THE WAY WE REGARD OUR SUFFERING MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE

The way we think about things is also the way we will feel about things. If I think that my mailman wants to kill me, I am not going to feel well about him.

Let’s now apply this principle to psychological things. When we experience guilt, shame; anxiety, depression, and inferiority, we tend to think that these things are terrible. We might also interpret them to mean that we are failures or even “damaged merchandise.” Consequently, this will make us feel far worse. However, if we regard them as necessary sources of feedback and even growth hormones, they might still hurt, but it’s a pain that we are willing to endure for a greater good, our ultimate welfare.

It is like having a cancerous tumor surgically removed. We might be sore for a while. However, we gladly endure the soreness if we are convinced that the surgery was necessary and successful.

I want to argue that this also pertains to our psychological pains and even failures. We need to also regard them as necessary and success-producing. However, while it is also possible that depression or panic attacks can lead us to suicide, when we understand these afflictions as God’s tools to accomplish His loving purpose in our lives, we need not worry. Here are some biblical principles, which should assure us:

1.    If we want to be like Jesus, we too have to suffer and be purified as He had been (Hebrews 5:7-8; 2 Corinthians 4:7-11; Philippians 1:29).

2.    While tribulations are the rule, so too is His mercy (John 16:33; Acts 14:22).

3.    God works all things for our good, even our weaknesses and failures (Romans 8:28). Even when we are in sin, He is still merciful (Psalm 106:43-46; Micah 7:7-9).

4.    It is through our weakness, pain, and self-despair that God strengthens us (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

5.    God uses suffering to show us that we cannot rely upon ourselves but on God alone (2 Corinthians 1:8-9; Psalm 62). It teaches us to be dependent upon Him (1 Corinthians 10:12-13).

6.    God uses suffering to make to perfect (Romans 5:1-5; James 1:2-4) and to humble us (Deuteronomy 8:2-3; Psalm 119:71).

7.    Suffering prepare us for the return and our marriage to our Savior (1 Peter 4:12-13).

8.    Nevertheless, suffering is going to hurt. There is no magic way around it, but it will produce godly fruit in its time (Hebrews 12:5-11).

9.    The hardships are only temporary (1 Peter 1:5; 5:10). He loves us more than we can imagine (Romans 5:8-10; Ephesians 3:16-19)

Ordinarily, suffering opens the door to shame, self-blame, and self-disparagement. I’d therefore suggest that we allow these verses to convert suffering from a negative into a positive, which it truly is in the hands of our master Surgeon and Savior who works everything for our good!

The late psychiatrist, M. Scott Peck, author of “The Road Less Traveled,” wrote 15 years later about his journey from Zen Buddhism to Christianity. He had repeatedly observed that his Christian clients would improve, no matter how serious their psychiatric condition. He concluded:

·       The quickest way to change your attitude toward pain is to accept the fact that everything that happens to us has been designed for our spiritual growth…We cannot lose once we realize that everything that happens to us has been designed to teach us holiness…We are guaranteed winners! (“Further Along the Road Less Traveled”)