An Encouragement for Those who are Suffering

Are you overwhelmed, or been suffering in some way for a long time? If that is you, this post is for you.

I believe there are many in that boat. It could be a particular situation that you have endured for a very long time, or perhaps it is many things. Perhaps you have even gotten your hopes up for something to change or shift, even multiple times, and you’ve faced disappointment after disappointment.

If that is you, I see you, and I really wish I could just snap my fingers, and your suffering would be taken away. I also relate to being in that situation in many ways myself.

As we rapidly approach Easter, however, I am reminded of the fact that, even more importantly, Jesus understands what it is like to be in your situation. Isaiah 53:3 describes Jesus as a ‘man of sorrows’. That word ‘sorrows’ literally means ‘grief, affliction and pain.’ Jesus experienced all those things in spades. Firstly, He left the perfection of heaven to come to this fallen world and take on the form of a human. Becoming human meant leaving the glory of heaven and accepting the limitations that being human entailed – something which I believe we will never be able to comprehend. But just try and imagine what that might be like for a minute.

Part of being human also mean enduring all that humans endure. He suffered in every way that humans suffer – grief, loss, all of it. That is crazy to think about. Jesus, the King of Kings, experienced all the harsh realities of life as a human being. What is even more mind blowing is that he didn’t have to do this.

Another way he suffered was taking on the sins of not just you and me, but the entire human race throughout all of history. He suffered the wrath of God as the scapegoat, the sin-bearer of every wrong ever committed. Once again, we will never be able to understand just how incredibly difficult this was for Jesus to do.

But he did. And he did it willingly. And he did it willingly for you and me.

As I was reflecting on this today, I was also reminded how Jesus was able to endure all this suffering. The key is in Hebrews: “Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.” (Hebrews 12:2-3 NLT)

Throughout his suffering, Jesus also needed an encouragement to keep going. What was that encouragement? The ‘joy’ awaiting him. What was that joy? I think it was several fold: firstly, knowing He was pleasing the Father. He often talked about how his ‘bread’ was to do the will of the Father. Secondly, knowing the effects it would have on humanity – the opportunity for all to be saved from the weight and consequences of sin, because Jesus paid that ultimate price. Thirdly, he knew that this suffering would not be forever. One day, he would be back in his rightful place, in glory in Heaven.

If you are weighed down and burdened by suffering, I’d like to encourage you that you also have a joy awaiting you. Firstly, that joy is knowing that because of Jesus, the Father is pleased with you. Secondly, it is knowing that Jesus really does understand what it is like to experience what you are experiencing. And, thirdly, that joy is knowing that our suffering, no matter how long it feels, will not last forever. We have a promise of a place waiting for us where everything will be made right, and all suffering shall cease.

I also understanding that even though this is true, it can at times feel like cold comfort when life is tough. If that is the case for you, please know there is no judgment from me. My prayer is that you can experience this renewed joy today, even in this very moment.

I’d like to leave you with a passage of Scripture that talks about Jesus as a suffering servant and a man of sorrows. If you can, please read it, soak in it and let it encourage you today:

See, my servant will prosper;
    he will be highly exalted.
But many were amazed when they saw him.
    His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human,
    and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.
And he will startle many nations.
    Kings will stand speechless in his presence.
For they will see what they had not been told;
    they will understand what they had not heard about.

Who has believed our message?
    To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,
    like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
    nothing to attract us to him.
He was despised and rejected—
    a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
    He was despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
    it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
    a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
    the sins of us all.

He was oppressed and treated harshly,
    yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
    And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
    he did not open his mouth.
Unjustly condemned,
    he was led away.
No one cared that he died without descendants,
    that his life was cut short in midstream.
But he was struck down
    for the rebellion of my people.
He had done no wrong
    and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
    he was put in a rich man’s grave.

But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
    and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
    he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
    and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.

When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
    he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
    my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
    for he will bear all their sins.
I will give him the honours of a victorious soldier,
    because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
    He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 NLT