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Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  Romans 5:3-5

 I’ve been thinking a lot about suffering these days.  Maybe it’s because it’s Lent and during this season of preparation for Easter, our hearts and minds turn to the suffering of our savior on the cross.  Maybe it’s because I recently heard Rob Bell speak in Seattle on the subject of suffering.  Or maybe it is because I know so many who are suffering right now. 

I know that the writer of Romans was speaking to those who faced persecution for their faith, a very specific kind of suffering.  But does all suffering produce this same pattern of perseverance, character and hope?  Not many of us escape suffering of some kind or another.   When do we suffer?  When something beyond our control suddenly alters our lives, the loss of a job, the illness of a family member, the death of one we love.  When these things happen it shakes us up.  It changes our focus.  The things we thought were important become less so.  We may ask questions, like, why now?  Why him/her?  Why?

Our Tuesday night Bible study, “Digging Deeper” had an interesting discussion about this very topic this week.  We looked at the early Old Testament theology of retributive justice, which basically says, the good get rewarded and the bad get punished.  In moments of crisis we often fall into this kind of theology as we wonder, what did he/she/they/I do to deserve this?  That somehow our deal with God is that if we are good, if we follow the rules, bad things will not happen to us.  We will not suffer.  And yet suffering comes.  The prophet Isaiah wrote about the suffering servant in chapter 53.  The Messiah, the Anointed One, the sinless Savior, would come and suffer.  How could this be?  He was perfect, he kept all God’s rules and still he would suffer.  This idea took the theology of retributive justice and turned it upside down.  Who was this God, who would use suffering to redeem us? And is there something redemptive about our suffering?  The writer of Romans seems to think so, suffering produces perseverance.  We survive.  We move on.  We learn to live with the pain.  We persevere.  And having suffered and survived, builds our character, it adds a depth to our life that a lack of suffering can never produce.  We understand the pain of others, because we have been there ourselves.  That understanding, compassion, empathy leads us to hope.  Hope that others also understand our pain, hope that God will not leave us alone in our suffering.  And that hope does not disappoint, because God’s love for us was poured out in a life, a human life, of suffering.  He understands exactly what we are going through because he lived, suffered, and died.  And then he rose again, promising us that suffering and death is not the end.  And he left us another comforter, the Holy Spirit, to be with us as we suffer.  And that Holy Spirit manifests every time we come together in community, to comfort one another, to hold on to each other, to say “you are not alone” and “I know how you are feeling.”

Does this ring true for you?  Have you experienced moments of redemption in the midst of suffering?  When have God’s grace or the community of believers comforted you?  Can you, like the writer of Romans, “rejoice” in your sufferings?