The Purpose of Suffering - Part 2

by Renee Gowler

This is Part 2 of a 3-part series.  To see Part 1, click here.



It never fails. 

It’s 9:00 p.m., and I just got done doing 3 day’s worth of dishes. My shirt is wet, and my fingers are wrinkly from the dishwater. Every plate, cup, fork, mixing bowl, and baby bottle has been washed, rinsed, and stacked to dry. I even scrubbed down the sides of the sink and wiped the counters. I step back, and behold the fruit of my hard work– an empty sink! It does exist!

And even as I stand there, basking in my glorious accomplishment…my dear husband walks in the kitchen…and drops off his dirty cereal bowl - in my empty sink.

<sigh>

I don’t know about you, but as a homemaker, I am tempted to feel like a lot of what I do every single day is pretty much…pointless. Dishes get dirty again. Laundry hampers refill. Toys that were once neatly organized are thrown all over the house. Honestly, it’s a fight to remember the bigger picture sometimes, isn’t it?

(My almost-empty sink taunts me.)

But on my good days, by God’s grace, I’m reminded that there’s a point to the drudgery. I remember that there’s a reason behind the endless washing and tidying. God reminds me that I’m working to create an orderly, safe, and beautiful space for my family…a space where we can grow and love one another and welcome people through our front door. There’s a goal behind the tedious work that makes it all worthwhile.

We can have hope in the midst of the mess when we remember there’s a point.

Paul expressed this truth in 2 Corinthians 4:17, where he writes: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” Paul says that our troubles are DOING something. There’s a point to the trouble, and the point is glory…eternal and more “worth it” than we could ever imagine.

Now, in Part 1 of this series, I talked about the paradox of suffering found in 2 Corinthians 4:16…that we can be outwardly wasting away, but inwardly renewed at the same time. And that post may have left you wondering, “How?” How can we be inwardly renewed, yet outwardly wasting away? How can we have hope even in the midst of suffering?

Here’s the “how,” my friend: we can be inwardly renewed by remembering there is a purpose in our suffering.

There’s a point to the trouble.

And it’s glorious.

My seemingly trivial “trouble” is my never-empty sink, and maybe you resonate with that today. Maybe your troubles aren’t devastating or news-worthy. But maybe they are just as difficult because they are constant, draining, unyielding, and unnoticed by others. My sister, remember there’s a reason behind the small, daily, often-repeated, and unglamorous tasks you’re doing.

But perhaps your trouble IS devastating. Maybe the grief is all-consuming. The physical pain may be agonizing, and the despair feels overwhelming. My sister, may I remind you of this truth, too?

The trouble you’re enduring is achieving something amazing, something eternal. There’s a purpose in your grief.

You may never fully understand God’s purposes on this side of heaven, but that doesn’t change the promise that there IS a reason, there IS a point, and because of Jesus, there’s hope, too.

You may not want to hear that right now, but please read it again:

There is a point.

There is a reason.

There’s hope because of Jesus.