Introduction
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and 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, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:1-5
When sin entered the world, suffering came with it. Physical pain, mental anguish, emotional distress, and spiritual torment have continued throughout time. We see it every day in the form of illness, accidents, disasters, abuse, broken relationships, betrayal, guilt, shame, etc.
As a rule, the world and our flesh abhor suffering; many see it as senseless and believe if it can’t be avoided then it should be medicated with “comfort food,” alcohol, sweets, prescription medications, illegal drugs, “me time,” or any other activity or substance that distracts from discomfort.
And while there is certainly nothing wrong with alleviating suffering, as believers in Jesus, we harm ourselves and miss out on the blessings God has for us when we try to manage our suffering (or others’ suffering) apart from the cross of Christ. Turning to false Saviors (food, drugs, sex, self, etc.) in our pain, compounds our suffering, but looking to Jesus relieves it.
When we look to Jesus, we see God is not aloof to our pain. He has entered into it in the Person of Jesus. When we look at the cross we see Jesus entering into our pain. The prophet Isaiah put it this way, “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed.” Isaiah 53:3-5 NIV
Suffering of any kind hurts. It is agony. Look at all the words used to describe Christ’s suffering – despised, rejected, devalued, pain, stricken, afflicted, pierced, crushed, wounded, etc. As with Jesus, our pain is real; we don’t want to deny it, but we do want to look to Jesus so that He can redeem it.
Oh, dear friend, in the suffering of Christ on the cross, we see the power and glory of God (John 7:39, Romans 1:16-17, Hebrews 1:3)! Similarly, when we look to Jesus in our weaknesses and our sufferings, God is glorified, and His power revealed in us.
When we are suffering, and we look to Christ and draw near to Him with our pain, we experience deep intimacy with Him. His sacrificial love pours into our hearts by His life-giving Spirit to comfort and encourage us, and His resurrection power flows through us to sustain us as we wait for the redemption of all things (Romans 8:22-24).
Illustration
In the Old Testament, one man stands out as having suffered a lot – Job. In one day, all of Job’s children died, he lost his livelihood of flocks and herds, his house, and all his wealth. Shortly after that, he lost his physical health so that he had nothing left except a distraught wife who told him to “curse God and die.” It is shocking in its severity.
What can sustain a man through this kind of unrelenting suffering? What can take you and I through very difficult times of suffering?
We get the answer to those questions when we come to Job 19:
“I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” Job 19:25-27
Job was focused on His Redeemer, and so Job says the following things:
- My Redeemer lives (Job 19:25).
- My Redeemer is God (Job 19:26).
- My heart yearns to see God (Job 19:27).
A “redeemer” is one who gains or regains possession of something in exchange for payment. Job knew He had a Redeemer, Someone who would purchase and regain him through a great payment. Perhaps, Job supernaturally understood that the payment to redeem him was connected with the suffering of the coming Messiah, as foretold in Genesis 3:15.
And yet, Job knew this Redeemer lives. So Job knew there would be a redemption price paid, and there would be a living Redeemer. Job saw in a concealed form, the gospel of Jesus Christ: God, His Redeemer, would pay the price for Job’s redemption, and then He would live forevermore.
Job derived great comfort during his suffering by focusing on His Redeemer, looking to Jesus. Job believed that he would see His Redeemer (Jesus) in the end, and this made Job’s heart yearn to be with Him.
Dear friend, what is it that will enable you to endure great suffering and find real comfort in the midst of it? Look to Jesus, who, at the price of His own life, bought you back for God. “And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).
And not only did He purchase you back (redeem you) from sin through His death on the cross, He rose from the dead on the third day. Your Redeemer lives! Let that stoke a fire in your heart, causing you to yearn for the day you will see His face. One day soon, you will experience an embrace by the God with pierced hands.
Application
Are you suffering in your heart, mind, or body today? Are you growing tired or discouraged in the face of your suffering? Maybe you are dealing with an illness or feeling the anguish of loss today. Whatever the source or type of discomfort you are feeling, you can look to Christ for relief. He is the One who can sustain you!
You cannot sustain yourself, and you shouldn’t even try! Instead, Jesus calls you to bring your loss, your pain, and your anguish to the foot of His cross. He invites you to come to Him with your grief, your sadness, and your confusion. And as you do, Jesus’ resurrection power flows out to you, and He sustains you by His amazing grace so that you can say, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
As Jesus carries you through your time of suffering, others will see your weakness and suffering and wonder about the hope that you have through it. And you’ll have a chance to tell them the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection that is powerful for salvation and sanctification (1 Peter 3:15) and enables you to endure the worst kind of suffering. Suffering is hard, but it is productive and evangelistic when we look to Jesus through our tears.
“That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10).
Question: How does looking to Jesus sustain you through suffering?
Gary writes, “Looking to my Redeemer, His resurrection power sustains me through my suffering!“
Mike L. writes, “Hebrews says; “that for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross”, when I think about this, that it was a joy for Jesus to endure the cross on my behalf, because He knew I would be His for eternity, this infuses me with strength to endure any sorrow or hardship that I may encounter. Knowing that Jesus is alive now and forever, gives me such hope, because of this I know that no matter what happens there is light at the end of the tunnel and our sufferings here on earth are but a grain of sand in light of eternity. Thank you, Lord Jesus for suffering on my behalf so I could experience everlasting joy!!
Hebrews 12:2 The Passion Translation (TPT) 2 We look away from the natural realm and we fasten our gaze onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!“
Judy writes, “As I look to Christ suffering I know I can make it through mine. My redeemer lives!“
Cheryle writes, “It causes me to realize how much I have been given, even through suffering, that Jesus endured every possible suffering imaginable to obtain my salvation and to enable me to live a Godly life. I know I can endure through the Cross!“
Reprinted by permission from the Looking to Jesus study at www.settingcaptivesfree.com. SCF exists to help men and women find freedom in Christ through the gospel.