Joy In Suffering

As you may know, I might write a book on St. James’s verse about considering our sufferings ‘pure joy’, because one of the most challenging things to discern in a world full of suffering is why we should consider it ‘pure joy’ and the difficulty in doing so. Because if in all things God works for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28), then our suffering is a gift, especially in the long run, even when it’s prohibitively difficult at the time to see why. As someone who has been through immense suffering in the past 3 years, I believe I have become equipped with some of the understanding and experience to enable me to have this perspective, yet still always with so much more to learn, of course.

I think the main reason suffering doesn’t feel like joy or a gift is because at the time it is laden with many tangible costs and few tangible benefits. But that’s because with the right approach the costs are part of the process of dying of self to better things; the death of hubris ushers in the emergence of greater humility; the death of self-reliance gives rise to the emergence of deeper strength; the death of self-image gives rise to the emergence of Divine focus; the death of entitlement ushers in the emergence of deep gratitude; the death of fear gives rise to the emergence of stronger faith and more intense devotion, that sort of thing.

It’s one of the key parts of Jesus’ teaching regarding losing our life to find it (John 12:24-25), and denying ourselves by taking up our cross and following Him (Luke 9:23-24). It’s only through the gradual death to self that we find life, and it’s only through suffering that we begin to understand the necessity of the gradual death to self.