As I heard news about fifty students joining my church’s college fellowship, I felt a strong desire to serve. I had been involved in college ministry for years, but an immense throbbing in my head was a painful reminder of my weakness. Brain surgery had left me indefinitely fragile – incompatible with the emotional and physical energy needed for high-energy students.
Many of you might also experience chronic pain – invisible thorns in the flesh that manifest in various forms. My girlfriend battles eczema, constantly itching herself to the point of redness and bleeding. Others may deal with back pain, light sensitivity, painful menstruation, irregular bowel movements — the list goes on. Our illnesses often lack a clear cure, casting a shadow of despair. Our invisible ailments remain unnoticed, which can feel isolating.
The Apostle Paul says about the Gospel in 2 Corinthians 4:7: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” Often, I vainly fixate on being a jar of clay in the midst of my pain. It feels like my life can be easily disposed of – one without much meaning or purpose. I often feel like I am an unfortunate victim of God’s sovereignty, left to bear the burden of pain while others are spared.
But God does not take pleasure in our afflictions (Lam. 3:33). Rather, He actively gives us the treasure of the Gospel, using our weakness to display His saving grace. He allows His Gospel to shine through the ordinary and the broken so that, “the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” But how does that look practically in our lives? How does this reality propel our hope and “renew our inner self day-by-day” (2 Cor. 4:16)? This truth has led me to search the Scriptures to understand the same hope that sustained Paul as he suffered.
Through this journey, I have come to understand that even though we as Christians may be predestined to endure pain, this suffering is an invitation to partake in God’s glorious plan of redemption. Our groanings and weaknesses, far from being meaningless, become the stage upon which God’s strength is most powerfully displayed. It is through our suffering that His surpassing power is revealed, offering hope and renewal each day.
Your Pain is Glory in the Making
I used to think my sickness and pain defined me. Every doctor’s appointment was a desperate search for answers, and every medication felt like a fleeting lifeline. My hope rested solely on these external solutions. When they failed, I felt utterly hopeless.
However, Scripture offers a different perspective on suffering. It connects the present to the future, revealing that our physical brokenness is part of God’s redemptive plan. This shift in understanding gave my suffering a purpose beyond my immediate physical state.
Paul’s words in Colossians 1:24 illustrate this truth: “Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions.” This is a difficult passage to interpret, but Paul is not implying Christ’s work was insufficient for salvation. Rather, Paul rejoices because he views his suffering as necessary for advancing God’s redemptive plan. His suffering continues Christ’s work until the consummation of God’s kingdom, bridging the gap between Christ’s first and second coming.
So why is it necessary for us to endure pain between now and the final coming? For Paul, his sufferings were directly related to his unique Apostolic mission to spread the Gospel. For us, our pain may serve multiple purposes, but a primary reason is that it challenges us to be public testimonials of our faith to the world. By enduring suffering, we testify to Christ, who suffered for us and is bringing us towards the day His work is complete (Phil. 1:27-29). One of my favorite authors, Joni Eareckson Tada, did not succumb to her pain from her paraplegic disability at 17 years old. Instead, she embraced her suffering and used it as a platform to inspire others with extreme suffering, ultimately founding Joni and Friends, an international ministry that provides practical support and shares the hope of Christ with the disability community.
Biblical counselor Mike Emlet echoes this sentiment: “The sum total of Christ’s sufferings and our sufferings are a necessary part of moving God’s redemptive agenda forward unto the consummation of His kingdom. Your suffering today is part of the engine driving forward redemptive history.”
We might not feel like it, but our suffering is glory in the making.
I often see my pain as a hindrance due to the limitations it imposes. I’m especially tempted to compare myself to those who can spend more time serving others, as I perceive their work as more glorifying than my time resting from my pain. Yet, Christ’s plan for redemption reminds me that my weaknesses are intentional designs by my transcendent Lord, and these very weaknesses reflect God’s glory. For you, how do you perceive your weakness which God has allowed on you?
Your Pain is God’s Strength
But as we wait for the future day, we will groan over our pain. We may be over preoccupied with problems with our body. While groaning can often lead to sinful contemplation and depression, we can also choose to faithfully groan to showcase Christ’s surpassing power.
Paul writes, “For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Cor. 4:11). By enduring suffering with faith, we become living testimonies of Christ who died on the Cross.
Each painful sob that tearfully laments to God instead of turning inward showcases Christ’s power. Each ache can lead us to curse our circumstance or turn a loving ear to someone enduring something similar. Each pain can drive you to isolation or to humbly ask for prayer, which enables a brother or sister to exercise God’s grace over you.
This may be a strange reality to ponder. Perhaps you’ve avoided groaning, disguising your suffering as self-sufficiency. Or maybe you do groan, but only in hopes of the next best remedy for your pain. However, have hope that you are not just your body. You are not merely a sufferer. You are God’s precious creation, finishing Christ’s work on the cross. You are God’s treasure, inadvertently evangelizing and edifying others as you showcase the character of Christ. You are bringing us closer to God’s Kingdom and our renewed, perfect bodies (2 Cor. 5:1-5).
Accepting the Invitation
The final step is our response: Accepting the invitation God has given us through our suffering as part of His great redemptive plan. While our response may not require us to change our physical circumstances, it does necessitate a profound response of faith.
Paraphrasing Paul in 2 Corinthians 4, we may be afflicted with terrible pain, but we are not crushed. We may be perplexed about our illness, but we are not driven to despair. How can we embrace this truth boldly?
We need to continuously remind ourselves that we possess the beautiful treasure of the Gospel in our clay jar bodies, and through our weakness, we are showcasing how a “surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Cor. 4:7). We can rest in comfort knowing that our very aches and groanings are designed to showcase the power of Christ. We can pray to God for greater faith to believe that God’s rival is our strength, but our weakness is His companion (Mt. 5:5).
For some of us, this message may be an encouragement to persevere in our hellish battles on earth. For others, it may require deep contemplation on the God of the universe who intentionally planned and takes delight in our faithfulness as we suffer. For all of us, it can be challenging to accept the beautiful reality that we are actively participating in present and future glory.
However, as we wrestle with God in our daily pains, my friend, remember that He has always and will lovingly pursue you and your imperfections for your eternal glory, for “this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. ” (2 Cor. 4:18).
Let that sink in. God – the transcendent majesty who spans all eternity– takes delight in you (Eph. 1:5 NASB). He doesn’t just love you, but takes pleasure in you. He is profoundly and unfathomably delighted in your imperfections. Your illness may make you feel isolated and lonely, but we can hold onto the reality that the one who holds the universe in His hand also takes great pleasure in you.
This is the final series from the 2023-2024 Young Writers Cohort, with the authors writing about a topic they feel strongly about.
Photo Credit: Lina Trochez