George Müller, a German evangelist, once said:
“God delights to increase the faith of his children . . . trials, obstacles, difficulties, and sometimes defeats, are the very food for faith.”
Charles R. Parsons, An Hour With George Müller, ed. A. Sims (Pensacola: Chapel Library, 2014), 28.
It is no secret that God often uses suffering to increase our faith.
My husband and I experienced this firsthand in the fall and winter of 2022.
Instead of visiting beautiful locations or enjoying wonderful restaurants, we spent much of our time between urgent care, pharmacies, and health-food stores trying to resolve an unsettling health challenge I was facing.
About a month later, we found out that I was pregnant. It was a bittersweet surprise since, recently diagnosed with PCOS, I was told that I would have a hard time getting pregnant. I was also in the middle of a demanding semester, taking advanced biblical languages and writing my thesis for my master’s degree.
Then, a few days before Christmas, my husband lost his job unexpectedly, I was brought to the hospital because I was miscarrying, and our HVAC system stopped working on one of the coldest days of the year.
A season that was supposed to be filled with the joy of newness and wonder was filled with trials and suffering. Naturally, we wondered, “Why?”
How Faith Grows through Suffering
Many theological solutions are offered for the problem of suffering. Some suggest that it is because of sin, because God wants to test us, or simply because of the freedom God has given humans to choose evil or good.
These theological solutions are not necessarily wrong, but they often do not suffice. When suffering, it is more helpful to know how God uses our pain than to know why we experience pain.
Müller was correct that suffering can indeed increase our faith. Our faith grows through suffering because it encourages us to identify with Christ and his suffering, leads us to see the hand of God in our lives, and it gives us the language we need to come alongside others in their journey.
Identifying with Christ and His Suffering
What brought me comfort during this time, and during other experiences of hardship, was the truth that my suffering identified me as a disciple of Christ. As a Christian, I never had to endure suffering alone: instead, through my pain, I was actually sharing in the suffering of Christ and standing in continuity with the spiritual witness of believers that came before me.
In Galatians 2:20, Paul declares that he has “been crucified with Christ.” He says, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Similarly, in Philippians 3:10, he expresses a desire to “share in [Christ’s] sufferings.”
Paul was no stranger to suffering. He was put into prison, whipped, threatened with death, beaten with rods, stoned, and shipwrecked. His declaration in Galatians 2:20 and his wish in Philippians 3:10 were not just pithy statements, they were his real life. He endured similar pain and shame, and walked the same path that Christ walked.
We are not alone when we walk through pain and hardship. Scripture promises that if we suffer with Christ, we will also be glorified with Christ. We can have so much joy in knowing that through suffering with Christ, we identify ourselves as true followers of Christ.
Leads Us to See the Hand of God in Our Lives
The waves of hardship during this time felt endless. Before one thing was resolved, another hit us with even greater force. The things my husband and I were going through in 2022 brought us to our knees.
As humans, we have a tendency to live our lives apart from God. Even the strongest Christian forgets to acknowledge God at times. Sometimes God uses our suffering to gently remind us of our dependence on him.
During the Babylonian exile, Israel felt forgotten by God and struggled to see his hand in their lives. In Isaiah 41:10, God compassionately reminds Israel that he is with them. He promises to strengthen, help, and uphold them with his “righteous right hand.”
Although the end of 2022 was filled with a lot of pain for me and my husband, it was also filled with a lot of beauty. God brought people into our lives to walk with us and show us kindness. They became the hands and feet of God for us.
We learned that God was never absent during our pain. Because of his mercy, he did not leave us to our own devices but extended his hand and sent help during our hardest days.
Gives Us the Language to Come Alongside Others
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul writes,
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving .”
Colossians 2:6-7
One of the ways in which we fulfill this call is by sharing our faith with others.
Suffering gives us the language we need to walk alongside others, and share what God has done in sustaining us through our hard times. This not only builds our faith, it helps to build the faith of others.
The hard season my husband and I went through in 2022 was not in vain. We regularly tell others of how good God has been to us in our suffering.
It is not fun to know the feeling of battling health challenges on our honeymoon, dealing with a miscarriage, or losing a job. But it certainly is a glorious thing to be able to walk with other believers, showing them kindness and compassion, and testifying to the faithfulness of God.
An Eternal Weight of Glory
Suffering builds our faith in an unconventional way. Perhaps this is why James says to consider it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds (James 1:2). Paul calls suffering a “light momentary affliction” that prepares us for an eternal weight of glory beyond comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17). When Paul says that affliction is “light” and “momentary,” he does not mean that it is not deeply painful. Instead, he means that it pales in comparison to the glory that comes from it: the joy of a rooted faith and deep, abiding relationship with the Lord.
As we walk through suffering, we can remember that we do not walk this journey alone, the hand of God is ever-present in our lives, and we can share our faith with others as we tell the story of how we’ve overcome.
Photo Credit:
Shanté is the founder of Daily She Pursues, an online women’s ministry on a mission to help women pursue God’s heart through the study of the Word, cultivating prayer, and walking daily with the Lord. She is currently working on a Master’s Degree in Biblical Studies at Liberty University. Some of her favorite things include tea, journaling, art museums, essential oils, and thrift shopping.
1 comment
Wow this message really hit me at a time when I needed to hear it most. Right now my family and I are going through the worst time and it seems like there is no light at the end, I feel really stuck as though God has turned away from us – after reading this, it reminded me of how great our God is. You know there are so many things we’ve been through and I keep forgetting that God pulled us out of that previous situation, he can do it again.
I won’t lie my faith becomes a bit rocky and unstable when faced with trials. Thank you for reminder, Shante, this was very encouraging.