All people suffer and Christians are no exception. As the saying goes, “You’re either in a storm or you’re sailing into one.” The goal for all Christians is to patiently bear suffering great and small, trusting that everything in our life has passed through the loving hands of our heavenly Father who plans to use all things for our good. Categorizing our suffering correctly can help us in that work. It can also help us care for others who are suffering.
So, what are the different purposes God has for suffering?
Purposes for Suffering
To Sanctify Us
Much suffering is used to sanctify us. That is why James tells us to “count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (1:2-3) Job’s suffering led to a deepened love for God as well as a greater understanding of his need for God’s mercy. The prophet Hosea tells the Israelites that the reason for their suffering was to cleanse them from idols and restore their love for God (Hosea 2:14).
We can also suffer from spiritual attack as a result of spiritual fruit. This kind of suffering can humble us in needed ways. Paul said he was given a “thorn in his flesh” to keep him from becoming conceited because of what God revealed to him (2 Cor. 12:7). Suffering related to ministry can also serve in validating the truth of the gospel. More on this later.
Further, God can use suffering to grow us in wisdom and understanding. In Psalm 73 the psalmist struggles deeply with the prosperity of the wicked but then understands the true end of the wicked and in the end praises God more fervently. Charles Spurgeon seemed to have this in mind when he said, “Lord, help me learn to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.” Finally, Paul prayed he would share in Christ’s suffering that he might “know him more” (Php. 3:10).
To Prepare us for Heaven
Related to sanctification, suffering can also helpfully remind us that this world isn’t our final home. Tears in this life cause us to eagerly long for the heavenly promised land where “sickness, sorrow, pain and death are felt and feared no more.” This is what Paul means when he says “this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory…as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen” (2 Cor. 4:17-18).
To Equip Us
Closely related to sanctification, sometimes suffering equips us to minister to others. David suffered as an anointed king on the run for his life, but it equipped him to care for and lead his people better. Paul’s imprisonments emboldened other persecuted Christians in evangelism (Php 1:14) and his struggle with past and present sins gives confidence to Christians struggling to believe God forgives them (1 Tim 1:15; 2 Cor. 12:9). Moreover, suffering in a particular way can give us a platform to minister better to others. For example, losing two children has helped Nancy Guthrie minister to other parents who have suffered similarly. Various Christians have struggled through doubt and as a result have been able to strengthen the faith of others. As Christ said to Peter, “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). J. Greshem Machen was plagued with doubt while studying under accomplished liberal theologians, yet through that experience went on to become one of the leading defenders of orthodox Christianity in the 20th century.[1]
To Testify to the Truth of the Gospel
At times suffering is used to reveal the sincerity of a Christian, therefore revealing the validity of the gospel. One of the proofs of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is that all but one of the 11 disciples died horrible deaths for their belief in the resurrected Christ. Why would someone die for something they knew was a lie? The resurrection is true regardless of the disciples’ martyrdom, and it certainly would have made the disciples’ lives easier, but their brutal deaths helped testify to the truth of the resurrection for many Christians who would come after them.
Some may face unique suffering, anxiety or demonic attack as a result of fruit in ministry or faithfulness. This proves that we aren’t “peddler’s of God’s Word” but serve a God so good He’s worth suffering for. Paul suffered the anguish of childbirth until Christ was formed in the Galatians (Gal. 4:19) and dealt with the constant stress for all the churches (2 Cor. 11:28). This revealed the sincerity of Paul’s heart and consequently the truth of his Gospel. Countless stories could be told of people who placed their faith in Christ after witnessing the resolute faith of suffering Christians. For example, Queen Mary of England (“Bloody Mary”) moved the execution of protestants from public to private because so many were converting as a result of the faith of the martyrs.
To Glorify God
Suffering is also used to glorify God. Paul’s struggle with an unknown “thorn” in his side caused God’s power to be made more visible in Paul’s weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). In John 9, the disciples ask Jesus whose sin caused a man to be born blind, to which Jesus replied, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:2-3). Abraham and Sarah were kept from having a child until they were nearly a century old so that they and others might know that nothing is impossible for God (Gen. 18:14).
To Fulfill God’s Good Purpose
Certain suffering allows God’s good purpose to be carried out. Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 2:12-13 that he had to miss out on an open opportunity to preach the Gospel in Troas because his spirit wasn’t at peace, yet it led him to Macedonia where there was an incredibly fruitful ministry. So, Paul praises God (2 Cor. 2:14) for carrying out his good will though it caused him pain and anxiety. Additionally, it’s well known that the intense persecution of Christians in the first centuries after Christ helped glorify God and spread the gospel throughout the world. As Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”
To Discipline Us
Lastly, some suffering is a direct result of sin or foolishness. Though any eternal consequences have been paid by Christ as well as any alienation from God, earthly consequences are still used by God to discipline his children. For example, David’s child died as a result of his sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 12:13-14) and in another unique instance God gives David options of how he wants to suffer as a result of his sin (2 Sam. 24). Proverbs is full of verses that talk about the demise of the wicked as a result of their sinful and foolish actions (11:5; 21:6; 13:6). This was the view of suffering that Jesus’ disciples took in John 9, it was certainly Job’s friends’ view of suffering and is probably the most commonly assumed purpose of suffering for Christians today.
Conclusion
It’s important to point out that our suffering will often be used for multiple purposes, not just one. For example, Job’s suffering sanctified him and fulfilled God’s good purpose in encouraging countless Christians after Job by his story.
I’ve focused on suffering in the life of a Christian, but many of these categories apply to non-Christians as well. Non-Christians can suffer the consequences of their sin to discipline them in order that they might refrain from sin and repent. This was the purpose of Nebuchadnezzar’s downfall (Daniel 4). Seeing the consequences of sin in the lives of non-Christians can also serve as a warning to other non-Christians and Christians.
I hope this study helps people who may be unnecessarily badgered by guilt as a result of inappropriately insisting they are suffering as a consequence of their sin. However, we shouldn’t make the opposite mistake by presupposing that our suffering is never for sin. We should use suffering to pray and ask God to “search our heart” and “see if there be any grievous way in us” (Ps. 139:23-24).
Suffering that Defies Purpose
Placing our suffering in the right category helps us to respond appropriately and maximize the benefit God has for us in it. Hopefully, these categories help us suffer well and help others to do the same.
However, there will be times we can’t imagine a good purpose for suffering. These times are admittedly the most challenging. In these cases, and in all cases we must learn to repeat Paul’s words: “Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments, how inscrutable are his ways” (Rom. 11:33).
Ultimately, we don’t see everything God sees, and even if we could we wouldn’t have the perfect wisdom to know what was absolutely best for us individually, for God’s kingdom or for all people. What we do know is that God is good and promises to use suffering for our good (Rom. 8:28), and on that we can rely in our suffering. Knowing the reason for your suffering is great, trusting the one in control of your suffering is better. How do we know God can be trusted? Because he suffered for us. “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16).
[1] Ned B. Stonehouse, J. Gresham Machen: A Biographical Memoir (Edinburgh, UK; Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Banner of Truth, 2019). 432. Also, quoted in Desiring God article (https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/he-took-up-arms-against-liberalism).
Mike McGregor
Mike McGregor (MDiv, Reformed Theological Seminary) is Director of College Ministry at First Baptist Church in Durham, N.C. You can follow him on Twitter at @m5mcgregor.
