Do Not Suffer Alone
Luann Budd
To be human is to suffer. Thankfully, God gives us sisters who share our sorrows and suffering with us. Unfortunately, as much as we'd like to avoid the pain, there seems to be no escape.
James encourages us by drawing our attention to the fact that God redeems our suffering. He uses hard times to produce character transformation in truly remarkable ways (James 1:2-4). Often, we can see how trials have changed us for the better. Curt Thompson writes that God uses suffering to grow us to become our “most beautiful, heaven-ready selves” (The Deepest Place, p 173). Good does come from our trials.
Paul tells us that suffering also produces a sense of hope within our souls because as we are going through difficult times, God pours out his love into our hearts (Romans 5:5). Over the years, a hopeful expectation develops as we've experienced the Lord meeting us in our times of need.
And if we don't sense his love or presence with us, we can draw comfort as Mother Teresa did by seeing our 'dark night of the soul' as a way to share in fellowship with Jesus. He, too, felt abandoned as he suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane. He understands our pain. Suffering and not sensing God is with us is almost unbearable but we can continue to trust and hope.
In my times of suffering, Jesus has used the love of my Christian sisters to love me on his behalf. After praying with a small group at the Springs last month, one woman said, “Wow, just sharing my burden and having you all pray for me has really lightened the weight I was carrying.” God invites us to share our suffering with others. Is there a friend you can share your heart with? Give her a call this week. Make the time.
As we walk through trials with trusted sisters, God uses them to love us, help us heal, and discover his redeeming work in our sorrows. If you don’t have a small group of trusted friends to pray with, please join us on Thursdays at 1 p.m. PST for prayer. Or join one of our small groups this summer. It's not God's intention that we would live, much less suffer, alone.