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I know WordVessel readers must be wondering why I blog about this topic so much. The reason is that it seems to be a topic God keeps dropping in my lap.
Through the Bible, books on the subject (such as Max Lucado's For the Tough Times and Jeanne Damoff's Parting the Waters), and seeing my own friends and family grieve and suffer, it is a topic that has very much been on my heart.
The dictionary definition of benefit is: "something that is advantageous or good."
The dictionary definition of suffer is: "to sustain injury, disadvantage, or loss."
The two words seem contradictory, don't they? But not in God's domain. With our God, who "works for the good of those who love Him" (Romans 8:28, NIV), even suffering has its advantages.
Benefit #1: Blessed with the Spirit of God
"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you...So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good." (I Peter 4:12-14, 19 - NIV)
Sometimes suffering is the result of following Christ. Believers in the United States have only a small amount of this type suffering--maybe rejection and ridicule. But many believers across the world face prison/jail time, being shunned by family and friends, loss of employment, and even death, because of their belief in Christ.
God's Word points to the benefits of suffering for our belief in Christ. Our responsibility? Rejoicing, committing ourselves to God, and continued good.
Benefit #2: The Refining of our Faith
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." (I Peter 1:6-7, NIV)
If you're sitting while you read these words, you have put a measure of faith in the chair in which you sit. That faith was made real the moment you sat down.
It's the same way with our faith. A faith that isn't tested and proved, really isn't faith at all. Suffering is sometimes the vehicle God uses to test and prove our faith.
Benefit #3: The privilege of suffering with and comforting others.
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows." (2 Corinthians 1:3-5, NIV)
When I look back at my own times of suffering, I realize that those times brought me closer to God. But those times also brought Him closer to me. He is our Comforter.
Once we have walked through the fire of suffering, we are in a much better position to comfort others. As members of the body of Christ, that is our responsibility to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
"But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." (1 Corinthians 12:24b-26, NIV)
About a year ago, I read a wonderful book by Kay Warren (wife of pastor Rick Warren), entitled Dangerous Surrender. In this book, she talks about her personal struggle with breast cancer, and how it lead her to a ministry of compassion for those suffering with AIDS.
She devotes an entire chapter, called "A Deliberate
