What comes to mind for you when you see the word, “Suffering?” Typical responses might be Pain, Hurt, Heartache, Death, and Grief. I think the frequent fantasy in our culture is the word “avoidance,” but the reality is, one of the words should be “inevitable.”
We have a hard time in our culture developing a good theology of suffering. There seems to be a misnomer that if we just have enough faith or read enough Scripture that we shouldn’t struggle with depression, anxiety, or any other ailment, and that simply isn’t the case. God’s Word is clear that in this world we will have trouble, and given what Christ suffered – and His reason for suffering – we should not be surprised.
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.
Hebrews 2:10 (ESV)
More than anything, when I read this verse, I gain hope. I praise God that when I suffer, I can cry out to a God who understands suffering. I thank God that when struggles come, He understands because He has struggled. We have great reassurance in that the God of the Universe who loves us was willing to suffer on our behalf.
This fact alone should be the bedrock upon which our theology of suffering is built. No suffering we experience can be accurately viewed apart from the cross of Christ. This must be the lens through which we view our own trials.
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