Joy in Suffering

Finding joy in suffering fascinates me. I've mentioned in a previous blog that sin and suffering are stealers of joy. It can be hard to comprehend and acknowledge that joy can still exist even in the depths of pain.

It is interesting when I have talked to people about their story and how easy it was for them to lose all hope and have a turn into a phase of depression when something traumatic occurred in their life. I often hear that people have fallen away from the faith or have lost any sort of drive in their life. I mean it makes sense... how can a God that is so good and so loving allow pain and suffering in our life?

This was one of my favorite questions I was asked when traveling and ministering to youth. It also has been asked of me by many peers and friends. The best answer I provided them is that God does not desire for you to suffer. Never does He look at you and go "Ha! Look at this human I created suffer and deal with so much pain!" No, that is simply ridiculous. Nor does He look at you and think, "Ah this is good for them, they'll learn something from this." Or even, "They deserve this."

God does not desire any sort of pain or suffering. It's not some sort of Karma or punishment either for your sins. While yes, if your life is full of sin, chances are you're already chasing emptiness and there is a sort of pain that comes with that... I'll get to this particular topic later...

Ah, there is so much to this topic that I could say. But to put it plainly, I see sin and suffering as an opportunity for grace. An opportunity for abundance, freedom, love and peace. Again, if sin, suffering and pain is a result of The Fall, its a sort of emptiness or void... then that means it is a space that can thus be filled with good. The void creates a space for good to abundantly fill it. Granted, this would also depend on where you go to be filled.

Now here is where joy is so important and plays such a unique role in suffering. If pain and suffering provide the space to be filled, and joy as I have already mentioned is an abundance of good, the most perfect time to seek joy is in times of suffering and even in sin. If you search for joy even in the pain, it takes you not only outside of the emptiness, but sets you free in the flowing abundance of grace that comes with the "divine happiness."

In an article written by Tacoma Christian Counseling, it writes, "Suffering can feel senseless, especially if you don’t know why it is happening to you. Yet you don’t need to suffer without cause. By choosing the right mindset, you can rise above your suffering and focus on the joy that’s possible for you in Christ Jesus."

There is so much joy that awaits you, even amidst suffering. It helps give meaning to your life and even helps you accept suffering with grace and hope. Knowing that any suffering that comes your way can only be used for good, it helps when something painful, out of your control, comes into your life.

In future blogs, I will write from my own journey and how I specifically was able to find it, amidst my own suffering. I will also address various types of suffering and whether or not it is something we ourselves cause.

If we cause our own suffering and pain, I want to help address how we can better avoid it, so that we may be more open and accepting of joy. However, I also want to address the pain and suffering we cannot control and practical ways of how to seek joy even so.

It's all part of the journey... :)