I struggle a lot with fear, namely fears of suffering and pain, and not even just that which I go through already, but whatever I might experience in the future. You're probably thinking, "Yeah, who doesn't?" Or maybe you don't think about it all that much and focus on what's right in front of you (an ability I pray for often). Having grown up in the U.S., I have ingrained in my being the tendency to avoid any discomfort that I possibly can. However being a human and a Christian (which means following the God who entered history as a man in order to give us life by suffering and dying an excruciating death then being raised to life again, still possessing the scars from His death) I am not really afforded much room to run. Also, considering a sacred book as the highest written authority over my life which is filled with accounts of suffering because of following Jesus, I have quite the internal tug of war going on.
Side note: Notice that because of my fear, I leave out all of the other very important parts of what the Bible teaches. Fear tends to cause an obviously narrow focus, almost like wearing blinders, and not by one's own choice.
Anyway, in this struggle I've read a lot, listened to various sermons, and talked with wise persons around me about how other Christians view pain and suffering. I've learned many interesting things in my search, both comforting and discomforting, including things about myself and my view of God's involvement in suffering. I've also learned in the uncanny chain of events as to how I've come across certain books, sermons, or conversations at just the right timing, that amazingly, God even cares about my specific struggle. A little while ago, my Dad suggested I do a word study in the Bible on "suffering." I actually considered avoiding that suggestion, but felt that to do so would probably only further my fears instead of abating them. So I started by looking in the concordance of my Bible. The first mention of the word (in English) is found in Job. That just figures, doesn't it? How about I read about a guy who suffers almost all of a human being's worst nightmares in one lifetime in order to encourage myself to be less afraid of suffering? (Notice again I'm leaving out an extremely important part, the ending of Job where he actually meets God and then gets everything he lost back and more). The verse in and of itself is encouraging: "But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction" (Job 36:15). Yet, it was spoken by one of Job's terrible friends, so I don't know if it's something that I'm meant to take seriously or as a foolish thing the friend was saying? Maybe someone who reads this can answer that one before I stop being lazy and look it up in a commentary.
The next passage was in Isaiah, a prophecy about Jesus (Isaiah 53:10). Something I have heard as a continual reminder from wiser Christians than myself is that the lengths Jesus went to in His own life show how much He cares about the suffering in our lives. It is something that I deeply desire to sink into all of the caverns of my heart. Part of the Christian's life is to meditate on all of the truths about Jesus' crucifixion and who He is, along with what He did even before He went to the cross. As I've begun to focus on these things, I have noticed a slow but steady change in the way I view all kinds of aspects of life. My fears haven't been "cured" or magically dissipated, but I can tell that portions of it are beginning to be worked out of me, because they are being replaced with a wonder about my Savior. I fully believe in Paul's teaching about the renewing of the mind. He says in Romans 12:2: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." Renewing one's mind involves practicing what Paul tells us in the subsequent verses of chapter 12 and the following chapters in Romans, but it also includes keeping a daily reading of the Bible as a priority in one's life.
Not to get too off track, but I'd like to speak on a brief aside about the practice of "daily devotions." As I was growing up, I heard quite often from adult Christians that to be a good Christian, one must have their "quiet time" with God everyday. I wasn't all that interested in the Bible then and only tended to read it when I felt guilty for not doing so, especially when I was a teenager. I had so many more exciting things to occupy my time and thought-life with (mainly boys and all the ensuing drama of liking them, of course). I didn't really start recognizing my need for the Bible until I started facing some tough realities of life in my early twenties. And by then I wished I had spent much more time paying attention to the giant, priceless book beforehand. Always in hindsight, right? Over the years I've noticed that for a lot of people who are growing up in Christian homes, the practices that their parents or other relatives know are necessary for a deep Christian life aren't always viewed with as much importance as someone who comes to Christianity out of a different set of beliefs (whether it be secularism or another religion or worldview). It tends to take some sort of trouble or emotional pain to send a person who's grown up in a Christian home to a place that they know they should have been all along. All that being said, in an attempt to reroute some of you who are in that position I've been describing, please take the Bible more seriously. You will undoubtedly appreciate any time you've spent with it, getting to know Jesus and being taught by Him through it, whenever you hit the tough parts of life, or even re-frame in a good way how you think about the not so hard parts. It will equip you to handle things much more than if you decide to bullheadedly take them on on your own. I unfortunately/fortunately know this from experience.
Okay, back to my original intent. In my word study, I've come to a couple of passages in 1 Peter that I'm finding very heartening. And actually, that's not even the right word for it, I just can't convey what it does to my heart and mind accurately right now. But after reading 1 Peter 4:12-19, I looked up the passage in a commentary that my parents have in their large library of Christian books (you should come check it out sometime, I'm sure you'll find something good). It's a commentary on the New Testament's use of the Old Testament. Very interesting stuff. Well, the commentary on 1 Peter 14 is what really got me. You can read the Bible passage here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20peter%204:12-19&version=ESV
And here is a quote from the commentary that I wanted to share. Because this entry is getting long and I am about to fall asleep, I'll write more about the impact of and my thoughts about this reading later...
" A. New Testament Context: The Spirit of God Rests on Those Who Suffer for Christ's Sake
Suffering quite often takes us by surprise. Peter tells his readers not to be surprised by the 'fiery ordeal' that has befallen them (4:12-19). This ordeal is more specific than the sufferings that are part of this broken world, of course: Peter has in mind the abuse and opposition of a world that detests Christ and his followers. Nevertheless, the perception that suffering is 'not the way it's suppose to be' (to borrow the title from Plantinga 1994) is at one level a reminder that sin and all its nefarious effects are abnormal.
Misfortune and death are certainly 'normal' in the sense that they are universally experienced, but they are not
normal when viewed from God's intention in creation and his plan in redemption. The idea that normal life should
always be harmonious and free from suffering, despite universal suffering and death, remains a lingering echo of
life in Eden as God created it before the fall. It is also a longing for the time where there will be no more tears,
suffering, pain, and death (Revelation 21:4). (Jobes 2005: 286)
Nevertheless, to participate in 'the suffering of Christ' should bring joy (4:13). 'If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed' (4:14). The blessing that Peter has in mind is not the suffering itself, nor is it alone the potential for character improvement (note the 'testing' in 4:12); rather, it is the very presence of God: 'you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you' (4:14, citing Isaiah 11:2). The theme is tied to what Peter says earlier: suffering with Christ rather than sliding into moral and spiritual compromise in a pagan world is a sign of the transforming work of the Spirit (1:2), evidence that one has become a living stone in the spiritual house of God (2:5).
B. Old Testament Context.
Isaiah 11 is a glorious messianic passage. The movement of thought begins in Isaiah 6: Isaiah is charged to announce that God has determined in his holiness to cut his covenant people back to a mere stump (6:13). Just as God destroys the insufferable Assyria, so also he cuts down the arrogant and corrupt house of David (10:5-34). Nevertheless, God promises a coming messianic ruler (Isaiah 7), a righteous messianic king who sits on David's throne and is recognized as the mighty God (Isaiah 9). In other words, from the stump there springs a new shoot (11:1, thus harking back to 6:13). The following verse, 11:2, promises the endowment that will be on this messianic figure, 'The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him,' and then Isaiah describes the consequent charismata that his Messiah will enjoy, set out in three pairs: wisdom and insight, counsel and might, knowledge and fear of the Lord." pgs 1040-1041
from: http://www.amazon.com/Commentary-New-Testament-Use-Old/dp/0801026938/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353659425&sr=1-1&keywords=commentary+on+the+new+testament+use+of+the+old+testament
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