Thanksgiving week, 2020. Pastor Josh White had returned from a trip to Michigan (where his beloved Wolverines football team was having a rough season — a source of much “mental suffering” he shared with the congregation). But the message he delivered that Sunday wasn’t about college football. It was about something far more important: suffering — what it is, why we experience it, and the four profound benefits it produces in the life of a believer.
Drawing from one of his favorite books, Philippians, Nathan walked through Paul’s remarkable statement in Philippians 3:7-8 — that everything he once valued in his life (his heritage, his reputation, his religious credentials) was “rubbish” compared to knowing Christ. Right in the middle of that famous passage, Paul casually drops that sharing in Christ’s sufferings was better than all of it. That caught Nathan’s attention, and it should catch ours too.
Suffering Warns Us That Something Isn’t Right
The world is not as it should be. That realization is one of the first blessings suffering brings. In Romans 8:18, Paul writes: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
— Romans 8:18
We live in the “present age” — the time between Eden’s perfection and the new heaven and earth where God will wipe away every tear. Suffering is a warning flare from a holy God, telling us that this world is broken, that sin has consequences, and that we were made for something more. When we experience pain — physical, relational, emotional — it’s God waking us up to the fact that we were made for eternity, not for this.
Suffering Helps Us Let Go of What We Shouldn’t Hold On To
Hebrews 12:1 gives us a vivid picture: we’re in a race, and we need to lay aside every weight and sin that clings so closely. Sometimes the only way God can get us to let go of something is to let us suffer because of it first.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
— Hebrews 12:1
The Prodigal Son is the perfect picture of this. He left home, chased the world, and suffered until “when he came to his senses” (Luke 15:17) — the exact moment of repentance. God allows us to suffer not to punish us, but to loosen our grip on the things of this world so we can run the race He’s set for us.
Suffering Makes Us Stronger
Romans 5:2-5 gives us one of the most encouraging progressions in all of Scripture:
“We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”
— Romans 5:2-5
When we suffer and learn to depend on God’s strength instead of our own, we come out on the other side more spiritually mature than before. Paul learned this firsthand. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, he describes his “thorn in the flesh” — some physical affliction he begged God to remove three times. God’s answer? “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul learned to stop relying on himself and start relying on Christ. That’s the kind of strength that lasts.
And here’s the beautiful part — God doesn’t ask us to endure suffering alone. Hebrews 2:17-18 tells us that Jesus Himself was made like us in every respect so that He could sympathize with our weaknesses. He knows what it’s like to suffer. That makes Him the perfect High Priest.
Suffering Confirms Our Identity in Christ
This is the most striking benefit, and the one most directly tied to our faith. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, the world will not always treat you kindly. And according to Scripture, that’s actually a good sign.
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you also may rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”
— 1 Peter 4:12-14
Persecution for the faith isn’t a bug in the system — it’s confirmation that we’re in the right system. In 2 Thessalonians 1:4-5, Paul writes that the Thessalonian believers’ steadfastness in the face of affliction is “evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be made worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering.” And Romans 8:16-17 says we are “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”
Remembering Christ’s Suffering
As Nathan closed the message, he directed the congregation’s attention to the cross. Jesus willingly suffered a death that was hard to even contemplate — the physical agony, the rejection of His own people, the injustice of being condemned for sins He never committed. And He did it all for us. “He had to be made like His brothers in every respect,” writes the author of Hebrews, “so that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest… to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17).
That suffering — His suffering — is the reason we can have hope. Not just hope for this life, but hope for the resurrection and eternal life to come. As we take communion, we remember His body broken and His blood shed, and we look forward to the day when He returns to make all things new.
So What?
2020 was a year of suffering — for the church at GBC Phoenix, for our community, for the world. And the message is clear: suffering is not a sign that God has abandoned us. It’s a sign that this world is not our home, that our citizenship is in heaven, and that God is using every trial to conform us to the image of His Son.
If you’re suffering today, take it to God. He knows what it’s like to suffer. His grace is sufficient. His power is made perfect in your weakness. And when you suffer for His name, know this: you are blessed, you are confirmed as His child, and your reward in heaven is greater than any comfort you might sacrifice here.
Scripture References
- Philippians 3:7-8 — Paul’s declaration that knowing Christ is worth everything
- Romans 8:18 — Present suffering and future glory
- Acts 9:16 — God tells Ananias that Paul will suffer for Christ’s name
- Hebrews 12:1 — Run the race with endurance; lay aside every weight
- Romans 5:2-5 — Suffering produces endurance, character, and hope
- 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 — Paul’s thorn and the sufficiency of God’s grace
- Hebrews 2:17-18 — Jesus was made like us so He could sympathize with our weaknesses
- 1 Peter 4:12-14 — Rejoice in sharing Christ’s sufferings
- 2 Thessalonians 1:4-5 — Affliction is evidence of God’s righteous judgment
- Romans 8:16-17 — We are heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him
- Luke 15:17 — The Prodigal Son “comes to his senses”