering in your life to accomplish his purposes. God does not rejoice in your suffering in a masochistic way (he hates the pain, sorrow, and death, and one day promises to redeem it all). But God does rejoice in the person you are becoming, your deepening dependency on Jesus, your increased focus on the Lord, and your perseverance toward the hope of glory. Those are beautiful in God’s sight.

As you walk through the valley of the shadow of death with your loved one, do not be surprised by how difficult this season is. Jesus has gone before you and is holding you still. There is a beautiful work being done in you as you keep your eyes on Christ and are slowly transformed into his likeness. Do not be surprised by the gift of suffering, instead know that you are being pushed deeper into the arms of a loving God who has been caring for you all along.