What is Christian Suffering?

Agallagher said:

Hello you and welcome.

Do you know anything about Christian suffering?

Have you ever heard of it before?

What do you think it means if it is suffering even for believers too?

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Biblically and historically then and now itmeans suffering because one is identified as a Christian.
This can mean anything from not having family or neighbors talking to you all the way via being robbed of everything to being murdered because one is a Christian.

Agallagher said:

Hello you and welcome.

Do you know anything about Christian suffering?

Click to expand...

To much

Agallagher said:

Have you ever heard of it before?

What do you think it means if it is suffering even for believers too?

Click to expand...

lol this unfortunately is one of my pet topics due to some unhappy life circumstances. There are a lot of reasons for suffering. Things like the person own mistakes, sin, the devil, the affects of sin and the Fall etc.


Overall I like to talk about suffering in terms of our attitude and beliefs. Much of our suffering as far as our emotional suffering comes from our own mind where we convince ourselves that we need certain things etc. Or we spend a lot of time and energy trying to control things that are really not in our control etc.
And well the best cure for that is to realize that we need very little beyond God and God will look after our needs etc.


There are issues of theodicy aka God's justice where people sometimes have bad events happen to them that God allows and these events may even be something that is needed to prepare them for their Calling etc. Joseph in the Bible probably being the best most vivid example of that, but I would put forth that everyone at some point in time has something like that to a lesser degree.


Besides this there are other areas of significance. People can experience unhappiness out of their unfulfilled desires. Abraham and Sarah waited probably around 70-75 years before they had a son! Part of what we need to learn in life is patience. Christianity before it was called that name, was called "the Way" which to some degree harkens back to Judaism but the idea that our Faith is not just about studying doctrines etc. but in living life and walking with the Lord and that includes going through a lot of time where nothing seems to be happening, there is no sign of promises being fulfilled etc. But we need to learn to find our satisfaction with God alone, because that is the one true thing will always remain and cannot ever be taken away from us, while the Earthly blessings are with us but a short time.

Agallagher said:

Hello you and welcome.

Do you know anything about Christian suffering?

Have you ever heard of it before?

What do you think it means if it is suffering even for believers too?

Click to expand...

There are different types of Christian sufferings. Christian die to themselves so that brings a suffering on its own because death is not pleasant, but there's also a deeper suffering that comes when God places His own grieving heart in you, so You suffer with Him. That happens so you can intercede on His behalf. Prophets and seers go through that a lot.

Are we talking just suffering or suffering for Christ? One has HIS name in it the other does not. What I mean and forgive me not good with words is there are things so many things we suffer for in this world of our own doing and that is not suffering for Christ. To suffer for Him... should be such a great great joy.

Would seem in America its starting to become more real then ever before.

We need to add the fact we are to be "crucified with Christ".
Empathetically, as we come to the knowledge of what we caused (Acts 2:37) we are cut to the heart (experience the worst feeling we can have and live), this is remembered every time we take the Lord's supper.

Agallagher said:

Thank you for each of your responses. Here is one more question.

Does it seem to you a fact that non believers, and believers suffer equally?

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No I believe there are studies on this, I will look for some, but Christians have the comfort of knowing God and knowing that they are loved, this makes suffering more tolerable. We can also offer our suffering for Grace for ourselves or others.

• Suffering produces intimacy with God (Job 42:5).
  Job, who endured unspeakable suffering, said, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.”
  
  Intimacy with God is often borne in the furnace of affliction.
  
  “There’s an opening of the soul that happens during times of stress or duress,” says Dr. Hager. “During times of suffering, we experience God at a deep, profound level.”
  
  
• Suffering equips us to comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).
  Suffering gives us compassion for others who are hurting, enabling us to minister more effectively.
  
  “Sufferers want to be ministered to by people who have suffered,” writes Stephen F. Saint in his essay, “Sovereignty, Suffering, and the Work of Missions.”
  
  Piper, John and Justin Taylor, Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, Wheaton, Crossway Books, 2006, p. 112.“People who suffer want people who have suffered to tell them there is hope. They are justifiably suspicious of people who appear to have lived lives of ease.”
  
  Those who have suffered make the most effective comforters.
  
  
• Suffering refines us.
  We can read in Isaiah 48:10 that “I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.”
  
  The meaning of this verse makes it clear that pain and suffering have a way of bringing our strengths and weaknesses to the surface. When the dross floats to the surface, God skims it off; he purifies and refines us to be the radiant bride of Christ.
  
  
• Suffering produces growth and maturity (James 1:2-4).
  If we turn toward God in our pain, He can use our suffering to mature our faith. We see this biblical truth illustrated through the persecuted church. After hearing their testimonies, few would deny that suffering produces beauty and maturity of spirit.
  
  
• Suffering conforms us into God’s image (Romans 8:28-29).
  We may be tempted to read these verses to say that God will bring good out of everything. While He can and does redeem pain in our lives, these verses speak of being conformed to God’s image through our suffering.
  
  “If we are willing to sit still and let God work, we will find ourselves being transformed into the image of Jesus,” says Pastor Paul Daniel Jackson, a pastor at a church in Tucson.
  
  And Jackson speaks from experience.
  
  His wife, Jodee, suffered with breast cancer before passing away in 2002.
  
  “Though this horrendous experience, God did incredible things. Her mother accepted Jesus Christ as Savior‚ God also changed those who cared for her. Our lives were enriched by suffering [Emphasis mine].”
  

Simply put, when we seek God through His Word and prayer, we find Jesus. Remember, Jesus understands our pain because he, too, suffered.
When We Suffer: A Biblical Perspective on Chronic Pain and Illness - Focus on the Family

Agallagher said:

Thank you for each of your responses. Here is one more question.

Does it seem to you a fact that non believers, and believers suffer equally?

Click to expand...

"Pain relief is a management problem for many patients, their families, and the medical professionals caring for them. Although everyone experiences pain to some degree, responses to it vary from one person to another. Recognizing and specifying someone else’s pain is clinically a well know challenge. Research on the biology and neurobiology of pain has given us a relationship between spirituality and pain. There is growing recognition that persistent pain is a complex and multidimensional experience stemming from the interrelations among biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors. Patients with pain use a number of cognitive and behavioral strategies to cope with their pain, including religious/spiritual factors, such as prayers, and seeking spiritual support to manage their pain. This article provides an overview of the complex phenomenon of pain, with a focus on spiritual and religious issues in pain management." Spirituality and Religion in Pain and Pain Management