Suffering, loss, pain, heartbreak…they’re all part of life in this broken, messed up world.
Somehow, incredibly, the most significant and meaningful lessons I’ve learned in life were born out of my most painful losses.
That doesn’t mean that every loss has instantly been turned into meaning. There are some losses I still struggle with. Some that still haunt me. Some that cause me to “groan inwardly as I wait eagerly for…redemption…” (Romans 8:23).
And, while there are some losses so significant and painful that I would never casually say they were “worth” whatever the lesson learned, I agree with Rabbi Stephen Leder, they shouldn’t be worth “less.”
Walking Through Hell
In a more extended quote than the one referenced above, Rabbi Leder wrote:
“Every one of us sooner or later walks through hell. The hell of being hurt, the hell of hurting another. The hell of cancer, the hell of a reluctant, thunking shovel full of earth upon the casket of someone we deeply loved, the hell of betrayal, the hell of betraying, the hell of divorce, the hell of a kid in trouble . . . the hell of knowing that this year, like any year, may be our last.
“We all walk through hell. The point is not to come out empty-handed. . . . There is real and profound power in the suffering we endure if we transform that suffering into a more authentic, meaningful life.” —Rabbi Stephen Leder
Don’t miss the last line.
“There is real and profound power in the suffering we endure if we transform [it]…”
Transforming Suffering and Loss
Have you ever seen that done?
I have.
My Dad was diagnosed with brain cancer in January or 2008. We buried him in August of that same year.
Dad loved Romans 8:18.
After he was diagnosed with brain cancer and it began to aggressively wither his faculties, he loved it even more. He quoted it with regularity.
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” —Romans 8:18 NIV
His favorite translation of the verse was the King James Version.
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” —Romans 8:18 KJV
Dad loved the word “reckon” in the KJV. He would smile when he quoted it and say something like, “Paul must have been from Tennessee. This guy had to be from the south. I mean, He said, he ‘reckoned’ that this present suffering wasn’t worth comparing with the glory…”
Just writing that makes me smile.
My Dad transformed his suffering.
He transformed into graceful living.
He transformed it into an example of faith in the midst of suffering.
He transformed it into victorious dying.
I’ve no doubt that as he walked through the hell of those eight months, he didn’t come out empty handed.
Neither should you.
“Don’t waste your sorrows.” [1]
“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs
them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen
is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
—2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NIV
Somehow, in the math of God’s kingdom, what now feels like massive loss will one day be viewed as “light and momentary troubles.” That’s hard to grasp when the weight of our current loss feels almost unbearable. But, it’s important to keep in mind that the guy who wrote that passage knew loss. He knew pain. He suffered unspeakable hardship. But when he looked back on them, he called them “light and momentary,” and, on top of that, said that they “achieve” or “prepare” or “produce” for us an “eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
This is the power of the gospel.
Christianity’s Unsurpassed Offers
In the words of Tim Keller:
“[These are] Christianity’s unsurpassed offers—
a meaning that suffering cannot remove,
a satisfaction not based on circumstances,
a freedom that does not hurt but rather enhances love,
an identity that does not crush you or exclude others,
a moral compass that does not turn you into an oppressor,
and a hope that can face anything, even death.”
—Tim Keller, Making Sense of God: Finding God in the Modern World
So,
“If you’re going through hell, [just] keep going…
You might get out before the devil even knows you’re there.” —Rodney Atkins
Or, better yet.
“If you have to go through hell, make sure you don’t come out empty-handed.”
—Rabbi Stephen Leder
“These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” —1 Peter 1:7 NLT
[1] That’s the way Paul Billheimer said it a few decades ago. (BTW, if you’ve not read his classics ‘Destined for the Throne’ and ‘Don’t Waste Your Sorrows,’ put them on your “To Read” list asap.)