Author: Wes White

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Our Great Resource for Suffering Well

Christians aren’t the only people to think about how to suffer well. Virtually every religious teacher and every ethical teacher has provided ideas about how to suffer well. As I’ve listened to them, their consensus is that suffering is not always bad and that changing our perspective on suffering can help us suffer well. I believe that these teachers provide many helpful ideas. I’ve listed a few of them here. However, I think the greatest resource for suffering well is God Himself.

When I say God, I am speaking specifically about the Christian God. I don’t mean that more general conceptions of God do not help people. I simply mean that the way that God has revealed Himself in the Bible provides the greatest help and assurance in our suffering. It has the potential to enable us to suffer well in a way that no other resource can.

It is particularly the revelation of the faithfulness of God that helps us suffer well (see 1 Pet. 4:19). God’s faithfulness involves His commitment to continue the work of creation. He might have ended it, or He might have saved it. The revelation of God in the Bible teaches us that He is not through with it. He will continue it, and He continues to do good to people throughout the world, in spite of what we deserve.

For the believer, we have even greater assurance of God’s faithfulness. We are His people, bought with the blood of His Son, and a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. We can be totally confident that He will continue to do us good, even though we don’t deserve it. He only asks that we accept that this comes through Jesus Christ, the revelation of God in human form, with a believing heart.

Because God is determined to continue to do us good, we should believe it and live in light of the truth of God’s faithfulness. The great obstacle to believing that God is faithful is the suffering we experience. That’s why God so regularly and often reminds us that suffering is part of life. “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Pet. 4:12). This suffering is a seeming challenge to the faithfulness of God. It is a test of our faith.

When we suffer, it’s easy to think that it will go on forever. As suffering Christians, however, we have the opportunity to exercise our faith, believing that suffering does not go on forever, believing that blessing is our destiny. God’s faithfulness means that He will continue to do us good and will deliver us from our suffering. “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (1 Pet. 5:10).

Once we do this, we can see God’s love for us shining through the dark clouds of our suffering. This enables us to experience the faithfulness of God in His continuing aid to us during our suffering. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Even in our suffering, we experience the faithfulness of God as He comforts us, cares for us, and assures us of the future.

Who else can have this assurance that our best days are ahead of us? This is the assurance of the Christian in the faithfulness of God, and it is our greatest resource in the midst of suffering.

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Philosophical Resources for Suffering Well


It is not only Christians who have seen the value of suffering and suffering well. Philosophers and teachers throughout the world have provided us with a variety of helpful ways of processing suffering. Here are a few that I have studied over the past year.

I want to present two lists of quotes from two different philosophers. The first list is from Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations (read more here).

  • Misfortune gives us opportunity to grow in and exercise good character, which is a great reward in itself. “Remember, too, on every occasion that leads you to vexation to apply this principle: not that this is a misfortune, but that to bear it nobly is good fortune” (4.49).
  • If people do us wrong, we can preserve ourselves by not responding in kind. “The best way of avenging yourself is not to become like the wrongdoer” (6.6).
  • If we get our way, that’s good. If we don’t, we have an opportunity to learn to be content when we don’t. Learning that is a great good. “Let us try to persuade men. But act even against their will when the principles of justice lead the way. If, however, any man by using force stands in your way, have recourse to contentment and tranquility, employing this hindrance as a spur to the exercise of some other virtue; and remember that thy attempt was limited, that you did not desire to do impossibilities” (6.51).
  • It is our mindset not necessarily the thing itself that makes things so bad. “But I unless I think that what has happened is an evil, am not injured. And it is in my power not to think so” (7.14).

The second list is from the Roman philosopher Seneca’s letters to his student Lucilius.

  • We don’t really know what we are made of until we have had to undergo many trials. “For our powers can never inspire in us implicit faith in ourselves except when many difficulties have confronted us on this side and on that, and have occasionally even come to close quarters with us” (25). He goes on to compare those who struggle in life with those who fight in the arena: “The only contestant who can confidently enter the lists [i.e., engage in the conflict] is the man who has seen his own blood, who has felt his teeth rattle beneath his opponent’s fist, who has been tripped and felt the full force of his adversary’s charge, who has been downed in body but not in spirit, one who, as often as he falls, rises again with greater defiance than ever” (Ibid., 26).
  • Things are often worse in our fears than they are in reality. “There are more things, Lucilius, likely to frighten us than they are to crush us; we suffer more often in imagination than in reality” (Ibid.).
  • There is no reason to reject present happiness because of the possibility of future unhappiness. “Why, indeed, is it necessary to summon trouble–which must be endured soon enough when it has once arrived, or to anticipate trouble and ruin the present through fear of the future? It is indeed foolish to be unhappy now because you may be unhappy at some future time” (XXIV, 57).
  • Recognize that all relationships are temporary and prepare accordingly. “Let not the eyes be dry when we have lost a friend, nor let them overflow. We may weep but we most not wail” (LXIII, 148). How are we able to do this? “For I have had them as if I should one day lose them: I have lost them as if I have them still” (LXIII, 149).
  • Past unhappiness does not necessitate present unhappiness: “What benefit is there in reviewing past sufferings and in being unhappy, just because you were once unhappy?” (LXXVIII, 220).
  • Whoever does wrong to someone else does more evil to themselves than to their neighbor. “When we do wrong, only the least and lightest portion of it flows back upon our neighbour; the worst and, if I may use the term, the densest portion of it stays at home and troubles the owner. My master Attalus used to say: ‘Evil herself drinks the largest portion of her own poison” (LXXX, 234).
  • Losing things does not mean that we cannot continue to enjoy them. “What resource do we find, then, in the face of these losses? Simply this–to keep in memory the things we have lost, and not to suffer the enjoyment we have derived from them to pass away along with them. To have may be taken away from us, to have had, never” (XCVIII, 353).
  • Don’t worry about what you don’t have. Enjoy what you do. “To have whatsoever he wishes is in no man’s power; it is in his power not to wish for what he has not, but cheerfully to employ what comes to him” (CXXIII, 455).

Both of these books provide numerous other thoughts that contain resources for suffering well. Seneca and Marcus Aurelius suggest that the way we think about suffering is a large part of our suffering. This is something we can change, and many thinkers, like these two, can help us do so.

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Suffering Well

Everyone is going to suffer, but will we suffer well? Will we suffer in a way that will do good to our own souls, bless those around us, and glorify God?

In this post, I’d like to meditate on 5 ways we can suffer well and then contrast that with 5 ways in which we can suffer badly. In later posts, I will address why we should suffer well and how we can suffer well, but for now, I just want to try to shed some light on what it means to suffer well.

Before I begin, I want to let you know that I sat down with two friends, Art Stump and Lacie Shingleton to discuss suffering well on our Pinecone Podcast. I would invite you to listen to our discussion by clicking here.

5 Ways to Suffer Well

  1. You acknowledge that you are suffering
  2. You continue to honor those around you.
  3. You continue to do the good that you should do.
  4. You continue to trust in the goodness and faithfulness of God.
  5. You continue to hope and expect that God will give you good things.

5 Ways to Suffer Badly

  1. You suppress or ignore the fact that you are suffering.
  2. You lash out at those around you, even those who may have nothing to do with your suffering.
  3. You get bitter.
  4. You give up on God.
  5. You fall into despair.

Again, this is just the concept. In later posts, I will address why we should seek to suffer well and how we can do it. For now, I think it’s important to have a clear sense of what it means to suffer well and suffer badly. These are the things that came most clearly to my mind. What about you? Anything you would add or take away?

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Respect, No Matter What

One of the basic conditions for communicating with others is respect. When we honor who people are as human beings and what they can contribute, then we open to the door to communication.

Respect is easy as long as the temperature is low. When the temperature rises, insults come, and disrespect rears its ugly head, then it becomes extremely difficult to continue to show respect.

And that’s precisely what Jesus did. “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1 Pet. 2:23).

And that’s precisely what Jesus has called us to do. “Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Pet. 2:20).

Yet as soon as we hear negative comments, experience distancing from people, or find out that others are talking behind our back, we forget: “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing” (1 Peter 3:9).

Why in the world, though, would we want to maintain respect when others show disrespect?

Here are a five reasons:

  1. You can win people. “Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives” (1 Pet. 3:1). This is true not only for wives but for everyone. You can win people.
  2. You can be blessed. When we return insult for insult, we harm ourselves. When we keep ourselves from bitterness and anger, we keep ourselves. To do what’s right, even when it’s hard, is a great blessing and its own reward.
  3. You can trust God. Jesus did not return insult for insult when people attacked Him. However, that did not mean that He saw these things as fine or not wrong. “Instead, Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” God frees us from the burden of righting all wrongs by ensuring us that He will make all things right.
  4. You can be like Christ. Whenever Peter thought about Christ, he could remember His sufferings. Peter also saw him rise from the dead and ascend to heaven. Following Christ means experiencing the suffering Christ and afterwards sharing in His glory.
  5. You are the beloved. Peter begins his exhortation with the word, “beloved” or “friends” (1 Pet. 2:11). When we suffer, we should remember that we are the “beloved,” friends of Peter and friends of God. We are chosen by the Father, sprinkled with the blood of the Son (for forgiveness and renewal), and transformed by the Holy Spirit (1 Pet. 1:2). We are called and empowered to live a life that rises above the tit for tat that dominates human life.

When others cause us to suffer, it’s so easy just to see us and them. But there are bigger issues at play. Our own conscience is at stake. Winning others is at stake. Glorifying God is at stake. Advancing God’s kingdom is at stake. The well-being of our soul is at stake. Showing the pattern of Christ to the world is at stake. If we can keep these larger issues in mind, we can maintain respect, even when we suffer. We will all have to suffer, the question is whether or not we will suffer well.

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We Will Be Immortal

The New Testament is a book written in the context of the world of Greeks and Romans. For the Greeks and Romans, there were two types of “people” (or rational beings) in the universe. There were the mortals and the immortals.

The immortals were those who could not die and possessed great power and abilities. Mortals were human beings on earth. The line dividing mortals and immortals was porous. Those who did great deeds or possessed exceptional beauty or skills on earth could become immortal. For example, the Roman Senate usually “deified” the Emperors, which meant that they were recognized as now having a life with the immortal gods.

In his letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul wrote, “For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” I have no doubt that the Corinthians would have thought of the distinction between mortals and immortals when the leaders of the church read this letter to them.

So, when the Apostle Paul said, “I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (1 Cor. 15:50), this would have made complete sense to the Corinthian Gentiles. It did not mean that the physical body was bad. It meant that the kingdom of God was a place for those who were changed into immortals.

In the movie Thor, Oden casts Thor out of Asgaard, and Thor becomes a mortal in a flash, in a twinkling of the eye. The Apostle Paul envisions something like this but in reverse when he contemplates our destiny: “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet” (51b-52a). This would have made sense to the Corinthians as well.

In spite of the similarities between the conceptions of Greek culture and Paul’s description of the end time event, there were significant differences as well.

First, in the Greek view, humans became immortal at death. In Paul’s view, immortality begins with Jesus. Jesus was not declared immortal or a god upon His death. He rose from the dead. He obtained immortality by conquering death (note, by the way, that the word Paul uses for conquering death is the word, “victory” [Greek: nikos (or in the feminine, nike!]).

Second, people become immortal at the end of the time. Jesus raises those who are dead or changes those who are living to be like Him in His glorious immorality. It occurs at what Paul calls “the last trumpet.”

Third, it is not only the great leaders or kings who become immortal, it is all people who believe in Jesus. “For as in Adam all die, so all in Christ shall be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22). It is not our great deeds that bring about our immortality but the great deeds of Jesus Christ.

At the same time, like the Greek heroes, the Christian’s immortality follows upon labor. This should encourage us that no matter how difficult things may be or how little results we may see, the result of the Christian life is eternal glory. “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58). The glory of immortality awaits!

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