In our fourth blog post answering the big questions of suffering, Brianna McClean looks at how God uses suffering to make us holy.
God wants to use your suffering for your sanctification. To make you holy like him.
How did God prepare Joseph for Pharaoh’s palace? With 11 years in prison, where God was teaching and refining him.
Yes, suffering is painful, and not part of God’s original design for creation. But no suffering is wasted as a follower of Jesus. The Lord wants to use your suffering for your good.
HOW DOES SUFFERING MAKE US HOLY?
1. SUFFERING CONFIRMS OUR IDENTITY AS FOLLOWERS OF JESUS
Jesus was a ‘man of sorrows’ (Isaiah 53:3), made perfect through suffering (Hebrews 2:10). If that was God’s plan for his own beloved son, our own suffering should come as no surprise. The Bible warns us that following Jesus will come with suffering, as God’s Kingdom advances in a world that has rejected him.
‘Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.’
2 Timothy 3:12
2. SUFFERING GROWS US IN GODLINESS
The Bible tells us that God uses suffering to refine our character. Suffering makes our faith ‘mature’ (James 1:4).
‘We glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.’
Romans 5:3–4
3. SUFFERING TEACHES US TO RELY ON GOD
Suffering often forces us to admit that we are not in control of our lives—God is. We learn to rely on him. As our own weakness is shown, God’s strength is emphasised. Our reliance on him furthers our spiritual maturity. As we learn to trust in God even in the midst of pain, our love for him grows
‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’
2 Corinthians 12:9
4. SUFFERING ALLOWS US TO KNOW GOD’S PRESENCE
Times of suffering are often those in which we most vividly know the comfort of God. The good news of the Gospel becomes more precious to us when pain is near. Pastor and author Tim Keller says, ‘Suffering can refine us rather than destroy us because God himself walks with us in the fire.’
‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.’
Isaiah 43:2
5. SUFFERING HELPS US LOOK TO GOD FOR OUR SATISFACTION
So often, suffering shows us the fleeting nature of earthly pleasures. Health, love, wealth, and happiness can never satisfy us, because they never last. Only God can give us what we need, and suffering teaches us that.
‘I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.’
Philippians 3:8
6. SUFFERING TEACHES US TO LONG FOR JESUS’S RETURN
As we grieve the brokenness of this world, we realise afresh how much we need Jesus on the throne. The growth of that desire is a growth in holiness.
‘I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.’
Philippians 3:14
DON’T WASTE YOUR SUFFERING
We don’t need to rejoice in the injustice or pain of suffering—but we can rejoice in what God will do with it. He desires to make a holy people for himself. He will use our suffering to achieve that. When we are in the depths of suffering, we can remember God’s good plans and lean into all that he will teach us.
This life will bring suffering, guaranteed. When (not if) it comes, we can allow God to use our suffering for our sanctification.
What might this look like?
- Acknowledge your suffering and be honest with God, and others, about how you are feeling.
- Invite the Holy Spirit to work through your suffering. Along with praying for relief, pray for sanctification.
- Listen to God’s voice by reading His Word.
- Suffer in community—allow others to speak truth to you and help you grow more like Jesus.
- Take time to grieve, grow, learn and reflect.
Our God works through all things for those who love him, even our darkest hours. He is with us and for us. He wants to use your suffering to make us more like him.
Will you let him?