Suffering has a way of shaking us, breaking us, and making us question everything we know about God.
I know this firsthand. Some of the most intense suffering I’ve experienced wasn’t physical—it was a war in my mind. Anxiety. Fear. Intrusive thoughts. Panic attacks so intense that I knew if I let them continue, I would become housebound.
I remember being gripped by the irrational yet all-too-real fear that the very ground beneath me was unstable. I could barely drive around my own city without panicking; adrenaline surging through my body and leaving me weak the moment I stepped off the road.
But in the midst of that torment, as I clung to God, I experienced an unexplainable joy—one that I could not produce on my own. It was a joy from God. ✨ That season was a battle, and if I had given in, I know I would have remained trapped. But God wouldn’t let me drown. Here’s why:
👉The darker the suffering, the brighter His light became.
This week, we’re talking about suffering—why we experience it, what God is doing through it, and how to endure in faith.
Why Do We Suffer?
I used to believe my suffering was a punishment from God, even suffering not caused by my own wayward ways. I walked under a cloud☁️ of condemnation when I wasn’t perfect. But the Bible clearly explains the origin of suffering—not just for believers, but for all humanity.
Suffering is a part of our world because sin and disobedience entered in through the fall. What happened in the garden is the very root 🌱of the suffering we face.
📖“The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness.” —Genesis 3:6-7
Adam and Eve had never experienced fear before.
They had never experienced lust, which caused them to become ashamed at seeing each other’s nakedness. They were deceived, they disobeyed, and sin entered the world—bringing with it pain, toil, and hardship.
📖“Then the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.'” —Genesis 3:14-15
Suffering has an origin.
The ground was cursed, mankind began to experience pain for the first time—laborious work, hostility, and tension in marriage. 💔 And as believers, we have an additional layer of suffering ahead of us:
📖“But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.” —Isaiah 53:10-11
Jesus Himself suffered. He told us that to follow Him means we will suffer too:
📖“And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” —Mark 8:36 Is anything worth more than your soul?
Following Christ means laying down our own desires. I’ve had to give up things, sometimes wrestling 🤼♀️ with God over them—things that seemed good—to follow His will. I’ve been left out of social situations, misunderstood, and even ridiculed for my faith. But God has been merciful through it all.
✨Sometimes, suffering is a form of discipline:
📖“My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when He corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child.” —Proverbs 3:11-12
✨Other times, suffering is simply part of our identity as His children:
📖”And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering.” —Romans 8:17
✨Even our mistakes and failures work for our good:
📖“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.” —Romans 8:28
✨Through suffering, we learn obedience:
📖“Even though Jesus was God’s Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered.” —Hebrews 5:8
What Is God Doing Through Suffering?
Suffering has hope attached to it. Our pain has a promise. 💡 If the Lord suffered and now sits in glory, we too will share in His glory.
Jesus was raised in victory, and as we hold on in faith, we will be too—not only in this life but in the life to come:
📖“But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.” —Romans 8:20-21
Knowing Christ deeply is a treasure 🏆we gain through suffering. There is a side of God’s mercy and grace that we can only experience in our hardest seasons. It keeps us at the foot of the cross, clinging to Him.
And there is a future day when suffering will end forever:
📖“And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as His adopted children, including the new bodies He has promised us.” —Romans 8:23
How Do We Endure?
God never leaves us to suffer alone. Here’s how He equips us with everything we need to patiently endure:
- ✨Psalm 23 – His presence, rest, and He renews our strength. He leads us, gives us courage when we fear, protects us, prepares a feast in the presence of our enemies, overflows our lives with blessings, fills us with the Holy Spirit, and surrounds us with His goodness and unfailing love all our days.
- ✨Matthew 11:28-29 – Rest. 🕊️ A refuge when we’re weary and burdened. He offers us an easy yoke and invites us to learn from His humility and gentleness so that we can find rest for our weary souls.
- ✨1 Corinthians 10:13 – He provides a way out so we can endure. 💪 He ensures we are never tested beyond what we can bear. This verse is incredibly comforting—knowing that God is watchful and faithful, making sure we never endure more than we can handle.
- ✨2 Corinthians 12:6-10 – His power is made perfect when we are at our lowest. I think about how God makes a public spectacle of the enemy, not through human strength but through our weaknesses—because in those moments, His infinite strength is revealed. We can’t lose!
- ✨Hebrews 4:14-16 – He gives us mercy, grace, and an understanding in our time of need.
- ✨Revelation 21:4 – Suffering, tears, heartache, and pain will be gone forever. 🙌 That is God’s promise, so we can have great hope beyond this life.
Through suffering God strengthens our faith, builds endurance, and develops our character—cultivating hope and faith in a way that peaceful seasons never could.
How We’re to Respond to Suffering as Believers
Suffering is never wasted. God calls us to:
- ❤️ Love one another and comfort others (John 15:12; 2 Corinthians 1:3-7).
- 🔥Rejoice in trials, knowing they refine us (1 Peter 4:12-19).
- ✨Be a witness to His faithfulness – When we experience God’s goodness through suffering, we can testify to others and strengthen their faith.
What I’ve Learned Through My Own Seasons of Suffering
Even with all my flaws—stubbornness, laziness, and struggles—God has still made me into a fruitful disciple. 🌿 My love for Him has grown immensely through this process.
Through my own suffering, I’ve learned to see the heart of the Father in our suffering—not through an earthly perspective but through His eternal plan. I once believed suffering was simply God’s punishment, but through His Word, He has shown me that suffering draws us closer to Him. 📖🙏Jesus Himself explained why we endure trials.
During hard seasons, the very thing I once avoided—reading and studying Scripture—became my lifeline.
Now, His Word ignites my faith and strengthens my spirit in ways I never imagined—and it’s only because of God.
Instead of holding on and “white-knuckling” my way through hardships, I’ve learned to rest in Him, knowing that I will never endure more than I can bear and that all this suffering is working for my good. God isn’t harming me—He is blessing me. What a God we serve! 🙏💛
Developing the habit of reading and studying Scripture wasn’t easy. 📖 But honestly, suffering was what finally brought me into a deeper relationship with the Word of God. And in His Word, I found everything I needed to endure and overcome.
Your Call to Action
I encourage you to meditate on God’s promises in suffering. God is a master at taking what was meant for harm and turning it into something good. He is faithful, and there is no one like Him. ❤️
Study these key scriptures in this blog and let them strengthen your heart. God is with you, He is for you, and He will bring you through in victory. Let His Word transform your faith just as He has transformed mine.
