“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is the church.”
— Colossians 1:24
Pastor Josh White opens with a personal note — allergies are coming, and Phoenix summer is just around the corner. But suffering is more than seasonal discomfort. Last time, we looked at how we benefit from suffering. Today, we’re looking at how our suffering benefits others.
1. Our Sufferings Lead to the Comfort of Others
2 Corinthians 1:3-7 frames it this way: God comforts us in our afflictions so that we can comfort others with the same comfort. The comfort we receive from God through suffering is meant to be shared. It’s not meant to be wasted.
Think about the most meaningful times someone has come alongside you in a difficult season. They didn’t just offer platitudes — they shared from their own experience. They said, “I’ve been through something similar, and here’s what God taught me.” That’s the mechanism. God uses your painful experiences to bring comfort to others.
2. Our Sufferings Result in the Salvation and Maturity of Others
Paul says in Colossians 1:24 that he’s filling up in his flesh what is lacking for the body of Christ. This doesn’t mean Christ’s death was insufficient — absolutely not. Ephesians 2:8-9 makes clear: by grace through faith, saved — not by works. What Paul means is that the church is still being built. As long as the gospel is being proclaimed, there will be suffering. And that suffering produces maturity in others.
2 Timothy 2:8-10: Paul endures everything “for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” His suffering wasn’t passive — it was purposeful.
3. Our Suffering Frustrates Satan
When we endure suffering with faith, we deny Satan any victory. Ephesians 6 reminds us: we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of evil. Our suffering, when it accomplishes God’s purposes, is a declaration that Christ — not Satan — wins.
That’s why Paul could say: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
The Invitation
If you’re suffering right now, God is not wasting it. He’s drawing you closer to Himself. He’s preparing you to comfort someone else walking the same path. He’s producing maturity in you that can’t come any other way. And He’s using your faithfulness to frustrate the enemy and bring glory to Christ.
Don’t waste your suffering. Let it point to Jesus.