Someone wisely advised: “Be kind. Everyone is facing a tough battle.”
My doctor explained “what a colossal war is going on inside” my body: the battle of the body against the cancer and now the effects of chemo against the cancer AND against my body. He says the body is expending an enormous amount of energy at a cellular level, beyond what the anemia accounts for, in what is for the moment, a losing battle for the body. It will not have victory until it first falls. But THEN the victory will come!
It reminds me of the other battles we all face daily, sometimes unaware of the nature of our fight.
I suppose none of us seeks out the suffering that comes to our door. And when it does come, we are so eager to wish it away. But whether troubles are caused by a medical cancer or the “cancer” of broken relationships, physical pain, intense grief, or destructive attitudes, there are valuable life lessons to be found in suffering – if we listen.
God’s Word describes suffering as a refiner’s fire that has to get hot enough for the impurities to flow to the top, leaving only the highest quality purity remaining in your life. Suffering does that by stripping away false pretense in our lives so we can focus on what matters. CS Lewis says our pain demands attention. It draws us away from a wasted idle life of ease and comfort. We know God shows us compassion in our suffering so we can share with others in the lives of others in our path. Sometimes suffering puts us in situations that actually advance the gospel.
But one of the supreme benefits of suffering – if we embrace it – is to draw us closer to God and develop qualities we could never learn or apply without such a hard teacher. Charles Spurgeon compares this to the soldier in the battlefield:
“God knows that soldiers can only be made in times of battle and are not developed in times of peace. We may be able to grow the raw materials of which soldiers are made, but turning them into true warriors requires the education brought about by the smell of gun powder and by fighting in the midst of flying bullets and exploding bombs, not by living in pleasant and peaceful times. So dear Christian, could this account for your situation? Is the Lord uncovering your gifts and causing them to grow? Is he developing in you the qualities of a soldier by shoving you into the heat of the battle? Should you not then use every gift and weapon he has given you to be a conqueror? Do you understand that God may take away your comforts and privileges in order to make you a stronger Christian? Do you see why The Lord always trains his soldiers, not by allowing them to lie on beds of ease but by calling them to difficult marches and service?”
My sister shared this quote. You know the truth, but I really appreciate the simple statement:
Trials don’t make us or break us.
They simply reveal what’s in our heart.
“Create in me a clean heart, O Lord, and renew a right spirit in me!”
Psalm 51:10
Whatever battle you are facing, know that you are not alone. Our good God desires you to prosper from it, not succumb to its pressure. Good and faithful friend, ask God to reveal what’s in your heart as you face your battle so you can use this time to draw closer to him and find his rest, his peace, and his strength to be “more than a conqueror” even in the middle of your storm.
