Healthcare Chaplains
Ministry Association
(formerly Hospital Chaplains' Ministry of America)
377 E. Chapman Ave
Suite 260
Placentia, CA 92870-5094
Phone: (714) 572-3626
Fax: (714) 572-0585
info@HCMAChaplains.org

No simple answers are adequate for the piercing cries of the soul who yearns to know why. One can only agree with Job:

For man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward (5⁷).
Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil (14¹).

Nevertheless, the Scriptures do give some insights into a positive understanding of suffering.

1. To draw us closer to God and make us fully dependent on Him alone. (Job; Psalm 14⁶; 119^{67, 71}; Amos 4^6-13; 5⁴; 2 Corinthians 1^8-10; 12^7-10)
   A good splash of ice-cold suffering can certainly wake you out of a spiritual slumber.
   
   
2. To demonstrate our total commitment to God/Christ. (Job 42^7-17; 2 Corinthians 4; 1 Peter 1⁷; James 1³)
   It's certainly difficult to straddle the spiritual fence while going through suffering-you usually stand on either one side or the other.
   
   
3. To refine our character. (Proverbs 17³; Romans 5^3-5; 8^28-29; 1 Peter 1^6-7; 5¹⁰; James 1^2-4; Hebrews 12^10-11)
   Picture a gold or silver smith subjecting his crude ore to intense heat, causing the impurities of the molten mass to rise to the surface so that they may be skimmed off. The smith is patient with the purification process, at times even increasing the heat to make sure he gets rid of all the impurities. From time to time he looks into the pot to see if his face is mirrored in the clear surface of the molten metal. When he can clearly see his image reflected in the pure, molten metal, he knows that the gold or silver has reached its purest state. Many people believe that the greatest "quality of life" is experiencing the absence of pain and suffering. But that's not the right perspective. The best quality of life is being conformed into Christ's image. And suffering is the chisel that God most often uses to shape our character. Like agates in a tumbler, suffering can be allowed by God to smooth out the jagged edges of our character. You see, God is more concerned with our character than He is with our comfort.
   
   
4. To manifest the life of Christ in and through us. (2 Corinthians 4^7-11)
   The Chinese character for the word "crisis" includes the word "danger" plus the word "opportunity." God brings suffering into our lives, not to knock us down and crush us, but to build us up into the image of Christ. These hard times are actually life-changing opportunities. Let's face it: pressure produces. We enjoy the wonderful benefits of productive pressure when it's applied to an orange (orange juice) or peanuts (peanut butter). It's the fiery furnace that produces the hardened steel. It's the bruised flower that produces its fragrant perfume.
   
   
5. To strengthen us. (1 Peter 5¹⁰; Philippians 1¹⁴)
   Be assured of this fact: the Good Potter does not try to crack the pot when He puts it into the fire. His primary purpose is to make the pot stronger and more usable. When we experience trials, that suffering is trying to produce good things in our lives.
   
   
6. To teach us patience, endurance. (Romans 5^1-5; 1 Peter 2^18-25; James 1^2-4)
   Sometimes God is willing to sacrifice our comfort in order to strengthen our character.
   
   
7. To teach us obedience and self-control. (Hebrews 5⁸)
   It is often only in the crucible of life that we learn the true essence of submission and self-discipline.
   
   
8. To increase our faith. (Genesis 22; Job 13^14-15; 42^7-17; Psalm 46^{1, 10}; Jeremiah 29¹¹)
   While knocked flat on our back in a tempest, we can look up and find that He is faithful and worthy of our trust in the midst of the storms of life as well as in the calm.
   
   
9. To produce a broken and contrite heart. (Psalm 32; 51)
   Sometimes suffering can soften even the hardest heart.
   
   
10. To humble us. (Job 42^5-6; 2 Corinthians 12⁷; 1 Peter 5^6-7)
    Self-centeredness can block spiritual progress.
    
    
11. To bring God glory. (John 9^1-3; 21^18-19; 1 Peter 1⁷; Revelation 11¹³)
    
    
12. To produce future glory (a basis for rewards). (Matthew 5^10-12; Luke 24²⁶; Romans 8¹⁸; 2 Corinthians 4^16-17; 2 Timothy 2¹²; 1 Peter 1⁷)
    To help you understand Romans 818, imagine an old-fashioned scale. On one side of the scale is present suffering; on the other side is future pleasure. No matter how great today's suffering, it's outweighed by the glory, thrill and excitement of future victory guaranteed by God.
    
    
13. To cause us to consider our own mortality and focus on eternity. (Psalm 90^7-12; 103; Ecclesiastes 7^1-3)
    God uses suffering to draw our attention away from this fleeting existence on earth and to focus on eternity, where He culminates the full expression of His love and grace.
    
    
14. To compel us to reevaluate our priorities ( to help us keep things in proper perspective. (Ecclesiastes 7^1-3; Philippians 3⁸)
    Trials help us to boil life down to its very essence. And when it comes right down to the wire, nothing else really matters but our relationship to the Lord (vertical love-the greatest commandment) and our relationship to others (horizontal love-the second greatest commandment).
    
    
15. To cause us to fix our hope on Christ's return. (Romans 8¹⁸; 1 Peter 1^3-7; 4¹³)
    It reminds us that this imperfect world is not our perfect home. We're waiting for the ultimate end to all suffering in the presence of the Prince of Peace.
    
    
16. To punish for sin. (Genesis 3^14-19; 6^5-7; 11^1-9; 19^1-29; Exodus 7-11)
    Sometimes pain is the direct consequence of sinful conduct.
    
    
17. To chasten us for personal sin in order to correct our ways and purify us. (Exodus 20; Psalm 107¹⁷; Isaiah 1²⁵; 24^5-6; Hosea 8^9-10; Acts 5^1-11; 1 Corinthians 11^29-30; Hebrews 12^4-13)
    Just as good parents discipline their children, so God disciplines His children. When suffering comes as a direct consequence of our sin, we should admit our guilt, confess to God, make appropriate restitution, and accept the consequences.
    
    
18. To teach us God's statutes(producing discernment and knowledge. (Psalm 119^{66, 67, 71})
    
    
19. To encourage us to keep God's Word rather than stray from it. (Psalm 119^66-67)
    
    
20. To win the lost. (Philippians 1^12-13; 2 Timothy 2^8-10; 4^5-6; 2 Corinthians 1^1-11)
    
    
21. To serve as a preliminary warning of the judgment to come to unbelievers. (2 Kings 15⁵; Luke 16; Revelation 20^10-15)
    
    
22. To inspire others. (Philippians 1^12-14)
    The word "progress" is the picture of woodcutters carving a road through a forest for an army to advance. Paul's godly response to trials had cut new paths for the spread of the Gospel through believers inspired by his example. How we personally meet trials will either be an inspiration or a discouragement to others.
    
    
23. To make it possible for us to minister to others who are suffering. (2 Corinthians 1^3-11; 7^6-7; Hebrews 2¹⁸)
    Suffering is not a path to desperation, but a channel of God's comfort. God prepares us individually, by different trials, to have a special ministry to others that no one else can have. Who can best comfort a widow? Who can minister best to a cancer patient? Clearly, those who have been comforted by God during a similar trial can comfort others through their afflictions.
    
    
24. To be a deterrent to continual suffering. (Exodus 20²⁰; Psalm 139^19-24)
    
    
25. To bind believers together in a common purpose. (1 Corinthians 12²⁶; 1 Peter 5⁹; Revelation 1⁹)
    
    
26. To teach us to give thanks "in" (not "for") everything. (2 Corinthians 1¹¹)

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