These days, there’s a pair of boxing gloves resting on the passenger’s seat of my car, and it makes me entirely giddy. While I’m certain I’m also improving my self defense skills and I hope to intimidate all those around me at the sight of my gloves, that’s not why I have them at all. I recently joined a boxing gym with one of my coworkers. It’s something I never thought I’d do for a million reasons, and exactly why I love it so much.
You see, the past year I’ve battled opponents like chronic pain, fatigue, and depression, which wiped me out and put me on the sidelines for weeks-turned-months on end. I am still far from winning these matches, but I’m thankful that some of the very worst parts have lifted, leaving a little space for hopeful and fun activities like exercise—things I had missed immensely. So I guess you could say my jab-jab-cross-uppercut enthusiasm is fueled by gratefulness for my newfound health and the growing distance between me and long, sleepless nights. I am doing this for my former self who couldn’t.
Suffering can feel like a tough blow to the head or a punch right in the stomach, but Jesus has already fought for us and given us strength we could never muster for ourselves. And now, we suffer differently, for our former selves who couldn’t survive sin at all. Instead of backing down to pain, we rejoice when His glory is revealed, and even we “are ridiculed for the name of Christ, [we] are blessed” (1 Peter 4:13–14). We do not suffer in the same way others do because we know exactly how the battle ends.
One of the first things I learned in boxing was how to wrap my hands before putting them inside the gloves. Using a cloth bandage, I begin by wrapping my wrists, then criss-cross around my hand, covering each knuckle and protecting each finger. And because I do this, I know I’ll be safe, no matter how hard I hit the punching bag.
When we face hard times as children of God, we are given something to wrap around our hearts for protection: the truth of who He is. We cover our minds in Scripture, trusting that no matter what we face, we do not face it without our Father, who wears a belt of righteousness and a sash of faithfulness (Isaiah 11:5).
With these words, He makes sure all our doubts are answered and all our fears are covered by His love for us. So when we step into the ring of discomfort, we already know the outcome; we are called blessed by the Lord, our God. Thanks be to Him.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the humble,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.”
– Matthew 5:3–6
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34 thoughts on "Christian Suffering"
The most intense experience I had with opposition against Jesus yet was when a friend of mine & his brother took part in a bandcontest (in Germany) with their very Christian songs. I was so surprised how they got great feedback for their music and passed one round after the other without any loud opposition. Then in the finale there were fans of other bands who said such loud ‘boo’s’, had so much hatred in their face, showed middle fingers, people saying in their face they shouldn’t be there, a grown man spitting on the floor to show disrespect towards a teenage fan. My friend & his brother won the contest, the haters left and the evening ended with shouts for Jesus from all Christians there. I’m sure many people started to think about ‘these Christians’ & why we are being Christians because of that night. I shouldn’t be surprised it stirred up such hatred. But HIS love always wins over hate ❤️.
Amen!!!!!
I am so thankful God is SO much more capable than me! I will lean on your strength and wisdom in all situations!
SRT sisters, I ask that you would uphold my daughter in prayer. Her name is Janice. Thank you!
Blessed are You oh Lord, God of the universe, for you have given us the ability to love and with that ability we often times feel worried and concerned. Thank You that You love us all more than we will ever be able to comprehend. Help us to hold firm to Your love. Amen.
Amen! Praying for you, sister. ❤️
It has been three weeks since my mom died. My head knows that she is in the presence of Jesus, happy, healthy, and whole, but my heart is shattered. In the midst of this suffering however, this is what I have realized. God’s presence has been overwhelming. It has been stronger than all the pain in my heart and while I would love to see and talk to my mom one more time I wouldn’t trade this sense of His presence for anything.
These verses say “when” you suffer, not “if” you suffer. There will be suffering. I just pray that I will always entrust myself to my faithful Creator. I want to walk through my suffering in such a way that no one can question His presence in my life.
“I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.” (Charles Spurgeon)
Be blessed, sweet sisters.
Kathy, this is beautiful. I love how God has been overwhelming you with His presence during this difficult time. Enjoy every minute, sister.
Kathy, praying for you. Please be comforted by all of us who are praying for you. And please know that this is not the end of the story. Because we are all children of God one day we will all be reunited. God is good! It’s not goodbye, it’s “see you later“
Praying for you ❤️ I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear, but I came across this sermon recently about death and I think it might bring some small comfort to your heart in your grief. https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/christ-umc-rockford-il-sermons/id987293644?mt=2&i=1000429583246
Thanks for sharing your beautiful heart and I’m sorry for your loss. The quote is amazing too by the way, I’ve never heard it before ❤️ so powerful.
It’s the most beautiful thing when God turns such tragedies into life-changing completion. His love, his presence, his fulfilling of his promises, completes us. I’m praying for you as you endure this heart wrenching time. But I pray that you never stop feeling His presence around you. ❤️
When I was growing up my faith was strong and my witness was established. My friends and the students in my public high school accepted me as the girl who attended church, Sunday School, weekly prayer breakfasts, and dragged them to church for missionary breakfasts and youth group activities, and sang Christian songs at our senior class banquet. I was never ridiculed—at least to my face. I never imagined that in living out my faith in the United States I would face any challenge to my faith the way Christians had In the other countries that I’d heard about at those missionary breakfasts and at my Good News club. My community accepted my faith. How things have changed! Now when I turn on the news, I listen to sound bites of politicians talking about my faith as “someone’s fiction”. It breaks my heart. I may not have experienced this attack on my faith face-to-face YET, but the reality is that suffering for the name Christian is here and is now, but so is the Spirit of the Lord who lives in us. What a privilege to be able to reflect the glory of God through suffering for His name. After all, it is nothing compared to the suffering he endured for me. Be strengthened, Sisters in Christ. Our world may have changed, but our God hasn’t!
In my city, I have heard many close friends and Christian leaders say that they “are distancing themselves from the word Christian” because people find it offensive. They now opt for the word “spirituality”, and it is breaking my heart. I see the effect of this in their hearts and lives. I see the effect of it in their influence of younger adults (and their young kids who I love). I’m trying not to see this as MY suffering, but truthfully it hurts also to know that my closest friends find the deepest, surest part of me offensive…my very identity in Christ.
I love this and couldn’t have said it better. In a world that in many ways is crumbling apart we must remember our God saves and His great love and hope is unshaken! Let us be able to show that in the way we live our lives everyday
It is interesting to look at the blessings we have to do the “little things” and compare them to our times when all we had we dark days. I am grateful that I have not only the Free Will of God to make my own decisions but also that I live in a society that let’s practice my religion, spiritual activities, etc. without fear of being censored or punished. There are people in the world who cannot freely be Christian or wear whatever clothes they want. I have to remember those little things when I am so focused on what seems like a big issue to me. In the grand scheme of things, it may not be as big.
Nice pieces! Thanks dear. The LORD increase you in grace. Amen