Hi everyone, I know I haven’t been doing a great job at updating this space, hopefully I will do better than two posts a month going forward. This year has brought forth a lot of change already, and adjusting to better time management has been a work in progress. That being said, I’d like to talk to you about something that has been on my heart lately, and hopefully it will speak to you.

I recently read a book that touched on the word suffering for school and it has stuck with me through this week. All of us have endured some or many kinds of suffering. In fact, we were born in suffering. Throughout this week I really took a moment to think about the kinds of suffering I witnessed every day. The suffering of addiction, the suffering of displace, the suffering of heartbreak, sickness, disease, longing, loneliness, slavery, bondage, and oppression. When we were studying suffering in my class, we took a look at the suffering that was endured from wars and the product of them. Interestingly enough, the context of those wars brought to light a different kind of war that is fought today. The war of the mind, it is to say that although we might not be in a physical war today, like the civil war or the world wars, but we are at a war with our thoughts and our emotions. To expand that a little more, we should also acknowledge the world within our spirit.

Then I stopped and asked myself, when I look around and see so much suffering everyday, whether that be oppression, sickness, disease, loneliness and addiction. Why do we choose to stay and dwell in that suffering? Why don’t we have the strength to leave? Unlike the times of war and oppression where we are driven towards freedom, why do so many of us sit in our despair?

One of the most common types of suffering we see today is loneliness and depression. The world of social media and “togetherness” has actually separated us by our filters instead of unifying us through our relationships. Why is it that we are so lonely and depressed, in the world of “success”? Why do we dwell in the pits of despair instead of walking out and marching on towards freedom?

These questions led me to ask myself what does the Bible say about suffering and overcoming?

The Bible is full of stories of great suffering and overcoming, stories of suffering in every form. Stories of: slavery, oppression, loneliness, grief, bondage, addiction, sickness, disease, and war. Interestingly enough, all of those types of suffering I saw when I took a moment to look around were all there. So what does the Bible say, and how can that help the battle we have with our minds and spirit every day?

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9).

In the passage above we see Paul write, saying that we can be experiencing suffering but not destroyed. Or to say, although we may suffer, our suffering does not destroy us.

 ⁷ for God gave us^oa spirit not of fear but ^pof power and love and self-control.

⁸ Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, ⁹ who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, ¹⁰ and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, ^awho abolished death and brought life and ^cimmortality to light through the gospel,^11 dfor which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, ^12 ewhich is why I suffer as I do. (2 Timothy 1:7-11)

In the passage above we see Paul again, acknowledging his suffering but giving us clear guidelines on how to deal with suffering, and it all points back to Jesus. Jesus overcame ALL of our suffering, and has given us power to live a holy life, and life abundantly. When we look to Jesus we see a way to over come suffering in loneliness and depression by three parts.

1.Relationship

Jesus invites us to live in relationship with him, and Jesus invested in relationships when he was here on Earth. Relationships Matter. If you are feeling hopeless and alone, talk to someone about it, find someone you trust and open up about the struggles you are facing. Isolation is the battleground for evil. Relationships bring to light many things that were before in the darkness. Once those things are in the light, we are able to deal with them. Look at a dirty house as an example. If you don’t turn on the lights to clean the dirt and mess will stay there and if you can’t see it, you can’t clean it. Once the light is on, you can see exactly what needs cleaning and what needs to be put away.

2. Resurrection

When Jesus died and took on all of our suffering he abolished death and brought immortality to light through the gospel. He died so that we may have everlasting life. When we live with that perception of eternity, we have hope that the suffering we are experiencing today is not permanent, it is temporary. That alone gives us hope to know that, although we may be experiencing this pain or suffering now, it is not our dwelling place. We will overcome.

3. Revelation

When Jesus died and rose again, he sent us the Holy Spirit to live inside us and guide us. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we have assurance that we are not alone. In the passage above we see Paul mentioning that God has given us a spirit of power, love and self-control, and not fear. Why do we stay dwelling in that place of suffering? Perhaps because we fear what moving forward may bring us, or we fear who we have become. If that’s you, have no fear! God has already won the war. If you are fighting this battle and it seems like it is too strong to overcome, remember you were given a spirit of love and power. God has the power to transform your situation, or maybe even your perspective to love yourself. Love yourself, flaws and all and know that God loves you. He made you and has a plan for your life. He  will reveal to you how to overcome in love and power.

These are my reflections by faith about life and suffering. I know there is so much more that can expanded on this topic, and I might have to write some more another day, but what I really hope to convey to you is that suffering is a part of life. All of us experience it, some of us to a greater degree, the key difference in how we experience suffering is knowing that suffering did not overcome, Jesus did. We look at Jesus overcoming and see him through relationships, resurrection and revelation in our own lives. If we put our hope and faith in him, then we will suffer but we will have hope that this too shall pass and that he has overcome. We will have peace in knowing that he has overcome the war, even when the battle is raging. When we allow the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, we will have a spirit of love, power and not of fear. When we live within a community that chooses to honor God and glorify him, we will not be alone. We will live by faith that one day he will wipe away every tear, suffering will exist no more and we will dwell in the highest place. The key difference in how our life goes is not that we do not suffer, but that we will suffer with Christ. Knowing that we are not alone in the battle, and that one day we will suffer no more.

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will no longer exist; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away. (Revelation 21:4)