Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. – Psalm 42:5

All of us go through times of sadness, sorrow, or even depression. All of us have had a dark night of the soul. Rick Warren once said we find ourselves in three different places in regard to storms. Either we are in one, just got through one, or are heading for one.

In the four noble truths of Buddhism, Buddha said that all of life is suffering. There is certainly truth in that. The Bible agrees that we will have trouble in this world and that there is real suffering. But scripture takes a very different turn in regard to dealing with suffering.

In Buddhism, the basic belief in how to defeat suffering is to let go of all desire. As we stop craving and clinging, nirvana is achieved. So, the purpose of suffering, in a way, is to teach us to let go of all desire.

But the Word of God proclaims a different truth. The book of James tells us to “consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4)

Scripture makes it clear that we live in a fallen world, and that because of sin, we will experience pain in this life. But the purpose of suffering is not to make us let go of life; rather its purpose is to mature us. It is designed to help us to grow toward our Heavenly Father, and to become the children He desires us to become. We are transformed by trials, and as we learn to lean on God in them, we mature, and our faith is made complete.

We are a royal priesthood, children of the King, and servants of the most high God.

We are His representatives to a broken and fallen world. Throughout his/her childhood, a child of a king is taught and disciplined, in order to become a good representative of the royal crown. Those who believe in Christ are also representatives of the Royal Crown. And our Heavenly Father, the King of Kings, does the same for us. And sometimes that discipline includes suffering.

Romans captures this well when Paul says, “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5)

We can take joy and glory in our sufferings because God has a good end in mind. Pain is never without purpose. And that purpose is not to learn to let go of desires of life, but that you might have life and have it abundantly.

Questions for Thought

1. Are you in a trial, getting out of a trial, or maybe heading for one?

2. What was the most difficult trial you’ve ever been through?

3. How did God use that hard situation to draw you to Him and mature you?